Friday, September 30, 2011

A Mixed Bag


Making It Legal….

I know the sub-title above may be somewhat misleading but I bet…it got your attention.  
As you may guess (or maybe not) this had to do with my entry into Thailand and my 
continuing stay here.

Now normally when a visitor comes to Thailand they have “in-hand”…
a return ticket back to whatever country they originally came from or….a ticket showing 
onward travel. I being me of course…had none of the above and yes my heart was in my 
mouth and…my brain was working overtime trying to come up with a reasonable answer 
for immigration control if indeed quareed. Thankfully…my fears were unfounded and 
I passed through Thai Immigration with no problems what-so-ever J

My immigration fears however did not completely abate. This do to the fact that…
two (2) weeks into my staying in Thailand I had to now apply (via Thai Immigration
for a three (3) month extension to my existing visa.

Now normally this is not a big deal but…being a cautious kind of guy J…I sought and 
found assistance to my problematic minds train of thought.

My assistance came via the help of a Thai acquaintance of mine (from my previous time 
in Thailand) who has over the years…donated his time in assisting the Thai Immigration 
office in various venues. Subsequently…Tom (his nickname) has many “solid” contacts 
within this organization.

Anyway after meeting with Tom at his office and handing over needed documentation we 
once again met yesterday at Thai Immigration where all I was needed for was signing a 
few pages. Otherwise I waited about a half hour outside “in the shade” for Tom to appear 
with hopefully (I say this ‘cause one never knows until the deed is done) my now updated 
passport and extended visa. Thankfully…it went smoothly and off we went.

So now…I am once again legal (if not tender…sorry could not pass that up JJ) at least  
for the next few months…when I get to do this “all over again”.
After that I’m good for a year J

On a more general but serious note…

the Northern Province of Thailand (which BTW includes Chiang Mai)…is experiencing 
some major flooding do to some abnormally high amounts of rain.  Yes…it is still rainy 
season but thankfully near its end.

One must however…understand that Thailand (especially the Northern tier) receives what 
is commonly known as localized squalls (sometimes heavy---think “Monsoon” heavy). 
Personally…except for one nights’ view from my window…I have  been lucky and have 
not experienced this rain. Also and lucky….Chiang Mai proper has not experienced any 
flooding at all…but it has come close. This…especially in and around the Ping River 
(this being the main waterway) in and around Chiang Mai.

OK…enough of the foul-weather stuff!

On a personal front…

Being single and…having experienced a wayyyy tooo long period of the single life while 
in Ecuador…I set out to find someone here in Chiang Mai. Yes I am looking for someone 
of the Thai Female Persuasion. As I am not a “bar-type” person nor am I generally a 
“night-person” I sought assistance in this exercise by a couple of on-line dating services. 
The response was high (sometimes too high) but the type of person I was looking for was 
somewhat low.

This is when I found “Prim”. 

       

At this stage of the game I won’t even attempt to guess about any sort of future ‘cause it is 
simply way too early in what I can only call a “budding” relationship.

I will however say this…
We met for coffee (this lasted about an hour and a half)…and from what I could tell we 
indeed “hit it off”.  We have a “real” date set for next Wednesday eveningJ
Here is just a little info on Prim for those that are interested...
(if your not…too bad J).

She is 45…pretty….intelligent…speaks English (quite well)...divorced with two adult 
children (both professionals and live in different cities)…is employed by the Thai 
Government as an inspector…owns a 1 or 2 year old new model car…is currently living 
in the city of Lamphun (pronounced Lampoon) but moving to Chiang May next month…
like in the very beginning!

So…my life is looking and moving upwards slowly but surely.

I know that waiting for my next Blog can be an excruciating experience for some (LOL) 
but…hey such is life.

And on that note and until next time…have a wonderful and happy day J J

Friday, September 23, 2011

Decisions…Decisions…Decisions



It never seems to fail…

When I first checked into my current digs at The Lanna Hotel…I said to myself…
hey this is nice …centrally located…and “everything”…down to a full buffet International 
breakfast is included. So even though at first glance…the THB11000 ($358) cost for the 
month seemed high for Chiang Mai…well it really wasn’t.

Considering the fact that the above cost included a decent sized room…cable TV…wi-fi…
refrigerator…a comfy king-sized bed…a modern bathroom with amenities…daily maid 
service and topped off with Daily Breakfast Buffet…well I still feel that there is something 
missing. 

There are…actually a couple of things missing…what you ask?     
                   
Well…once in awhile I do like to prepare a meal or two (as opposed to eating out all the time)
so a cooktop at the very least would be nice. If one has a cooking area then a sink would be 
not only useful…but helpful…right?

The other item that would really be appreciated…would be a balcony of some sort.
This incidentally would most likely…not be used often as it’s usually too warm (hot?). 
But in the evening… definitely!

Now the other “side of the coin” would be…to fall back on my original plan…
this being…to rent a Condo.

The upside…is that there is a fair to goodly chance that…for less money…one can 
expect in most cases....a swimming pool, and usually a gym on the premises…plus the 
above mentioned amenities…(yes for about $300).  This incidentally...
would not include the monthly cost of those amenities (which can add up).

The big downside is that one must sign a lease of varying length…which will determine 
the amount of deposit (and rent amount) one must make. I have found one place that I do favor…
but I would need to layout the first…last…and one additional month security. So…
that is 3 months rent paid up front…and that my friends…is a very big chunk of change when 
one is living on Social Security.

Now I’m not complaining but…one needs to manage monies that are available without 
breaking the bank…so to speak!

So…for now yours truly is in a bit of a quandary.
Do I stay where I am and know what I have...or...
do I start too seriously begin my search for a condo? Hmmmmm!!!

To tell you the truth…I’m leaning towards staying put.
At least I know that I have a fixed amount to pay every month (with no guesswork)…
no lease and no multiple month payouts!
So….the only thing I can say now is…”I’m Not Sure” soooo….stay tuned J

In Search of a Coffee Shop:

Yes…and as you most likely have seen in my posted photos…we have Starbucks in 
Chiang Mai and yes…like everywhere else on this planet Starbucks is not inexpensive!

Anyway today I took a small walk…in the opposite direction from the other days walk…
specifically to give some of my business to Wawee Coffee. Now Wawee Coffee is a fairly 
large chain in these parts (and probably elsewhere). The coffee is very good (if not better than Starbucks) and also costs a bit less. J

What I like about this particular Wawee Coffee is that for the patrons (like myself) who...
like sipping “al fresco”…they have “misters” which lend a very nice and cooling atmosphere 
while sitting in the shaded areas…very relaxing J

As you can see in the following pics…this Wawee Coffee…although almost dead-center of 
Old Chiang Mai City…is part of a small shopping area that includes a “green” sitting area 
of it’s own. One can get quite used to enjoying this town J

Sorry...but for some reason my downloaded pic files are being rejected. 
Hopefully the next Blog it'll be nicer to me :(

So my friends that is about all from this "far eastern country" known as  the “Land of Smiles“...
i.e Thailand.

Oh one other thing

hopefully I will have some “new” news..regarding meeting a new friend of the 
Female (Thai) persuasion. I’ve so far...been in contact via the Internet and spoke with 
her over the phone (yes she speaks pretty good English). So…
more on this as it develops J

‘till next time J

Monday, September 19, 2011

A 2nd or maybe a 3rd start!



SAME SAME…BUT DIFFERENT

Prelude:

It’s now only a few days before my flight “out of Ecuador” and my forthcoming arrival in Chiang Mai…this with a week and a 
half stopover in the states. As I’ve basically been packed for the last month or so… there is presently very little of which needs to yet be accomplished with regards to this trip.

Basically I’ve been “spinning my wheels” for the last few months. This…by the way…is not a fun way to spend ones time but…it did serve a purpose. The purpose was simply...a personal lesson in patience and inner discovery…
which by the way was…quite enlightening. 

The good thing (maybe) about my somewhat “slow” expatriation was in the fact…that I was able to spend some time with both my expat and Cuencano friends…structured within a relaxed and unhurried atmosphere.  


In addition (and a very welcome one at thatwas the fact that I have been treated to “adios” lunches…dinner and drinks (not necessarily in that order)…by various friends. You know who you are and…once again I thank you one and all…as it was “truly and deeply” appreciated!

So my friends…my next recitation will most likely occur when I am once again…back within the folds of the...

“Land of Smiles”…AKA…Thailand.
  
Arrival:

After a comfortable 22 hour flight from New York’s JFK to Chiang Mai International I’ve set foot…once again on Thai soil. 

For now I have taken up living quarters in a small “hotel” with the ambiguous name of The Western House Hotel”. If I had to give it a rating I would give it 2.5 – 3 stars. 


It’s clean….quiet (which is an important factor) and safe. It’s also situated in the “Old City”…but in the upper-most northern area and unfortunately away from most places I would frequent. So…tomorrow…I am [once again] on the move to my new digs named Lanna-House Hotel and Guesthouse. It’s a much nicer place and situated in the heart of Chiang Mai. The hotel does cost about THB2000 more for the month verses the monthly cost of my current room. By the way….the THB2000 translates to about $66 more…than what I would have paid if I stayed put! If your interested and want a look-see Lanna-House…their website is…
www.lanna-house.com

So for now…I’m still in limbo land and taken it slow. I do have a lot to accomplish these next few weeks such as…getting new pages for my Passport…extending my visa…condo (rental) 
hunting etc. etc. etc. At least these little errands will keep me busy.

Well time and things are progressing “almost” as expected. I say almost because “nothing” ever goes as planned.

My moving day started off well and my Tuk-Tuk (can you say moving-van supplement) driver even showed up on time [a rarity]. 
This by the way is a huge anomaly as “on time” usually means a…BIG MAYBE or…maybe not!
Anyway he got me to my new digs…quick time.

After the check-in process was completed and I made friends with my new room and…everything was put away in their prospective places…trouble reared its aggravating head. Actually I’m making it sound worse than it actually was.

As the room comes with wi-fi and I had the proper codes…well you guessed it. Noting happened…over and over and over. It turned out that my room didn’t have the promised 
wi-fi. This unfortunately was discovered after 
I had unpacked and put “everything” in their proper places. Well the solution was simple enough…change rooms! No problem…
except now I had to undo everything and move down the hall.

It went quickly and the hotel staff was very helpful but…to tell you the truth…it’s something I could have done without. 
At least now...it’s finished and I now look forward to my friend Jim coming to visit…get a bite to eat (early dinner) and then hit what is called... “The Walking Street”. This is an outdoor market that takes up the complete avenues length (with extenuating side-roads)…every Sunday Night. Hey maybe I’ll actually buy something…one never knows.

Well the nights drawing to a close.
Jim and I did the walking thing which BTW included a wonderfully "spicy" Thai dinner. And now my friends…Yes…it’s cost time again…
Three (3) “really tasty” Thai dishes…2 bowls of rice…2 bottles of water…about an hour and a half of catch-up talk…
Cost THB480 or $15.81 divided by 2 equals THB240 or $7.91 per person. 
So…yeah I’m a happy camper!

Well I was going to continue but…

I took a walk today up and down Tha Phae (pronounced...(“tah-pay”) Road just to take some pictures of the area. 
The following (and there are many) is the result. Hope you enjoy.  By the way except for an occasional photo cropping and contrast enhancement…well the pics are just as I saw them.



Pick an item...any item


 Massage Anyone?

 Just another Wat (Temple)

 No it's not raining. The umbrella is for the sun!
























A slice of True Life Everyday People in Chiang Mai



















A Monk Trainee

OK...I'm still struggling a bit within setting-up the new Blog and I'm yes...throwing my hands-up for now. Yes...there are many more pics but I think you'll get the idea. By the way...all these shots came from within a 4 or 5 block stroll along one of the main roads called "Tha Phae Road" which I mentioned above. This incidentally is but a very small view of the inner city of Old Chiang Mai.

Until next time...but for now Sawadee Krup :)


P.S. I'm still trying to get the "bugs" out of the finished product so...please forgive the amateur look...