#3157: Tuesday, December 26, 2023: Christmas in Chiang Mai

Post 3157

- 12 years and 360 days since I started this blog -

Journal

(written December 19-26, 2023)

Read this once (it won't change for the rest of the trip(s): I'll be linking this post to Facebook. If that's how you got here, here's some background: About 13 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a medical situation and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to helping me lose 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing has kept me on track since then. I started adding commentary after a while, but lately it has become infrequent. 

While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling (except for food shots when I've eaten something interesting or pretty. And that's where we find ourselves now.

However you celebrate the end of the year, I hope your holidays are filled with love and happiness.

By the end of the first week here, when the last post was written, I've gotten my rhythm. I've recovered from the trip here, gotten over my jet-lag and time zone dislocation (I'm on the other side of the world from my New York home - it's twelve hours later here than there, thanks to crossing the International Date Line).

I have, happily, done a lot of playing. Mostly, with people I haven't played with before. Mainly Australians, although I'm not sure how they're Australian-ness affects these encounters. And I've encountered some old friends I hadn't seen in a few years, including Jubal, the first musician I met in Chiang Mai. He's an American expat. We follow each other on FaceBook, but we haven't connected in my last few visits here.

Great, as always, running into old friends. I was in a café the other day, an outlet for a good local coffee grower, getting a cuppa joe, and another patron at the checkout looked at me and said, "I know you." I looked at him, he was familiar, but it took me a moment to place him. "Yeah," I said. "We met right here last year. I remember you, but your name...?" "It's your smile," he replied. "I remember that smile. Was it here? That makes sense. I love this place. You play music, right?"

And so, we chatted for a bit. Interesting to think that a benefit of returning to a place regularly, is this sense of recognition, that is, to me, just another aspect of community.

I have for many years known about the benefit of becoming a 'regular' in a scene. It's what I did, unintentionally, when I moved to Syracuse in 2008 - a total stranger to the scene. I became a regular at a few open mics, and my community - which is the reason I'm still there - grew out of that.

So now, when I show up in Chiang Mai, at Boy Blues Bar, or the North Gate Jazz Co-op, or (this year) the Troubadour, I have people asking me when I'm going to play, and, occasionally, asking me for more after I play.

I am, of course, conspicuous here. I'm taller than almost everybody here, and white beards aren't common (although old white men are). The combination of the two makes me pretty conspicuous here, and something about it invites strangers to start conversations. Some of which have led to friendships. That's one thing about being a traveler, it breaks down barriers between people who might otherwise never engage.

The hot spell has broken. The weather is gorgeous, mid-70s, no rain. I've been walking more, although quite aimlessly. It just feels good - I feel lighter (which is, given the enormous quantities of food I've been eating, very unlikely), I feel at ease, relaxed.

Part of that feeling comes from the weed I've been smoking, which, of course, isn't a departure from my regular, day-to-day life at home. It's a part of my lifestyle, and, these days, in the places I go, it's a completely moveable part.

So, there's that.

Good weather, good food, good music, good weed. And, most important, good health and a good attitude. I'm the luckiest guy you'll ever meet. I am grateful beyond words, it's a total-body feeling of gratitude for my unexpected, privileged life.

Yes, I know I am privileged and very lucky - I've won the crap-shoot of life. At least by my definition of winning.

Thailand is a Buddhist country, and Christmas doesn't have much meaning outside of its impact on tourism. But here in Chiang Mai, there is a large expat community that is definitely majority Christian, so you do get a lot of celebrating. For me, in the form of special open mic nights.

I've been in Chiang Mai for Christmas every visit but one, and the one tradition was mu friends Ollie and Lulu's Christmas party, always a fun night with - surprise - a lot of music to enjoy. Ollie has been sick, and I haven't even seen him this trip. The party had to be canceled. Sad. Feel better, my friend. 

Instead, I had a great time at Troubadour, which, for Christmas Eve, had a pot-luck buffet and a night of good music, including, yes, a jam, where I got to do a bit of playing. Happy me. 

And, next night (last night, as I write this), at Boy Blues Bar, there was a Christmas jam, and I got a lot of playing time and really enjoyed seeing friends new and old, including a few I hadn't seen (and/or made music with) in a few years.

Things have settled into my regular, day-to-day lifestyle: Eat, sleep, play music, get high. Not too different for me, no matter where in the world I am. Away from home, i meet more new people as I go about all this, but that's because there are more new people for me to meet. I'm nothing but grateful, all the time, everywhere. 

I'm still not inspired to take many pictures, but here's the photo dump of what I have:

Playing at Boy Blues Bar.

Playing at Troubadour. I call the songs I do on acoustic guitar my 'export set' - when there aren't facilities for bass guitar, I grab a 6-string and do my thing.

Random wot shots (Buddhist temples are called wots). I thought the white Buddha came out well.

Selfies celebrating, top to bottom, new friends, oatmeal, Chiang Mai's over-the-top weed scene.

Another random Wot shot.

As Christmas approached, the beautiful street decorations going out in all directions from the Tha Phae Gate were enhanced. On Tha Phae Road, the beautiful trellises were adorned with these purple bells. I've walked this street end-to-end - it is beautiful, and the photos don't do justice to it. This pic is taken from the end of the road at the Tha Phae Gate. When you are looking in the other direction, the trellises frame the lights there. In person, looks dreamy, but I couldn't get a good photo. So it goes.

With the beautiful weather, I've been taking aimless, meandering walks. Something new for me, fruiting banana trees in the front yard.

Another random wot shot.

I watched this cute little girl ring all the prayer bells around the stupa. I wish I had caught her facial expression as she did this - a combination of wonder, happiness and determination.

My friends Jim, Seb and Tommy, at Troubadour on Christmas Eve. It is Sebastian's club. Also, Seb is a dead ringer for Keanu Reeves, and it is amusing to hear the comments about that when people see him for the first time. I've known him since my first trip here, and never gave it a second thought until this year.

Food Comment

In my last blog post, I showed you the remains of Nun's Restaurant's khao soi (Northern Thai yellow coconut curry with noodles) and promised to show you a before shot, which is this. I know, it just looks like a bowl full of fried noodles, but those noodles are sitting above a curry full of (regular) noodles, vegetables and, in this case, chicken. This is an amazing dish and Nun's has this trip's favorite. To it's right, condiments for the khao soi, and that's a green papaya salad up there on the left. It can't be a coincidence that this is the closest restaurant to my guest house.

I am happy to report that two of my favorite restaurants, run by the same people, has opened a new restaurant much closer to my guest house than the older ones. The three restaurants have similar, but not identical menus. Only one (apparently) has my number-one favorite dessert, Goodsouls' raw vegan brownie (no, I'm not a vegan, or a vegetarian, I'm omnivorous and open to try anything. This dessert validates that approach). So, eating at the newest branch, the Downtown Vegan Garden, I chose the raw vegan tiramisu. Magic. New favorite? Maybe.  

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