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Post 2012
- 7 years and 15 days since I started this blog -
- 7 years and 15 days since I started this blog -
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.
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.
aPlease leave a comment when you visit my blog. Thank you!
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