Please leave a comment when you visit my blog. Thank you!
Post 2008
- 7 years and 11 days since I started this blog -
- 7 years and 11 days since I started this blog -
If I lived in Chiang Mai, and this was a typical day, it would be a good day.
In fact, this could have been a very good day in Syracuse. I had a massage and visited a wat. Doing that in Syracuse would make it an extraordinary day indeed, but discounting those two activities, the rest of the day could have happened at home. That, then, is the notable thing about today: It could have been a good day in Syracuse, but it happened in Chiang Mai.
If I told you in conversation (back home), that I had a good day: Had a great breakfast, went over to a friend's house and jammed a bit, met a nice guy, excellent guitarist, then had a good dinner out, then went to an open mic, got good playing time, and then to another open mic where I also got good playing time, you could be forgiven for rolling your eyes and saying, "What do you call that? Thursday?".
Because, leaving out the massage and the temple visit, that's exactly how this day went, and it is not an unheard of day in Syracuse, either.
For the tourist fraction of me, I visited a beautiful wat that was across the street from the coffee shop where I had breakfast (Thai food). The Thais have so far provided me with excellent coffee. An Americano (my preference in cafes, internationally) is the price of a main dish, under $2, although a main dish can be cheaper. But I'm batting 1.000 for good coffee. And the food and smoothie I had after were good as well.
For all the traffic in and out of the wat, this place keeps its dignity and provides a respite that is serene, majestic and focused. At least for me. Out of respect, I've decided not to take pictures of any interiors - I want to leave that little thing outside when I enter.
After, I went out to hear my friend Dave play. I got distracted, and came an hour late, and missed him - I thought it was a regular gig, but it was a benefit, and they played last.
Dave was sitting down to some food with his girlfriend, I joined them, got an Americano, and they invited me over to their house.
At his house, Dave is nicely set up with guitars and basses at the ready. He showed me some classical guitar pieces he was working on, then we jammed on a few things I can play guitar to - he showed me a better chording on 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' and we both agreed that, while the Animals version is fun to play (and much better known), the Nina Simone version ruled. We were then joined by a guitarist he plays with in a 'gypsy' band (playing Django Reinhardt-era/style music. Great guy, and turned out to be the house guitarist at one of the open mics I was invited to.
Every time I go out I meet new people, and so far, not one negative, even neutral encounter. The food I'm getting at restaurants continues to impress. I've tried a few more things and still, since the one clunker the second day here, the eating has been great.
The fact that it is the same kind of fun I have at home is a major plus for Chiang Mai, as determining its livability is the most important reason I'm here (after the cheap airfare, anyway). Even if I consider that determination preliminary.
My airBnB host, John, picked me up and drove me to the evening's first open mic. He was friends with the club owner/drummer/house band host. John speaks some Thai, so he ordered for me at the restaurant where we went to dinner, right on the Ping River (opposite bank from previously mentioned River Market Restaurant).
It was an attractive restaurant, the food and service was excellent, and I can't tell you anything about what I ate except that it was delicious, it included one of the hot-spiciest dishes I've ever eaten, and I didn't turn into a cartoon eating it. Oh, and there was karaoke, for laughs.
At the first open mic, I found my new acquaintance Daniel playing a hot jazzy ljammy-long version of Dick Dale's Miserlou, and I was very impressed. He's a really good guitarist, and the rest of the house band gave him excellent support. I got up and led a few songs on 3-string bass (Michael, the owner apologized, he hadn't realized someone had broken a strin g). Then did another Dick Dale-like hot surfing improv, after which I stayed up and backed a singer, then a guitarist.
At the next open mic, I got to back up a veteran local performer, Joy, on some classic rock standards, and then do a couple of tunes with the house band. All the musicians I played with were all very good, a couple excellent. The drummers were also solid or better. Even the vocals were well above-average.
Today's takeaway? I am a movable feast. I am the cliché: Wherever you go, there you are. It works for me. I'm having fun, and nobody's hurt!
Once again, I live in gratitude for the bounty that comes my way, so thoroughly not granted as a result of my own labors.
In fact, this could have been a very good day in Syracuse. I had a massage and visited a wat. Doing that in Syracuse would make it an extraordinary day indeed, but discounting those two activities, the rest of the day could have happened at home. That, then, is the notable thing about today: It could have been a good day in Syracuse, but it happened in Chiang Mai.
If I told you in conversation (back home), that I had a good day: Had a great breakfast, went over to a friend's house and jammed a bit, met a nice guy, excellent guitarist, then had a good dinner out, then went to an open mic, got good playing time, and then to another open mic where I also got good playing time, you could be forgiven for rolling your eyes and saying, "What do you call that? Thursday?".
Because, leaving out the massage and the temple visit, that's exactly how this day went, and it is not an unheard of day in Syracuse, either.
For the tourist fraction of me, I visited a beautiful wat that was across the street from the coffee shop where I had breakfast (Thai food). The Thais have so far provided me with excellent coffee. An Americano (my preference in cafes, internationally) is the price of a main dish, under $2, although a main dish can be cheaper. But I'm batting 1.000 for good coffee. And the food and smoothie I had after were good as well.
For all the traffic in and out of the wat, this place keeps its dignity and provides a respite that is serene, majestic and focused. At least for me. Out of respect, I've decided not to take pictures of any interiors - I want to leave that little thing outside when I enter.
After, I went out to hear my friend Dave play. I got distracted, and came an hour late, and missed him - I thought it was a regular gig, but it was a benefit, and they played last.
Dave was sitting down to some food with his girlfriend, I joined them, got an Americano, and they invited me over to their house.
At his house, Dave is nicely set up with guitars and basses at the ready. He showed me some classical guitar pieces he was working on, then we jammed on a few things I can play guitar to - he showed me a better chording on 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' and we both agreed that, while the Animals version is fun to play (and much better known), the Nina Simone version ruled. We were then joined by a guitarist he plays with in a 'gypsy' band (playing Django Reinhardt-era/style music. Great guy, and turned out to be the house guitarist at one of the open mics I was invited to.
Every time I go out I meet new people, and so far, not one negative, even neutral encounter. The food I'm getting at restaurants continues to impress. I've tried a few more things and still, since the one clunker the second day here, the eating has been great.
The fact that it is the same kind of fun I have at home is a major plus for Chiang Mai, as determining its livability is the most important reason I'm here (after the cheap airfare, anyway). Even if I consider that determination preliminary.
My airBnB host, John, picked me up and drove me to the evening's first open mic. He was friends with the club owner/drummer/house band host. John speaks some Thai, so he ordered for me at the restaurant where we went to dinner, right on the Ping River (opposite bank from previously mentioned River Market Restaurant).
It was an attractive restaurant, the food and service was excellent, and I can't tell you anything about what I ate except that it was delicious, it included one of the hot-spiciest dishes I've ever eaten, and I didn't turn into a cartoon eating it. Oh, and there was karaoke, for laughs.
At the first open mic, I found my new acquaintance Daniel playing a hot jazzy ljammy-long version of Dick Dale's Miserlou, and I was very impressed. He's a really good guitarist, and the rest of the house band gave him excellent support. I got up and led a few songs on 3-string bass (Michael, the owner apologized, he hadn't realized someone had broken a strin g). Then did another Dick Dale-like hot surfing improv, after which I stayed up and backed a singer, then a guitarist.
At the next open mic, I got to back up a veteran local performer, Joy, on some classic rock standards, and then do a couple of tunes with the house band. All the musicians I played with were all very good, a couple excellent. The drummers were also solid or better. Even the vocals were well above-average.
Today's takeaway? I am a movable feast. I am the cliché: Wherever you go, there you are. It works for me. I'm having fun, and nobody's hurt!
Once again, I live in gratitude for the bounty that comes my way, so thoroughly not granted as a result of my own labors.
aPlease leave a comment when you visit my blog. Thank you!
Chiang Mai sounds like a gentle paradise for you, Ken. Being a musician seems to be your passport to new friends, adventures and good living. The ex-pats take care of each other, and the Thai people sound friendly and accommodating. It is a good place to be, and maybe a good place to live! Who Knows?
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I agree with andy. It does sound like things are going extraordinarily well. Love you, so glad
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