Wednesday 27 November 2024 Walking along the Ping River I wanted to walk along the Ping River to see evidence of the recent floods in Chiang Mai. The floods resulting from heavy storms in late September and early October were the worst in at least 50 years and affected 30 provinces in northern Thailand. As the flood waters receded, the national, provincial, and local governments launched massive cleanup efforts. By October 22, the mayor of […]
Saturday 23 November 2024 Revisiting a favorite temple Wat Chedi Luang Wat Chedi Luang is a very old and important temple to the Thai people. The 3-Sis guesthouse where I stay is directly across the street from Wat Chedi Luang, so I see busses of tourists, many Thai, arriving every day while I am eating breakfast. In years past, I would do my morning meditation at the base of the large chedi before breakfast. When […]
Friday 22 November 2024 Walking the entire circumference of old Chiang Mai For my first full day in Chiang Mai, I thought I would walk the entire circumference of the Chiang Mai old city wall & moat, about 8 kilometers (5 miles). Given my recent experience in Bangkok, I am wearing a hat and carrying water with me. Brief History of the Chiang Mai Wall Chiang Mai was built by King Mengrai in 1296 as […]
Tuesday 19 November 2024 Full Day in Bangkok 5 – Phed Mark and an Adventure This will be a longer post as the “Adventure” requires a longer narrative. Phed Mark A very common dish eaten by Thais is Pad Kaprow (often, including by me, misspelled Pad Krapow with the “r” in the wrong place). Having learned of and coming to like Pad Kaprow over the last couple of years, I thought I would have a […]
Tuesday 19 November 2024 Full Day in Bangkok 4 – Wat Saket Wat Saket the Golden Mount Temple I have been to Wat Saket on one of my first winters in Thailand (about 11 or 12 years ago). I remember well not feeling a strong connection when I visited then. It is a Royal Temple of the Second Class, so considered rather important in the Buddhist Religion in Thailand. Being a 15-minute walk from Wat […]
Tuesday 19 November 2024 One Full Day in Bangkok Part 3 – Wat Suthep Wat Suthep When looking at the list of Thai royal temples of the first class in Bangkok (a short list of ten), I noticed Wat Suthat and realized (1) I had never been there, and (2) it was not terribly far from Wat Pho. Being a Royal Temple of the First Class, my interest was peaked. I learned that the construction […]
Tuesday 19 November 2024 One Full Day in Bangkok Part 2 – Wat Pho Wat Pho Wat Pho is known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, and its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn. Wat Pho is first on the list of ten temples in Thailand classed as royal temples of the first class. Wat Pho was built under the reign of King Rama I in the early 1800s. The most significant […]
Tuesday 19 November 2024One Full Day in Bangkok Part 1 – Wat Arun My plans for today will be very similar to my one full day in Bangkok last year, so this post will be quite similar to that from last year and years past when I was only in Bangkok for one full day. Bangkok is a large city, about the size of Los Angeles with twice as many people. It has a frenetic […]
Saturday 16 November 2024 Home to Bangkok via Los Angeles and Incheon (Seoul) The long-anticipated travel day has arrived. I am traveling to Thailand for my 12th yoga-focused winter in Chiang Mai. First to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then from LAX to Incheon (Seoul’s airport), and finally from Incheon to Bangkok. In many previous years, I walked to a neighborhood Avis location, picked up a car, drove home, loaded my bags, drove to LAX, […]
Wednesday, 23 May 2024Santiago de Compostela to Madrid by Train A pilgrim tradition is to get a “credential” also known as a “Pilgrim’s Passport” and collect stamps along the pilgrimage walk. The stamps can be obtained at places you stay, places you eat, at churches, police stations, and many other places. When a pilgrim arrives in Santiago de Compostela, they can go to the Cathedral’s Pilgrim’s Office, present their credential with all the stamps as […]
Monday, 20 May 2024Ponte Ulla to Santiago de Compostela21.5 kilometers Today was our final day of the pilgrimage walk to Santiago de Compostela. And we made it! The Camino de Santiago had a few challenges for us on our last day, particularly two long and fairly steep uphill sections in the last few kilometers. The last day was a beautiful day with sun much of the way. A beautiful day. Here is a photo of […]
Sunday, 19 May 2024Silleda to Ponte Ulla22 kilometers Today was the first day in what seems like a long time with no rain of significance. And tomorrow is expected to be even better as we will be on our final day on this pilgrimage walk to Santiago de Compostela. Walking today was about half and half paved secondary roads and natural paths. There were beautiful vistas all along the way including this as we were […]
James the Intrepid Pilgrim 