An Opera Night

Every two weeks a group of us go out to a lovely home outside of the city to watch a good performance of an Opera together on a large screen.   The house belongs to Howard who loves opera and classical music.  We all bring some good food to share at the intermission.  It is always a really lovely evening.  Howard makes the dessert himself and we have that after the performance.


Howard about to serve dessert, strawberry shortcake.

after the opera

some of the buffet

Kwan's New Coffee Shop

A lovely little coffee shop opened up around the corner.  The owner is a petite Thai girl who has a son 10 years old that she is trying to support by selling inexpensive cups of coffee made on a tiny machine.  We began dropping in to try to get her going but it was quite clear that she can never make any money this way as the machine makes only 1 cup at a time and so it takes ages and she's unable to serve many customers together.  She does not have any oven so my Italian friend Concetta and I decided to borrow a toaster and show her how to make Bruscettas that she could offer with just chopped tomatoes and basil (after rubbing the toast with garlic of coarse) and how to make a Pepperonata.  We had a little cooking class and made salads with eggs, tuna and chopped chicken etc.  The neighbours came in for a taste and it was great fun.  We'll keep working on more ideas to increase the income without too much outlay:)

Concetta and I 

Kwan trying a Bruscetta

Recent Social Life.

There are always social events here in Chiang Mai - often several on the same night.  People have  free time and are in a travel status so naturally they are less inclined to stay in their hotel or guesthouse rooms.  The weather is favourable and it is possible to plan outdoor parties, fashion shows, dinners, trips on boats etc   Here's a few pics of happenings since New Year.

With Lutine at the Sunday Market

at open house Tatyana and Paul's

We Women Foundation's Silent Auction for women of Burma

Preparing surprise birthday party last night

With Concetta

Daily Happenings in Chiang Mai

People here manage to drive their bikes, tuk tuks, carts etc with the most unbelievable loads or with so many people and dogs one wonders how they balance and don't fall off.  I don't always have a camera with me when I see old ladies knitting while perched on the back of a motor bike behind her son, his wife and 2 children or calmly feeding a grand child in front of her while she holds the bowl and spoon while weaving in and out of traffic.

Couldn't upload a few good ones.  Maybe add to it later.

∂

 Above is a picture of the elderly Mother in my guesthouse.  She's so sweet and wanders around in turbans, pyjamas or her housecoat all day.  Now that the weather is too cold for her she sits in the only sunny spot at the entrance warming up every morning.

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