La and I have been hunkering down for the weekend after our “wedding” night, checking in with the news every few hours for updates on the situation in Bangkok. Though I’m sure it’s much more nuanced than this, my take on the matter is the following: …Read the rest »
Laura and I signed paperwork with the Thai authorities yesterday to make it official. We’re both very excited to be legal husband and wife now.
Currently in Bangkok, people are demonstrating outside of Government House. They want a new prime minister and probably a new constitution. We expect there will be a coup (hopefully bloodless, as is Thai tradition) by as early as Monday.
And back at home in the United States, Obama has the Democratic nomination and McCain has chosen a woman as his VP.
Interesting times.
I’ve just come home from my second private Thai lesson at Chiang Mai Adventure Tours which I’d read about in Lonely Planet’s Thailand guide. …Read the rest »
Tonight Laura and I sat on our balcony to have dinner (capellini with chicken and tomatoes, salad, red wine) and a very odd thing happened: the wat next door started lighting paper balloon lanterns for some festival. As we were eating dinner, tiny orbs of yellow light floated past our view and up into the clouds.
Marvelous.
For Mom and Mom and all the rest of you who are wondering what our fabulous new home looks like, here’s some pics to give you a sense.
Laura invited me to sit in on her “gifted” class at Prince Royal’s College yesterday. I took a tuk-tuk to the massive 50+ acre campus and she escorted me to her building. Along the tiled halls, students walk in their socks while teachers and staff wear shoes. It had rained hard (tis the season) and the air was very humid. She took me to her eighth grade class, passing droves of uniformed middle school kids. …Read the rest »
One of the most important things to set up in a new home is the kitchen. A lot of expats in Chiang Mai, we’ve heard, eat out for the majority of their meals. Meals range from 25 bhat for very basic soup, rice, meat and veg plates, to 150-400 bhat for very nice sit down meals with table service. Lately the dollar has been equal to 33 bhat or so. …Read the rest »
Chaing Mai is cupped by mountains to the north, west, and south west. Our neighborhood is outside the old city, which is surrounded by an ancient moat. We live in Doi Ping Mansion, a twelve story building to the east of the old city, near the river Ping, and the Wot Chai Mong Kol, which you can see in the lower right of the picture. It’s monsoon season, so the cumulus nimbus clouds you see are coming west to east over the tops of the mountains. The leafy area you can see in the bottom and center of the frame is the front yard of the Alliance Francaise.
Below, you can see the mountains to the west and some of the hotels and apartment high rises outside of the moat. I’m going to be biking that mountain one day, just as soon as I can find some wheels.
I have arrived in Chiang Mai.
Local time is 8:54 AM. I slept well on the plane and am ready to combat jet lag. Because I am finally with Laura again, I feel up to the task of facing the soul lag as well. In my final days in the Boston area I had many opportunities to spend time with loved ones. Now that I’m halfway across the world, I’ve gained some perspective as to just how incredible those last days were. …Read the rest »
