Daily life musing

When I was buying a few handmade little things from the Lisu Hilltribe woman in the picture below I was struck by how far from her village she was sitting right in the middle of Tapae Gate.  She was a tiny tiny little woman, toothless with the red gums and lips of the Betal Nut chewer.  She was very dirty and her tribal clothes were old.  Her grimy old hands plaited coloured straws in to bracelets that she sold for 50 cents.  Goodness knows how she is living here in the city.
There are many tribal people here mainly AKKA and Hmong but they have communities and regularly sell on the streets and markets and then all go home together.  There were only 2 of these tiny little women trudging the streets, clearly all alone.  How resiliant they are.  She spoke a few words to the man who pulled up beside her on his very decorated bike all ready to play his guitar.  Street life here is
anything but boring:)

Everyday life around here

There's a great feeling of serenity and well being around here.  I wake up every morning to a feeling of no hurry, to blue skies and sun, smiles and waves from the lovely landlady Nei.  I love taking a shower in Asia as their are no doors or curtains hemming one in to a little box.  Here the whole room is open and the floor is slanted a little so water does not stay there.  Of course in the warmth it dries quickly.  After dressing in some loose, flowing cool clothes I go down to the kitchens and get the drinking water in my kettle to make tea.  Sometimes I go ahead and make porridge but that's more a dish for colder climates.  Often I go around the corner to the nearby market for mango, papaya, oranges etc.  Lots of joking and smiles from vendors who also sell very cheap flowers so one always has flowers in the room and on the balcony.
Generally I sit outside for breakfast and study a bit of Thai before hopping on my bike to start my day.  There are so many nationalities here.  A Russian girl, a Danish girl, a French couple, several Japanese, a Canadian or two, an American, a Scandanavian and a very nice Spanish couple who have cycled all the way here from Spain.  They tell me that Iran is one of the most hospitable countries to go to.  They feel that strangers should be made part of the family.  I've heard that before from other travellers.  
Sitting on the balcony there's often a few tiny squirrels running about and little lizards darting here and there.  Oddly there are very few flies despite the warm weather and I never see wasps or bees but hope that is normal for here and not because of the decline in the bee population in the world.  There must be lots somewhere as there is a lot of organic honey sold here.

This is an unusual rose in the garden here just beginning to open, it has a yellow heart and the underside of the leaves are yellow too.  Nice

At a Fair

There are so many wonderful fairs around but the annual one up at Niemanhaemin area in Chiang Mai is always very special.  There are so many original designs and colourful booths along with great bands and fashion shows.  Just want to show you a bit of the colourful scene

A tiny spectator

great elephant dance and costume

another very talented dancer

Japanese Day Chiang Mai

This city has so many fun events it is easy to see something magical every week, even daily.  On Japanese day the large community was out in national dress and their were also kimonos there for those who wanted to dress Japanese for the day and have their photo taken.

HOLIDAY WITH TERRY SEPT '13

This somehow went in to draft and wasn't published so don't know if it will go in by date of writing and happening or now after I am already in Thailand.  If it is out of sequence please know that it was in September 2013.
ITALY

Terry flew in to Florence from Pa and it was so great to have her and share many of the lovely places I had visited in Tuscany, Umbria and the Marche.  I had booked us in to nice Agriturismos or B&Bs that produce their own wine and produce so the food was excellent.  We stayed 2 nights in each one and lazed one day and went to nearby sites of interest on the other.  We also visited many Cantinas to try all those lovely wines like Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile and the Monte Falco wines.
The time flew by but we tried to live every minute.  We went to Greve, Bolsena again and areas around Lake Trasimeno and just enjoyed the lovely landscape, the food, gelati and friendly people.  Here's a few photos of the trip.

always the best day - the arrival full of happiness and anticipation

Chianti Classico Greve

Nice pool in B&B

stroll by Lago Trasimeno

Waltzing in Volterra

That favourite enoteca in Castello Bolsena

Landscape, Marche