Gig's Last Week In Chiang Mai

Here are photos I took during my final week in Thailand, saying good-bye to Trudi, Don, folks at ThaiThai Coffee, Gade at Ellibum's, friends at the AUA Library and the Sunday Market.



Since our return home, things have not been well in Thailand due to political unrest. Our friends there say not to worry and, to be frank, the only thing I really worry about is how this bad publicity impacts the economic health of the country and the people. It would be difficult to describe the politics of Thailand in even a long email - there is complexity due to a combination of the influence of the King, the volatile and mercurial political parties, long-held tradition and Bhuddism.
But I believe the good people there will prevail.

Jim's Last Walkabout in Thailand

Chinese shipping at Chiang Saen

Mar 21, 2009
After I returned to Maine, Jim hitched to the small historical town of Chiang Saen, one of his favorite Thai towns, which is a major port for trade between China and Thailand. It lies along the south bank of the Mae Khong in the Golden Triangle, so many tourists go there. He went there at the end of March during his walk-about in northern Thailand before heading home.

Chiang Khong is another charming small town on the Mae Khong. Many tourists come here to cross the river to Laos. It's another one of his favorite places in Thailand.

March 28, 2009
Jim wrote, "On one of my last nights in Thailand, I was invited to a graduation/birthday party by some of my Thai friends. There was plenty of food and drink. About 30 friends and family were there. Good time had by all.

Batik Chronicles

Here are photos taken in the Batik Factories.

Tina writes to us:
While in Malaysia I became fascinated with the batik technique. I took a four-day class in Melaka to learn the canting style, which is drawing designs by hand using a wax filled pen and then painting the fabric with dye.

The other traditional batik process uses caps (pronounced chops) dipped in wax and pressed onto the fabric. The fabric is stamped, dyed, stamped again, then dyed again, and repeated for each color. Once the capping and dying is finished, the colors are set, then the fabric is boiled to remove the wax. It's an amazing process that requires several days to complete one piece.

It was difficult to find the small traditional batik factories. But once I found one place, I could get information and directions to another shop. Din was a big help and knew every batik shop within his kampung (village).

Tina in Malaysia

Tina spent a few months traveling in Thailand, Malaysia (where we reconnected) and Sumatra. These are pictures from Bangkok and Malaysia.


She wrote:
I was unable to fly south when the Bangkok airport was closed, so hung around the city for awhile before finally catching the train to Butterworth, on the mainland across from Penang in Malaysia.


From there in Georgetown, I went to Sumatra for a visit, then back to Malaysia to visit the Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, and Taiping, before going to Georgetown again to meet Rod. From Penang, we traveled to Pangkor Island before Rod headed back to Thailand and I continued south to Melaka.



The next set of pics, is from Kuala Lumpur and the east coast.

These photos are great!

Tri Gong Cooling System

Tri Gong Residence
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Mar 12, 2009


Jim writes:

Instead of air conditioning, some places in Chiang Mai use mist to cool the air. [It works well, but I have to put the laptop away.] Here's a great little video (set to Thai music) of the special cooling system used at Tri Gong. I stop at Tri Gong almost every day to get on-line. Gig and I stayed here for a several days a few years ago. The owner, Adam, has graciously invited us to come back anytime to visit, watch sports on his satellite tv system, or use the wifi service.




This is a "superior" room at TriGong for under $30.




This is a bit simpler "standard" room and is $20. Both come with private bath, satellite tv, apartment-sized refridgerator, terrace, phone, etc.

http://www.trigong.com/

Korean/American BBQ

Korean Culture Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand - Mar 13, 2009




Jim goes often to the Korean Culture Center to swap ideas wth the Director, use wifi and, recently, to teach a Korean student English who he meets three times a week for six hours.

He writes:
Thursday, I asked the Director of KCC, Hoon, about using the large Char Broil gas grill. He said sure and then suggested the next day at 12:30. I just wanted to use it to cook a meal for myself, but he had other [bigger] plans and it turned into a big deal. He marked on a board in the office: Friday, James "American BBQ style" show 12:30PM. He jokingly remarked it would be a cooking class. That night, I biked to a market, bought a hunk of pork, some boneless chicken, and a few potatoes. Then took the meat to KCC, stored it in their fridge with marinade. On Fri, after my tutoring session, I headed for the kitchen. The staff joined forces with me to put out an American/Korean feast. While I was grilling, Hoon made sure his cook was watching over my shoulder. We had a party of twelve, including Hoon, his staff, his wife, Suk, Hoon's mother, my Korean student, Sun, and me. Besides potatoes and grilled meat, we had stir fried veggies, a special Korean soup, fresh lettuce, kimchi, and some Korean condiments.

Visit to Bpai

Jim writes on March 8, 2009:

Daeng and Sam and I left Chiang Mai at 4AM. Arrived Pai 3 hours later at 7AM, just in time for Daeng to give food to monks as they roam the town at dawn for alms. We walked around Pai and visited several wats, a Chinese village, and a waterfall but skipped the hot springs this time. Town feels more like a hippie colony [than a tourist trap but plenty of Thai tourists, too.] Arrived back in CM at 5PM the same day. Stopped at Sam's office on the edge of the city and then went out for dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant.

I didn't take many scenic photos in Pai, but you can get a good idea of what the town is like at this site taken by a fellow traveler who wrote:

"Having spent only a couple of days in Pai (pronounced Bye) this small town in northern Thailand is starting to feel very comfortable. I can understand why some people end up staying here for weeks on end. I'm about 20km from the Myanmar border and the surrounding scenery consists of the lushest green mountains I have seen so far in Thailand. When cycling around yesterday there were postcard scenes almost everywhere I looked on the horizon. The temperature is quite mild and the local people are friendly (perhaps too friendly as they keep trying to sell you cannabis). The town is big enough to support plenty of farang (westerners) but [tourism] does not seem to be the axis of income, so fortunately you are not asked if you want to go on a trek by every other person you meet."