Saturday, January 10, 2015 The Rain Subsides, Part 1: Wat Nantharam The rain seems to have passed and the sun is breaking through the clouds occasionally. and the clouds are whiter today; it is noticeably brighter out, a nice change from the very dark past two days. This is also Children’s Day in Thailand, a day of families focusing on their children. There are many events for the children, and thankfully, it is unlikely to […]
Friday, January 9, 2015 Full Day of Rain and a Hot Stone Oil Massage Rain continued most of the night and while a little lighter this morning, it is still raining steadily. I chose not go go across the street to Wat Chedi Luang for my morning mediation. Today shall be a day of catching up on a few work-related items and also catching up on my blog. In other words, working in my room […]
Thursday, January 7, 2015 Rain, Rain, Rain, and Jane’s Kitchen Today the sky was dark. I hoped it would not rain. I went out to the Bird’s Nest Cafe, an organic coffee shop and restaurant where they allow people to get some food, park, and use the internet for some time. The internet was working well, but was very, very slow. I had a light lunch, a latte, and eventually got some work done. I […]
Wednesday, January 7, 2015 A Low-Key Day and an American Dinner Today is to be a low-key day. I have a spa appointment at Cheeva Spa today, a newer spa highly recommended by the staff at the 3-Sis. Cheeva is known for using only high-quality, organic products, obtained locally where possible. I requested a 4 and 1/2 hour detox treatment, including: Foot soak and massage Thai herbal steam Revitalizing body scrub Australian red clay wrap […]
Tuesday, January 6, 2015 – Outside the Moat to Wat Mahawan and Wat Chetawan I walked outside the old city (aka outside the wall or outside the moat) down Tha Phae Road to see what has changed. Many things change, and many stay the same, just like in the U.S. I stopped at Wat Mahawan, a temple of unknown origin date, the viharn (worship hall) and ubosot (ordaining hall) were built in the 1860s. The […]
Monday, January 5, 2015 The New Year Starts in Chiang Mai With the end of the long holiday weekend comes a return to a more normal business flow. Traffic on the streets is crowded early in the morning as people return to work and school. Some tourists here for the New Year’s celebrations are leaving, and the tourists on holiday for Chinese New Year are arriving. Chinese new year is not until February 19, but […]
Sunday, January 4, 2015 Up the Mountain to Wat Palad Part 2 This post will contain many pictures – Wat Palad is a favorite of mine, unusual, and set right in the jungle. The entrance down the hill to Wat Palad is guarded by two mythical creatures, the aponsi, half woman, half lion. Then there is the entrance to the area in which one of the open-air viharn (worship hall) are located, guarded by these […]
Sunday, January 4, 2015 – Up the Mountain to Wat Palad Part 1, Wat Fai Hin Wat Palad is one of my favorite temples, but not easily accessible. I discovered it two years ago and found it to be very peaceful, quiet, and very, very few tourists go to Wat Palad. It is a temple essentially in the jungle, just off the main highway to the very popular and important Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. […]
Sunday, January 4, 2015 New Buddha Statues at Wat Chedi Luang I went to Wat Chedi Luang for my morning meditation, and saw that chairs and a pavilion were set up for a special ceremony. There are two trucks with large dark green statues, heavily wrapped in plastic, so I cannot see what is inside very well. I overheard one man saying that the trucks drove down from Chiang Rai early this morning. I will […]
Friday, January 2, 2015 A Lost Day I woke feeling poorly today. And my lower GI tract told me that the chilies I added to the fried rice at Kanjana last night were too much for my system. They were very, very spicy, and I was wondering what the outcome would be. So today was a rest day, something of a lost day in which I stayed in all day, slept much of the day, […]
Thursday, January 1, 2015 The New Year Begins in Chiang Mai I awoke feeling good — it is the new year, and I am in Chiang Mai. It will be a good day! Started the day as usual, with a meditation at the foot of the large chedi at Wat Chedi Luang. While I have said this previously, I love this chedi. There may not be a much better way to start the day than […]
Tuesday evening, December 30, 2014 Arrival in Chiang Mai On arriving in Chiang Mai, waiting for luggage, and getting a taxi to the 3-Sis Guest House, I checked e-mail and phones, and found several urgent messages requesting some work be done that was considered business-critical. So I signed on and got the processes started. There were two separate set of processes needing my attention. A challenge arose with the internet provider. The 3-Sis has a […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 