#2023, Tuesday, January 30: Gone again

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- 7 years and 30 days since I started this blog -

At Thapae East Club, Chiang Mai, Thailand

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What a month, January.

It began with a trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand and ends with my birthday, and a drive to Cary, North Carolina - a stop on the way to Wilbur-by-the-Sea, Florida.

My time in Florida bookends a visit to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

I will leave first thing tomorrow (January 31). I'll be back March 1.

Between now and then, this blog will be on hiatus.

Maybe.

I won't have a scale, so there will be no blogging weight-related stuff, but I might feel the urge to write - in which case there will be something like the Chiang Mai posts. I don't imagine that will happen daily.

Whatever I do, it will be for fun. And friendship. 

Worst case, I'll be back to you from home with a March 2nd update.

What a life! I am so grateful!

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                      199.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (1/29/18):           198.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       + 1.0 lbs.

  Diet Comment

Despite the weekend's festivities, I managed a loss. Quite a bit of that is due to terrible sleep patterns as I readjust to life twelve hours back from Chiang Mai.

Food Log

Breakfast 
4:35pm: Green omelet: Eggs, spinach, kale, onions, prosciutto and parmesan cheese. With fresh salsa.

Lunch
7:00pm, at Limp Lizard (Birthday dinner): Cowboy Salad (Pork on field greens, our black bean salad, onions, tomatoes, cheese, Southwest Ranch dressing and a fresh squeeze of lime juice). Chocolate cheesecake for dessert (no candle).

Dinner
12:15am: A Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 12 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 54+ oz.;  

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#2022, Monday, January 29: Happy birthday to me

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- 7 years and 29 days since I started this blog -

At Thapae East Club, Chiang Mai, Thailand

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Today is the sixty-eighth anniversary of my birth.

I'm glad that happened.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                      198.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (1/26/18):           199.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       - 1.9 lbs.

  Diet Comment

Despite the weekend's festivities, I managed a loss. Quite a bit of that is due to terrible sleep patterns as I readjust to life twelve hours back from Chiang Mai.

Food Log

Breakfast 
6:35pm: Lox, eggs and onions.

Lunch
6:30pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
12:45am: Cauliflower and beef casserole (cauliflower, kale, spinach, ground beef, Wegman's 'Grandpa' spaghetti sauce, chia and hemp seeds, shaved parmesan).

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.;  

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#2021, Friday, January 26

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Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                      199.8 lbs.

Previous Weight (1/25/18):           197.7 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       + 2.1 lbs.

  Diet Comment

I am not at all surprised that resuming normal eating has led to a dramatic one-day weight gain. I was expecting it, and a bit surprised that it took this long to show up. I suspect it has a lot to do with my carb-heavy late dinner, and I'll be fixing that today.

Food Log

Breakfast 
4:35pm: Lox, prosciutto, eggs and onion.

Lunch
6:30pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
12:45am, at Denny's: An Ultimate omelet (crumbled sausage, bacon, fire-roasted bell peppers and onions, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and Swiss cheese) with dry rye toast and hash browns.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 24 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 56+ oz.;  

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#2020, Thursday, January 25

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- 7 years and 25 days since I started this blog -

Food and Diet 

2017 Weight chart (will be used until there are enough data points in 2018)

Today's Weight:                      197.7 lbs.

Previous Weight (1/24/18):           198.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       - 1.1 lbs.

  Diet Comment

I did not expect to lose weight. I am expecting a weight gain as I return to normal eating and a 'normal' schedule - in both cases, I'm talking about normal for me.

Food Log

Breakfast 
4:05pm: A Quest bar.

Lunch
6:30pm: Lox, eggs and onions with a chopped salad (kale, spinach, cabbage, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, balsamic vinaigrette).

Dinner
12:45am: Broccoli with dal tadka (lentil curry), with walnuts and cottage cheese.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.;  

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#2019, Wednesday, January 24: Back home, for a little while

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First day back from my trip, and I was fairly wasted.

I actually got back yesterday morning, around ten. I fell asleep almost the minute I got home, and was in and out of sleep until around six in the morning today.

I spent the day largely taking care of the gig emergency caused by finding out the gig we had booked on Saturday was canceled. It was the booker's mistake, and he was sorry, and found an alternate place to play... For the door. And only a couple of days to get the word out. Oh, well - that's how it goes, and at least we were able to play a show. Not having anything else, that would have sucked.

There was supposed to be a rehearsal of Scuba Gear tonight, but Tami had overbooked herself and canceled the rehearsal. Not what I wanted, but what I needed. More lying around.

My trip was wonderful.

Now I'm home, but just for a week - next Tuesday I'll be on my way on a February-long road trip stopping in Cary, North Carolina, then a week or so in Wilbur-on-the-Sea, Florida, then on to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

Then repeat, in reverse. Back home approximately March first.

Whew!

What a life! I am just so grateful!

Food and Diet 

2017 Weight chart (will be used until there are enough data points in 2018)

Today's Weight:                      198.8 lbs.

Previous Weight (1/2/18):            199.7 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                       - 0.9 lbs.

  Diet Comment

I am a little surprised that I didn't gain at least some weight during my trip to Thailand. I ate off-plan every day. So much more carb-heavy food, and far less vegetables overall. There were times, for certain, when I overate. I also frequently had a snack of chocolate before bed. By everything I know about controlling my weight, I should have gained. The one mitigating factor was that I ate less often, only twice a day, sometimes only once. But the quantity of food was huge. Go figure!

Food Log

Breakfast 
4:00pm: Green-purple protein smoothie with coconut-almond milk, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, whey powder (24g protein), coconut oil, hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, celery, cinnamon, turmeric, vanilla extract, Dr. Gundry's Vital Reds and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch
8:20pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
12:65am: Dubliner cheese with pepperoni. Carrots and home-made mayonnaise.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.;  

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#2018, Sunday, January 21: Finale

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- 7 years and 21 days since I started this blog -

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So, this is the end of the trip. As I write this, I'm about five hours away from catching a cab to the airport.

I'll be leaving from the Marlboro - after Tikky Cafe, my favorite hang. Some friends of mine are going to see me off from there. That will end my visit on a high note.

I write these posts the day after, but decided to start with a look-ahead.

After my massage, I headed out to a highly recommended vegetarian coffee house to edit pictures and write. It was so comfortable and the food, once again, was excellent. I had a mushroom, tomato and cheese omelet some made-there artisinal toast with sweet cream butter.

I hung out there into the afternoon, then met up at the Sunday Night Market with some friends. A selfie was posted.

What a good hang. We stepped back from the crowds at a convenient cafe, and it was the friendliest experience. We quickly had conversations with a British expat teacher, an Australian consultant auditing elephant sanctuaries, a group of Brits on extended holiday. English speakers tend to congregate, and the conversation is easy.

There isn't any way to visit the Sunday Market and not see fascinating stuff, and I did. I seemed to encounter more musicians this time than last, and I'm a sucker for that, and the street food here.

We hung, we laughed, we walked around, took pictures and bought a little food.

I finished the night at the Marlboro, and, except for the last massage I had today, this last visit to Tikky Cafe (where I am write now) and a final, last hurrah back at the Marlboro, that's the end of the trip.

I am not going to summarize the trip now. I will digest the experience.

I've left a lot undone, unseen. A lot not experienced. I will come back for that. Next time, for longer.

Everybody here wants to know when I'll be back. The best I can say is I'll let you know when I know. I'm grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, everything that has led me to be where I am, right now. I'm optimistic by nature - I believe I'll come back to Chiang Mai.

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#2017, Saturday, January 20: Wat Chedi Leung

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- 7 years and 20 days since I started this blog -

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Wat Chedi Leung is the biggest temple in Chiang Mai's Old City. It is also hosts a daily monk chat, where novice Buddhist monks practice their English with visitors, asking and answering questions.

That was my motivation for going. To speak to someone who had given up the comfort of family and friends to walk the Path.

The monk at the table I was led to spoke English pretty clearly, but had difficulty expressing himself, and real problems with comprehension. All the other English-speakers at the table were British. My NY accent was really a problem. He never understood a thing I said - but he didn't do much better with the Brits.

One couple at the table, who were, as they put it, 'seekers', seemed frustrated with not having their questions understood. (It's never a good idea to show frustration or annoyance in Thailand - the Thai think you're embarrassing yourself). One woman, originally from Croatia, who had taught herself English when she emigrated to London, was best able to put questions to him, although she was no better than anybody else understanding the answers. From her speaking with him, we learned that he had taught himself English by watching CNN on his phone.

As commendable as I found that, it was all the information I had gleaned in twenty minutes, and it seemed like a good point in the conversation to make an exit. Which I did with a smile and a bow. I wasn't frustrated, although I was a little disappointed - that's what expectations will do.

Which gave me time to explore the grounds of the wat at my leisure.

The wat is a major attraction for tourists, locals, visiting Buddhists. But tourists (Europeans) go in a separate gate and pay a (very low) admission fee. Once inside, lost of opportunities for donations - this is an active Buddhist monastery, and Buddhist monks (here and everywhere) depend on charity to keep going.

I had paid my admission and gone straight off looking for the monk chat, now it was time to join the throng and explore the three temples united in one.

The ancient stupa, build over almost a centuries time beginning in the 14th century, was once the tallest Buddhist temple in the world. It partially collapsed in an earthquake, and many of the treasures, including the Emerald Buddha, were moved to other locations for safety.

Centuries later, three temples built around the stupa were incorporated into one, and that is how it is now.

The craftsmanship and artistry on display inside and outside can't be properly conveyed by pictures. That didn't stop me from taking gobs of shots. I cannot articulate the feeling of encountering this work, the intricate handiwork of many thousands of anonymous artisans, craftsmen and laborers. Layer upon layer of beauty, each new perspective revealing more.

I spent the rest of the afternoon there, taking some time to get in some meditation of my own, amidst the clanging of prayer bells and gongs.

Later that night, I went to an upscale "Thai-Fusion" restaurant and had my mind completely blown. Again. I will be very amazed if I ever visit any place, ever, where I can eat better than here. The only place I have ever been where good, well-prepared food was so available is New Orleans, but there is a better variety of food in Chiang Mai, much less expensive, and even more accessible.

New Orleans is still my favorite place in the US. Hell, it's my favorite place in North America. I'm going to go there for Mardi Gras in a few weeks, so things should still be fresh in my mind for comparison, but now I'm here.

The ambience, eating on the patio at Ginger and Kafe, is dreamy and comfortable. The lighting is soft. The service, beyond reproach.

My dish, whose translation is 'fresh salmon tartare, with Thai herbs and spiced sauce', is an incredible dish, where the complexity of tastes and textures blends in the mouth to create a new and different flavor, as the textures are chewed out. Since this restaurant has a reputation for a good khao soi, that is my next dish. It is good, the best of the four different ones I've tried since I got here.

The Thai carrot cake I order for dessert (with coffee - I like the coffee here) is great but a disappointment - because I don't get the Thai in it. It is just extraordinarily good carrot cake. Good eating, absolutely - but my hope for the exotic was crushed - that's what expectations do.

It was a short walk to the Marlboro, where I caught up with friends I've made here, and spent the rest of the night grateful for one more day of amazing new experiences.

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#2016, Friday, January 19: More random thoughts

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- 7 years and 19 days since I started this blog -

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• Short schedule today, as I had an upset stomach from the time I woke up.
• Every two weeks, the Chiang Mai Expat Club has a breakfast at River Market, It was the first meal I had in Chiang Mai, and the members I spoke with were very helpful in getting me set for my visit here. Today I went back, mainly because the $10 breakfast buffet is the best I had, anywhere. I sat at the Newbie table again, and spoke with some very nice people. In fact, I spoke to a lot of people. Come to find out, somebody told them I was the 'assigned' member of the CEC to their table. Amazingly, everybody I spoke to seemed happy with the information I gave them, thinking it was expert. I just have that kind of face, I guess...
•  I've pretty much done my tourist thing with my day with the elephants. Thinking of it, I thought, how much can you learn about living in a place by seeing it's sights? You couldn't learn anything about living in my birthplace, New York City, by visiting the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.
• The contrast in Chiang Mai between the venerated old buildings, the modern new buildings, and the structures that have fallen victim to neglect and abandonment is striking, and visible everywhere in the city.
• During my time here, I have been blessed with spectacular good weather. It never rained (something I was prepared for, so, of course!). The temperatures have been mild and comfortable, from the high 60s to the low 80s, and mostly in the low-to-mid 70s. 
• My masseuse, Sukkanot, is a very amusing woman. She can be playful, but when it comes to massage, she is serious business; Every knot, all resistance she feels causes her normal, slight smile to turn into a slight frown. She takes it personally. She also does most of her kneading and poking with her eyes closed, the better to concentrate on what she is feeling under her hands (and forearms, elbows, knees and feet -all of which she uses to attack my old, knotty muscles. Every time I wince or grunt, she giggles.
• I can now safely say that Chiang Mai, like most old cities, has a severe traffic problem. I have spent a lot of time in traffic here. Enough to never want to drive, and to wonder how Uber drivers make ends meet, with the cost of gas and the ridiculously low money Uber charges for my trips.
• I really thought I would spend more time at the lovely Buddhist temples here. My Self-identification as a Buddhist is one of the things that made Thailand attractive to me. But it has not been a factor this visit, at all. Maybe because I didn't come here seeking anything. Go figure.
• The eggs here are better than any I've ever had, anywhere. Deep orange yolks from chickens having to scratch for their food, not being force-fed grains. So much of the food is prepared in front of you that you can't help notice when the quality of an ingredient stands out. And, yes, delicious.
• The music scene here is great, but not as good as Syracuse's.
• I haven't been tempted to cook here. The food is so good, so available, so cheap. Most days, I don't spend even $12 on food. The most expensive meal I had was at Rajdarbar Indian Restaurant, the best meal I've had in Chiang Mai, and that included five dishes, a beer and a bottle of water - not including tip, $18.
• One mistake I made was renting my condo for the duration of my stay. Nothing wrong with it, from a physical point of view - it is the perfect size for me. But it isn't well-located for my purposes. I have at least a 10-minute drive to anywhere I've gone from here, and the nearby restaurants haven't been up to the quality of the ones I've eaten at in the Old City.
• There are lots of European expats here - probably, as a whole, they are the biggest expat presence here. Australians second. Americans least. That's attractive, too, as it is a big contribution to the cosmopolitan feel of the city.
• U, an excellent Thai drummer I've gotten a chance to play with a few times, told me how I should have played a song last night. Some things don't change with location: I'm always being bossed around by drummers. They're usually, but not always, right.
• Speaking of playing, I was stopped on the street by a French couple who complemented me on a performance they saw here. They were quite specific about what they liked: You have so much fun playing, you are so into it. Can't hide my addiction, or the joy it gives me.
• Nothing I have seen on this trip disqualifies Chiang Mai as a future home, but this taste hasn't determined anything. There are four or five other places on my list, and, unless one of them stops me in my tracks and makes me not want to leave, they must all be checked out, with longer - 90 day - visits. I don't consider this trip definitive. I' will come back to Chiang Mai.
• That being said, I'm really grateful for another few days in Chiang Mai.

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#2015, Thursday, January 18: Another ordinary, but great, day

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There's nothing new to report today. I got a massage, then went to Tikky Cafe. I went to The Edge open mic, and the one at the Riverside Bar. I was the only bass player at The Edge, so played for about two hours. A small percentage of that was good playing.

The Riverside was another story. I got up and played the last four numbers of the night, with very good musicians, and the crowd got very into it, Oh, yeah, and I took my first and last bass solo of the year, but I got to hang a bit with many good friends by way of compensation.

And I'm thinking, this is living. How do I know? It reminds of home.

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#2014, Tuesday, January 16: Nothing new, nothing bad

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Short and sweet today because, as I write this, I'm getting ready for Elephant Day.

And also because this was what passes for an ordinary day for me here: I ate, I played. No drama from Uber.

The day saw spent first at Tikky Cafe, where I hung for a good long time (see yesterday's post), same today. Then, I went out to dinner and to play.

This time the playing was at the North Gate Jazz Co-op, a small club I'd been to before. Tonight, the jazz was hot, and when open mic started, I was able to contribute. Everybody seemed to have a good time, the drummer on my set was fantastic, got the feel perfectly and really had a good time. An Aussie here in Chiang Mai for six years.

So, I ate I played.

I've got to catch a ride to the Elephant Sanctuary now.

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#2013, Wednesday, January 17: Elephant Day

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There wasn't time to get to Tikky Cafe after my massage, so I stepped into the nearest coffee shop, did yesterday's quick rehash, and went to the lobby to wait for my guide From Lanna Country Elephant Sanctuary to pick me up.

On the dot, my guide, Alex (he seemed to really like that I told him my son was also named Alex) showed up, put my backpack in the back of the SUV, and drove to two very swanky hotels to pick up two couples, one from Switzerland, one from San Diego.

Alex speaks good English, tells us he's never been out of Thailand. He is a good driver, Thai style: He tailgates, like everybody else, and, like everybody else, seems inured to the possible consequences. Riding shotgun, I reflect again on how this Thai attitude would be beneficial for me to get used to... while I'm in Thailand.

It's nearly a two-hour drive into the mountains to the North of Chiang Mai. Once we clear the downtown area, we hit suburbs, then countryside. there's pretty agricultural views, with the always hazy mountains in the background.

Just before we hit the mountains, the terrain turns to jungle, and that is what we'll see, more or less, the entire rest of the ride, until we get to the sanctuary. By jungle, I mean old Hollywood movie jungle back-lot jungle.

It looks familiar!

We get to the public part of the Sanctuary. It, too, looks like a clearing in the jungle, although with tourist amenities. We are led to the shower-changing area, are given traditional Lanna pants and shirts to change into.Lanna is the North Thailand regional identity - the Lanna were the rulers of the united North and South Siam, for about four hundred years, and the capital was Chiang Mai. We are also given traditional Lanna straw hats, which just look like sombreros to me.

We've been forewarned we're going to get wet and dirty and both.

A short lecture on the work of the Sanctuary association of which this is part during which, the cost of elephant care is explained. It is crazy expensive. At the end of the lecture, I make a mental note to put a contribution in the present-but-never-pointed-to donation box.

And then, we meet our elephants. There's one for each of us, although everybody immediately wants the too-cute-for-words, attention- and play-loving five-year-old baby.

These are Asian elephants, naturally. They're all smaller than African elephants, but the three bulls are still impressively massive. They're all in their late thirties. The female, who is nine months into a two-year pregnancy, takes a shine to me - she's going to be mine (although it is tacitly understood that we are not exclusive. I sing 'Billy Jean' to her. I don't think she understands, my English, but she doesn't seem to mind, either.

Each elephant has a dedicated mahout, a caretaker/companion who quite literally dedicates himself (I'm not sure there are female mahouts - there weren't any present today), and they love their charges, a good thing, since they spend all their time - eighteen hours a day, I'm told, together. I am not overstating the relationship - you can feel the love between them when they play together, and respond to each other. The communication and rapport is clearly present.

The mahouts speak no English, but communicate through example and gesture, at each step of the way, not only demonstrating the task (we're substitute mahouts for the tour), but also the attitude - pure playfulness.

Our first stop is a ,feeding station for corn and cane. We're up close, petting the elephant, talking to the elephant. This I believe, is entirely meant to get us used to the elephants - they, from what I could tell, are pretty nonchalant about the whole thing.

Next, we're going to feed them. We are taught a few Lanna-elephant words. The ones I remember are bone and howt (my English-equivalent spelling), which mean, respectively, 'trunk up, open wide' and 'Stop!'. At my age, I have to be frugal with my memory cells, so those important ones are all I retained. Two out of three ain't bad.

Next, the elephants and us are getting a mud bath. Which means, that I'm going to get in a mud hole up to my butt. With elephants. And the elephants have expectations. mainly, they expect you're there to play. Their rules. Immediately, it's elephant vs. tourist, and mahouts against everybody. Mud is slung. For my part, mud is rubbed all over my elephant.

It is not lost on me that the mud I am covered in is a certain unknown percentage elephant shit. They're big babies, they eat, shit, and play with tourists, often all at the same time. So I know. I don't care. I'm having fun like a nin-year-old, which is probably the last time I had anything fun and voluntary to do with mud.

We're all getting along well, elephants, tourists, mahouts, and then we all go into the not-mud-hole hole - I guess you might call it the swimming hole, to clean up and have more fun. This time we're armed with buckets and brushes, and our job is to get all mud off, and don't mind that both elephants and mahouts are continually splashing you.

I can't really pretend to be cool about this. It's fun. That's what this is about. Whatever else I thought when I booked this time, It isn't that. It's just simple, childish fun. I can roll with that.

Next is skin-conditioning. We're given buckets full of sweet-herb-smelling water, with some of the ingredients still floating in it, and rags, and the elephants gallop out of their bath water and allow us to paint them with this. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Tom Sawyer painting the fence type stuff, but I'm fully bought in, and now it's all fun.

Last stop of the day: Make and deliver elephant treats. This consists of combining tar-like tamarind paste with chopped up sugar cane and bananas. I use the pestle as a hammer on the knife to chop the cane, which is very tough,but provides important fiber and digestive enzymes, as does the tamarind paste. After turning the ingredients to a sticky mush, you get dirty all over again hand-shaping the treat into softball-sized snacks.

The elephants know the drill, and come galloping in. Junior comes straight up to me, playfully kisses my beard with his trunk, so he gets my snack stright in the back of his mouth (this is how we were told to feed this to them, so it doesn't fall apart on the ground when they try to chew it).

Then, its time to hit the showers and get back into dry, clean clothes. And photo review.

It is a major disappointment that, for reasons I will never know, none of the pictures taken by the guide for me with my phone are on my phone. I saw him take them, but when I go to review, there's nothing. 

Well, it's done, and nothing to do about it, I take a few selfies with my elephant, and, on the drive back, try to retell the story to myself, to imprint the memory, because that's all I have. 

And that's all right. It's enough. Things happen, even without a photo.

Later, on a tip from a friend who'd been here forty years ago, I go to a highly rated Indian restaurant, and have the best Indian food of my life, and possibly the best meal since I hit Thailand. It wasn't as inexpensive as the Thai food I've been eating (or anything else - it was the most expensive meal of the trip - around $18). I couldn't stop eating it. I thought about taking some home, that I should take it home, but couldn't stop eating. Ambiance, service. food - all first rate. Sorry, Tikky Cafe, I love you, but you just became my second favorite restaurant in Chiang Mai, at least while the memory is still fresh.

I ended the night at the Marlboro, and after a few beers was totally beat. In hindsight, the elephant trip is the single most tourist thing I've done, and seems, now, to be an outlying, atypical experience, a stand-alone event. I'm glad I did it, whatever the relevance.

I can barely get out of my clothes with tiredness, and fall asleep thinking about the joy of reclaiming a child-like joy, of the so-temporary connection I had with a remarkable animal. Nothing but gratitude for my life.

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#2012, Monday, January 15:

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The best place to begin this day is at Tikky Cafe, my adopted office, since the wi-fi in my apartment has been spotty, frustrating, and obstructive. I'm so grateful. It's much better to grab an Americano here to start the day, then do computer stuff with quick wi-fi. You can't imagine how writing this on my Thai phone would change my writing. I'd reduce this narrative to a tweet.

Breakfast, by the way, consists of an omelet (really just seasoned scrambled eggs in omelet form) and brown rice (which is seasoned and sautéed white rice).

It's immediately followed by lunch, which is me working my way through the menu here. Lunch is topped off by a fresh fruit smoothie. I write this between bites, describing the previous day's activities and current thinking.

This particular day, I'm getting together with David and Scott to rehearse for a performance at Boy Blues Bar, ground zero for my and the music scene here.

It turns out to be a thing you can do here: There is a local music store that has a few well-equipped practice studios, which you can rent for less than $7 an hour. Another good idea from Dave, who has been so helpful introducing me to this city.

The rehearsal studio is about 12x15', well-equipped, and sounds very good. The rehearsal itself is fun. I'd like to play longer, but we can only do an hour, everybody has something to do after. Everybody but me, so I go back to the Tikky Cafe and hang for a bit, editing pictures before going back to the condo.

The return to the condo is done in rush hour. This sucks for the driver, because the rush hour in Chiang Mai is as intense as in any city I've been in, and I was raised in New York, NY. The scale is different but it's bad. The route I was taking is usually ten-to-twelve minutes. This trip takes more than half an hour.

Given the anarchy on the roads that is driving in Chiang Mai, I am a little surprised, and impressed, that I haven't seen any traffic accidents at all. Not that I'm planning on driving here any time soon, but I haven't been in a situation where, on foot or in a car, I've felt unsafe. That includes dark alleys late at night, crossing the street in heavy traffic (pedestrians do not have right of way) or riding in a car amidst the pacifist, compassionate insanity that is driving in Chiang Mai .

My take-away: Thai drivers give near-misses a free pass. They don't concern themselves with what might have happened if they or someone else steered an inch the other way. It didn't happen, and it won't happen the next ten times in the next half-hour.

I find myself sympathetic. Especially since I'm just a pedestrian or a passenger. But I don't like to think about what might have been - that's a recipe for anxiety and/or depression.

Since the Boy Blues Bar is at the Night Market, I ate there. I decided on an Indian place in the market, and had garlic naan, paratha, seafood biriani, curried vegetables, and cool coconut water straight from the shell. Cost? Under $5, and it was excellent.

At Boy Blues, same pre-open mic band as the week before, doing a good job of some Pink Floyd, all the players impressive. This week, by the time they're finished, the place is packed, and they get a good round of applause, proper appreciation.

The open mic starts with a set by Boy and the house band. Boy is a highly charismatic player, and his band is tight. Some good jump blues, an R&B tune. Boy also runs the open mic smoothly, keeping everything together in his head. So he's smart and a charismatic performer.

After boy does a couple of numbers, he puts on the open mic performer, a soloist, then comes over and tells us we're next. Once we start plugging in, he tells us that because there are a lot of players and a big audience, he is going to limit each act to two songs.

I make the call which two, and we perform them and are very well-received.

I stay up and provide bass for the next few performers and that's my night right there.

After I sit back down, a few of the Thai musicians greet me, make me feel like I did well. I'm happy - the day provided a good amount of playing, and none of it wasn't fun.

I went home, and was asleep before I knew it. Another day in Chiang Mai to be grateful for.

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#2011, Sunday, January 14: Overwhelming Sunday night

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Post 2011
- 7 years and 14 days since I started this blog -

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Chiang Mai is a cosmopolitan city. Lots oi international flavor here. Every day that I've been here, I've spoken with people from Europe, Australia, and other Asian countries besides local Thais.

I assume there are some people here with the kind of life issues that make them hostile, and that there are some people who are prejudiced against other people, but I haven't met them. Everyone I met has been (or seemed to me) happy to be here, and friendly. People smile when they speak with me.

Thai culture has a social norm that discourages conflict between people. Thais don't raise their voices in social situations. If you do, they are embarrassed, not for themselves, but for you. Saving face is important, and that means you don't behave badly towards others in social situations, nor do you .

I mention this because as I went out to an advertised open mic/special lunch, I felt... tested. First, my Uber driver got lost picking me up, so instead of waiting five minutes I had to wait fifteen. OK - I already know that being in any foreign country, being impatient gets you nowhere, and my own ADHD has taught me over the years to be patient whether it feels good or not. Once in the car, it doesn't matter any more how long you waited. Move on.

My driver got lost on the way to our destination, and I had to offer encouragement and navigation support to finally get dropped off at Poppa Rock, which was in a part of the city new to me. Well, I guess that's how you learn your way around.

On the other hand, these little problems with Uber and its drivers are getting old.

I had been forwarded an ad and a FaceBook page for what Poppa Rock called their "Sunday Sesh": A roast dinner beginning at Noon, an open mic beginning at 2, followed by bands from 4 to 7. Not knowing whether the place would be crowded for what seemed like a bargain special meal and a long schedule of music, I had tried to get there early in the proceedings. My goal was to get there at 12:30pm, but I got there at 1. The '12-minute' ride had taken about 50 minutes. So it goes.

I was given friendly, if not exactly prompt, service, at a table in front of the stage. Poppa Rock is a British pub and a hangout for British expats. It is run by Thai. Once I ordered (patience!) the pork roast special, price marked down to 175 Bhat Sunday only, according to the ad, .

Two o'clock rolled around and there was no sign of musicians. In fact, since I was enjoying the juke, and the meal, and I wasn't the only one waiting, I just hung out.

At around 3:30, and post-meal bears in, the first of the musicians came in. Just before the start of the set, the bass player and guitarist came in. I recognized both of them. The band started playing before I even had a chance say, "Hello." Nods of recognition were it.

It was two hours late, and I'd been charged regular price for my meal, not the discount I was expecting, but no sweat: The set was great, really interesting: a kind of swamp-rock/jazz fusion groove that was pretty effective at communicating some some rock classics, and gave plenty of time for the musicians to stretch. Then I got up and backed some more conventional classic rock. Once again, I found myself on stage with good musicians, happy to be making good music. Grateful that it turned out well.

Last week, I completely missed the Sunday Night Walking Market, mistaking it for the (regular) Night Market that happens, obvious to everyone but me, in a different place.

When I say obvious to everyone but me, I mean everyone in Chiang Mai but me. Because the Sunday Night Market is huge. And crowded. It happens on one of the main streets and extends for block after block on that street, and all the cross-streets. And it is shoulder-to-shoulder, mosh-pit packed with people. It isn't something for tourists, either, because I believe half of Chiang Mai was there, and Euro tourists were a fraction of the shoppers.

I wasn't shopping though, except as in window-shopping. I have zero extra room in my suitcase to bring anything extra back, having already exceeded capacity with the pants and shirts I bought when my luggage was delayed.

I wasn't there to shop. I was there to soak up the atmosphere, check out the unusual, the interesting, the odd, the intriguing. These I found in abundance, while threading my way through the throng. Pictures I took don't come close to doing the scene justice. There was a whole street lined with two rows of reclining chairs, and what seemed like hundreds of people getting a foot massage. The Thai are serious about massage, man.

There were many street performers. Clowns, musicians, novelty hawkers, contributing to the din. There were many temples within the bounds of the Market - I stopped at one, took off my shoes, picked out my offering (for free, not for sale) and took a moment while I thought about where I was and what I was doing. I just spent that moment checking out my own feelings and thoughts, mindful of the sounds and scents around me, and then letting go of the external stimuli for a few seconds.

Prominent among the scents was the warm smell of cooking food, the sweet smell of baked goods, food supplying the dominant aroma of the Market. So I started eating, and once I started, I couldn't stop:. A fresh pad thai for about 75 cents. A spring roll for 40 cents. A strawberry and passion fruit smoothy for under a buck. Steamed quail eggs for fifty cents. Grilled lamb satay for a buck. A water for thirty cents, khao soui with chicken (in this case, a whole chicken leg) for 2 bucks.

I needed that walk!

I arrived to find another small club where the stage took up almost half the square footage. Tiny stools and benches provided seating, and there didn't seem to be any inside, or out, where the music poured out into the warm night air freely. The same kind of seating was out on the sidewalk outside the club, at least as many as inside, and just as occupied. Standing room only, for me, until I saw my friend Dave, who had invited me, and someone near him provided a stool for me to sit close by him and Mai.

The band we were watching was playing some good progressive fusion. It was a two-guitar quartet, and they were hot. The soloists were good and the rhythm section was tight.

Then my friend Dave and his band quintet were up, backing singer Joy (I posted pictures of me and some of the same guys backing her up earlier in the week) took the stage. Joy's stage presence reminds me a lot of Janis Joplin's, in that she starts moving on the downbeat and never stops until the set is done. That was some very energetic rock'n'roll, indeed!

Again, I found the quality of the players to be very high, and when the set was over, congratulated them. I was asked when I was going to play next. That impressed me, because my style and repertoire is quite different from anything I've heard. So  it was sweet to get the approval of musicians who'd played with me or heard me perform.


I took some time to listen to another band do a set, this somewhere between the jazz of the first and rock of the second. This band, all Thai musicians, seemed to have superior instrumentalists, but the singing wasn't at the same level. I used some of the time during this set to socialize, and, along with Dave, formed a plan to rehearse some songs before my return to Boy Blues Bar's open mic tomorrow night.

I felt my day was full and complete, and headed home, grateful for the wonderful time I'm having, and tired from a day of having it.

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