Friday & SaturdayApril 6 & 7, 2023 Traveling to Asia or Europe from southern California is a long process. I will be making the 1000 kilometer pilgrimage walk from Seville to Santiago de Compostela with my long-time friend Tom from Sydney, Australia. We will start the walk on April 10, the day after Easter Sunday. Tom has been in Seville all of Easter Holy Week, and has sent me a few pictures of the elaborate […]
Friday, March 31, 2023Planning a return to Spain I am returning to Spain, leaving from home in a week on Thursday April 6, 2023. Very early on Friday I’ll fly from Los Angeles to Atlanta then to Madrid, arriving Saturday morning. That afternoon I’ll take a train to Seville where I’ll have two nights to adjust to the 9-hour time difference and ready myself for a long walk starting Monday, April 10, 2023. In Seville, […]
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 A notable highlight of my winter in Chiang Mai Before I get to traveling home and my reflections on this longer visit to Chiang Mai, there is one highlight to share. When I returned from Thailand a year ago, I went back to my routine of walking in the morning, cycling most days (about 120-140 miles per week), and practicing yoga at home. But I had some recurring lower back problems. […]
Wednesday, February 1, 2023A short walk on my last day Today is Wednesday, February 1, and my last day in Chiang Mai. The day started fairly normally with breakfast and then my last yoga practice at Wild Rose Yoga with instructor Annie. I said goodbye to Rose and John after practice, and went back to See You Soon to finish packing and mentally prepare for the long journey home. The flight does not leave until […]
Saturday, January 28, 2023Lunch at Woo Cafe I am in my last week, and have been busy seeing various friends for the last time during this visit. I leave in five days, so today is my last Saturday here. And the day started with breakfast, then a walk to the O2 Gym and a strength workout with Ning, my trainer. These workouts balance my fitness and while challenging, I find them interesting and fun, too. […]
Monday, January 23, 2023Third temple on this Monday After walking through a few sois and finally getting to Hussadhisawee Road, I continued south, into a familiar area and near Wat Santitham. The last temple I visited, Wat Chiang Chom, was a little uninspiring, and it was odd to see not a single person there. Nevertheless, I soon arrived at Wat Santitham. As I mentioned in my previous post, why Wat Santitham is not on Santitham […]
Monday, January 23, 2023Visiting a second temple this Monday Being up north of the old Chiang Mai city, I perused the map and decided to visit a temple I had never seen, a little closer to the old city. I would still need to get a ride because crossing the busy highway can only be done at major intersections, and in either direction that would mean walking 2-3 kilometers out of my way. Wat Chiang […]
Monday, January 23, 2023Visiting three temples on Monday I will be leaving Chiang Mai and returning home in just nine days. I have been in the Kingdom of Thailand for 50 days now. As is often said, time flies by when you’re having fun. And I am enjoying my time here in Thailand, mainly Chiang Mai. I am comfortable here, this being my tenth yoga-focussed visit to Chiang Mai. I have Rose (the owner of […]
Wednesday, January 25, 2023Hiking to Montha Than Waterfall Rudy and I are both in our last week in Chiang Mai for this winter. We wanted to do one more hike up in the jungle/forest on Mount Suthep, and Rudy always wants to find a new trail to explore. Using the All Trails app, Rudy found a suitable, very challenging trail that is VERY steep for almost 1.5 kilometers with no leveling off. Almost more of […]
Thursday, January 19, 2023Returning to visit Wat Lok Moli Yesterday, Rudy, my friend from France whom I met at Wild Rose Yoga, and I had a hike up the Doi Suthep mountain. It was a long and tiring but good day hiking on unfamiliar trails, mostly up hill (or so it seemed) in the jungle/forest on Doi Suthep. Today started at the O2 Gym for a strength training session with Ning. After that I was […]
Thursday, January 19, 2023Butter is Better and Wat Sri Don Chai Several days ago I went on line to find the best cinnamon rolls in Chiang Mai. There are good ones at Blue Diamond, but they are have a bit too much icing, overpowering the cinnamon flavor of the roll itself. Mentioned on many lists were the cinnamon rolls at Butter is Better, a restaurant owned by a former New Yorker who wanted to create […]
Wednesday, January 18, 2023A different route up Doi Suthep My friend Rudy, whom I met at Wild Rose Yoga last year, and with whom I have hiked up the Doi Suthep mountain a few times, wanted to try a different route up and down the mountain. A note here – Doi in Thai means “mountain” and Suthep is the name of the mountain. So “Doi Suthep” translates to “Mount Suthep” and my saying “Doi Suthep […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 