Chiang Mai Dec '12

December '12
 I love it here.  I'm settled in to a lovely, small, Thai guesthouse down a side lane in the old city.  It is named Chedi View and indeed I can see a very old Chedi from my window - a most venerated part of the temple named Wat Chedi Luang.  It is lit up at night and gives a glow to the surroundings.  This house has many balconies and so I am outside a lot listening to the birds while I have my several cups of tea each morning.  There's a large outdoor kitchen and seating areas all around the place.  There are only about 12 rooms and the guests feel like a happy family.  Certainly the owners ( both of whom were teachers and speak English) do their best to make all of us feel very much at home.  What a lucky find and at such a reasonable price so I will keep it on all year and not have to pack up any more:)
I have posted a few pictures of my new little room above.

Thanksgiving Nov. '12

Back in the Land of Smiles for several weeks now.  A very hot land it is this year.  Winter is late in coming.  It is good to be here riding my bike around the lanes and visiting old familiar places.  Of course the greatest pleasure of all is getting together with old friends.  We have already shared a lovely Thanksgiving Feast out at Hill Resort with it's beautiful grounds where we all played croquet after the meal. That is becoming a tradition now.   The season of festivals is here with a big Balloon one just ending and the Full Moon Loy Kratong just beginning.
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Autumn Trip in Italy and Germany '12

fun eating pizza outdoors   

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.  A stay in Merano, Italy.  A beautiful town surrounded by mountains.  A river of clear water running over and around rocks, lovely arcades, markets, inviting cafes, great views.
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The sparkling river running through the centre of Merano.

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.Italian Brunch on the terrace.  Good friends, Prosecco and the vine tomatoes with good Mozzarella.  Perfect
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Piazza dei Signoria Vicenza

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.On to Vicenza, the city of Palladio where I lived for many years.  The fun of sitting here on the steps enjoying a Gelato, watching the passeggata, the video of the Opera Don Giovanni was made here, the one with Kiri Ti Kanawa.
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 A view of Vicenza

Outside Righetti's Restaurant with Michi

Favourie restaurant Da Gobbo, Altavilla.  Wonderful cooking and 

great family

 On to Augsburg, Germany.  On first day a bike ride over to 7 Tisch Wald with very good friends Gill and Wolfgang and a stop at the very friendly Gasthouse of course complete with Oom-Pa-Paa band.

Clear river in Fussen

 

Friedberg with old friends Nandl and Gisela in their excellent Gasthouse Der Zieglerbrau

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Spring in Ireland

Lisa at Ardgroom Stone Circle

Limenagh Castle, Kilfenora

The Burren

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Aidan on his charity bike ride for Nepal street children
 

 It has been a rainy Spring and early Summer here in the south west of Ireland but have had quite a few visitors and we had fun.  Here's a few pics of the countryside in its green glory.  This last one is at the Megaliths in Waterville at the Solstice Feile na Greine

Farewell to Kathmandu

Time to leave Nepal for home. Goodbye to lovely, kind people here. In the first picture are the owners of the hotel Tashi Deli as we had breakfast before I left for the airport. They are so hospitable and the hotel is most reasonable, I had a lovely room for only 6 euros/night.

St Patrick's Night Kathmandu

Fun with a few Irish people in Celtic Pub on St Pat's Day here in Kathmandu

NEPALESE

OBSERVATIONS OF NEPALESE WAYS

While in Pokhara the balcony of my room was overlooking a tiny Nepalese household, at least it looked tiny consisting of a very small hut and two sheds. One of them may have been the toilet.

I was awakened every morning around 6 am by the sound of the woman of the house already splitting wood for the little fire that she started. Like all Nepali she could squat down for hours while working, blowing on the fire to get it going, inserting long pieces of wood to lift her pot up when it was boiling too much etc. She carried out about six pots, lids and ladles and started pounding with a brick on whatever she was preparing to cook. Somehow she prepared food in all six pots although she had to keep rotating them since she had only one fire.

Gradually more women would arrive and some had small children while school children in their uniforms would get their plates filled and they would squat down to eat a full plateful before going to school. A few men would drift over too and all would eat from the never ending food in the pots – where did they all sleep? In that one room? Washing themselves seemed to be from a big barrel in the yard that held water possibly since the last monsoon. That garden is in picture one.

After the meal big basins were filled with the clothes that needed to be washed and this was again done squatting. What a huge amount of labour and time has to be put in to this way of living although I only saw everyone wearing the same clothes the whole week so I suppose the washing is not too much. Despite the time needed for the necessities of life most people seem to spend hours just sitting or squatting in the open. There one can get the rays of the sun and the light which is scant indoors in their tiny dark room mainly having only 4 hours of electricity in the day and the rest during sleeping hours.

The children here are great. They wear spotless uniforms to school and all ages, from tiny to adult, go around with their arms around each other or holding hands. They laugh a lot and sing to themselves. Even tiny children, with their parents, will smile when they meet a foreigner. The main impression I have of the Nepali people is of their kindness and courtesy