Monday, November 27, 2023Temples in the Neighborhood After the long travel to Thailand, the hot & humid day in Bangkok, a long walk around the perimeter of the old Chiang Mai city, and perhaps some vestiges of jet lag, I thought it best to have a less energetic day and explore some lesser visited temples in the neighborhood near The 3-Sis. This will be in three parts to keep the posts of reasonable length. I […]
Friday, November 24, 2023Walking around the perimeter of Chiang Mai The travel from home to Thailand, then a full, very busy day in the very hot and sweltering heat of Bangkok left me somewhat tired. I arrived in Chiang Mai on Wednesday afternoon, checked in to The 3-Sis, where I stay every year, then walked to Street Pizza for a large salad, a small pizza, and a watermelon smoothie. Street Pizza is a restaurant where […]
Tuesday, November 21, 2023Finding Jazz in Bangkok After a long day in the bright and hot sun and humid air, I realized I made a mistake for which I shall pay. Not a large mistake, but a stupid mistake. I forgot to take my hat with me. I have it, the same hat I used every day walking across Spain. My forehead and the top of my head are now quite burnt in places. Henceforth, […]
Tuesday, November 21, 2023Favorite Temples in Bangkok My plans for today echo almost exactly my one full day in Bangkok last year in early December, so this post will be quite similar to that from last year, and years past when I only had one full day in Bangkok. I arrived in Bangkok on Monday, very tired after the long journey from Los Angeles. Wednesday (tomorrow) I leave for Chiang Mai shortly after breakfast. Today, […]
Saturday, November 18, 2023The long journey to Thailand The journey to any Southeast Asian location is long from the United States. For me, it is easier to fly from Los Angeles International, and the most convenient way to get there is to walk about 3/4 mile to a neighborhood Avis location, pick up a car for a one-way drive to Los Angeles International (also known as LAX), drop off the car at Avis there and […]
Sunday, October 1, 2023Preparing for an Eleventh Winter in Chiang Mai For new readers, this blog records my eleventh successive winter in Bangkok & Chiang Mai, Thailand planned for November 20, 2023 until February 2, 2024. The intent is to share my journey, a little of what I did each day with a few pictures of what I saw, the places visited, and the food I ate. This blog is a continual travel blog of […]
Tuesday, September 12, 2023Returning home from Spain On Friday, May 12, four months ago, I arrived home in San Diego from Spain leaving my shortened Camino pilgrimage walk behind. How did I get home? I gave a very basic outline of my plans to get home in my last post. Because of the worsening tendonitis in my left leg after walking about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from Seville, I stopped walking in Granja de Moreruela. […]
Saturday, May 6, 2023Walking from Montamarta to Granja de Moreruela23.4 kilometers Today, the bed race was in full force. The next town, Granja de Moreruela, is very small with only one albergue with 30 beds. The two private accommodations are already booked. Leaving Granja de Moreruela, the Camino route splits. The Via de la Plata continues north to Astorga, and the Camino Sanabres starts here and goes northwest more directly to Santiago de Compostela. The […]
Friday, May 5, 2023Walking from Zamora to Montamarta20.5 kilometers The old historic town of Zamora is beautiful and has an atmosphere and feeling similar to Salamanca – energetic and alive. After another night in a dismal albergue and enduring some of the loudest snoring I have ever heard, I’m glad to be leaving. Maybe the accommodation in Montamarta will be better. As we left Zamora we came across a very old Camino Way marker. This […]
Thurssday, May 4, 2023Walking from El Cuba de Tierra del Vino to Zamora31.8 kilometers After the very long day yesterday walking over 30 kilometers to the bus stop at the prison and then the bus ride into El Cubo de Tierra del Vino, I was not looking forward to another day of over 30 kilometers to Zamora. It had to be done because the only intermediate town was very short of pilgrim infrastructure. Knowing that […]
Wednesday, May 3, 2023Walking from Salamanca to El Cuba de Tierra del Vino31.6 kilometers After a rest day in Salamanca I was a little concerned that we might feel good and over extend ourselves today. And that is almost exactly what happened, although differently than we anticipated. The goal today was a small of Calzada de Valdunciel, a short distance of 16 kilometers from Salamanca. The next town of El Cubo de Tierra del Vino […]
Tuesday, May 2, 2023Rest day in SalamancaNo walking today except to view sights as a tourist A great deal has been written about Salamanca covering its rich and long history. I am not going to even try to re-tell the history of Salamanca. I can report from our short time in Salamanca that it is a city with great energy and activity. There are many things to see and many places to eat – except […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 