ChaingMai Countdown

It takes very little for Chaingmai to toss a party.  New Years is a great excuse.  It would appear that the event (stage and music) are sponsored by the post office and the internet.  Strange combo

The music is really pretty good.. and while most are walking around trying to eat some of this and that... folks appear to keep one ear on the tunes.


have learned from my thai leacher that most of the beauties have gone to Korea to get fixed. eyes and noes mostly,,,,but check out the shoes.



This was one of the women from an internet station

These were woman selling product or food.  the one at the right... just sat there.. doesn't look like a good day.

I had the worst ice cream I have ever had.  and I could taste it all night.  Dorian is a fruit that stinks... as in it is banned from trains... how bad could the ice cream be... BAD.


There are many people eating the fish.. I just don't do fish









The fruit is mostly fresh cut.. the strawberry is not native and it is rumored to have many chemicals..but they look great  








this is ice cream was chocolate and vanilla



This is far from ice cream but octapus balls. and in rolled up octapus.





 Flanks of pork cooking

 and these are little little qual that could be nibbling at my feeder

 stuffed hot dogs

and for me...the best part.... the hugging Italian

The Razor's Edge

I have been here before...   It is a place that is like stopping in your tracks to say.. who am I .. where am I .. and am I really connected to anything  but the vapors that give me shape.

I watched the movie Billy Elliott last night and remembered it was the last time my Mom and I went to a movie house.  I am beginning to accept and understand beyond intellectually that everything is really impermanent.  There is solace in pain being fleeting but less in joy being on the way out as soon as it is felt.  I have just begun to recognize my sticky spots... those places that hook me to stuck... 
I get stuck to the attachment of the sensual pleasures.. a nice mean, beautiful woman, nice smell.. and i am stuck to my view and opinions... the babbles that come out of myself and others
I hold to notions...concepts... beliefs that are like anchors on the bottom of the ocean.  No wonder I could not swim.  This gives new meaning to let go....
I was going to a dark spot... of alone, isolated, rejected, and then... I got the "buttercup" (Scott will know)... and I just laughed.. and felt light and amused at all my seriousness.

perspective gives you the branches .. or the flower.... life is a continuous choice.

Check in reflections (SB)

There is a funny little artist at the Sunday market who just sits and draws. When someone comes by to buy something, he doesn't look up. Last night I was on a quest for a new pair of heavy black pants for home and house shoes. Found both… pants – 170 ($5) and leather slippers 500 ($15). I catch up with Jeannine, see H&H, had an ice green tea, a plate of penne with fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella. The market was the most crowded last and it took me about 7 min to walk a block. One of his funny signs reminded me of Cheryl Arena's description of the walking street…. CHAF on steroids. So his little art piece that said… I buy stuff I don't want, with money I don't have, to impress people I don't like….. Really hit the mark.

To back up the day, I get up later on Sunday. Nothing is scheduled until 6 PM at the Wawee Coffee Shop at the market. So easy time to reflect. At dinner the night before, the other dinner guest was a vegan. I think a convert to anything is zealous but a vegan is into recruiting more than most. The dinner was at a place of Hanna's choosing and I had gone by to see what there was to eat. Many of the items were pork. They don't have a veggie section on the menu and there were only a few items that even hinted at such. A vegan does not want oyster sauce, fish sauce, etc. and then if they are into natural products they don't want soy products since Monsanto is called Montsatano. The second the word Vegan is mentioned, I get a cold sweat and terror and a bad memory pops into my head. I rather zoned out on the conversation and started singing in my head when and "expert" Dr… was mentioned as The Authority. I think I can take the Daniel Plan easier since it is the Vegan way but just not that word. I will have to look at this more carefully.

What was hysterical was the waiter has suggested to her the mushroom soup. She has a plate of plain stir fried veggies and I had the soup which contained more bones and beef than I have seen and was beyond salty….. it was Hanna's birthday.. is all good but it will be my last visit to this restaurant.

To end the evening…I had brought a very small cake… about the size of a saucer and Hanna was masterful in getting four pieces out of a quarter of the cake. It is her cake and her day. However, it was an amazing feat that someone could slice that small a sliver with a cheap dinner knife. I wanted to the Oliver impression… more please but I came home and had some cheese and crackers. It is all good. The lesson here again is… seek your own truth. You cannot do that if your head is full of past history, belief, drama and dogma. You have to be open to see if what is now presented is your truth… how does it set.

Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu, the Jewish Attorney from Chicago who has been a forest monk for most of his adult life has a new book which I am reading as my carry along book (with me when I wait or drink my coffee). I think I am starting to get closer to how to live in the home world. Much of my life process has to be about gathering information…and now I wonder, for what purpose? I am a stockpile of disconnected ideas and thoughts. Some of the stuff is helpful and useful…my sense of volume (how much will fit in what container.. or how big a space do I need between the cars and the curb to ride a scooter in Thailand). I am grateful to one of my home buddies for writing often to tell me of the latest annoyance at home… they bulldozed the homeless site… but didn't make plans to shelter the folks. There was an international TV show last night about the homeless – millions. In the eastern countries they are passing out blankets and bringing hot soup. In the piece about the US. The folks said…."they don't want a hand out but a hand up" and the piece went on to say that in the US several cities has said that when it gets below 14 degrees, they open temporary shelters… Temporary solutions to a non temporary issue. So what is all of this re my quest…. I can do nothing about it… It is not that I don't want to know about it.. but I don't need to comment or go after more story… I am not indifferent. But not available to give my energy. I see many in my life, friends, family as pretty surface and without much opinion about issues. That is ok for I am going to have much less verbalized opinion about things that I am only available to observe. If I am just information seeking…. Stop. I will end world conflict by ending the conflict inside. This doesn't mean that I will not get into the solution at some point. But for now… it is another beautiful day in paradise ..think…. will I Iet it pass by?

 

    

Today was Hanna’s birthday.  I found a cake and some candles on the next Soi going toward the ChaingMai Gate.  We met tonight with a vegan friend of H&H. 

Earlier in the day, I had breakfast with Jeannine and then went to my meditation group and one of the larger Wat’s.

The foreign visitors are really down… this area is usually bustling

I read for some time in the garden and was joined by three animals.  Only the bird had energy… 

I see he biggest difference in the children... Thai boys appear more bright eyed and curious... 

Village people

At the old city there was a Friday market...and a few people

the old city

I truly did not know this area excisted.. it is the old ChaingMai and there were many Wats in various stages of repair... the following are my pics for the day....

These flowers were actually very small on a green bush...

while the flowers below were much larger on a roof...

 I liked the face of the this small statue that was lining the path ...While she looks a little lonely... she has an interesting smile

These are headless Buddha on and old ruin 

I just liked the lock.... interesting picture to me

Same dog.....but different feeling from the two perspectives.

Repetition and ritual and their good results come in many forms: changing the oil filter, wiping noses, going to meetings, picking up around the house, washing dishes, checking the dipstick . . . such a round of chores is not a set of difficulties we hope to escape from so that we may do our practice, which will put us on the path. It is our path.  Gil Fronsdal 

This has been a great day for me… I did a little running around … did a little sitting around… did a little reading and an am not getting the blog organized.  It is all good. 

Mạn pĕn s̄ìng thī̀ dī thậngh̄md or มัน เป็นสิ่งที่ดี ทั้งหมด/

Qi Kong class.   This week there are many people in the class.   The Canadians are the majority.  Ottawa friends will leave this Sat reminding me… nothing is permanent and I am glad I have enjoyed their company as much as I have. (Ran into them last night for a Chang and will have dinner at Dash tomorrow – JoAnn, old ctcourt… you would enjoy them also) Then Peterborough Pete with the separated wife and Thai wife….whose mother taught QiKong  & Tai Chi and who apparently did not go to class.  Mr. Florida but raised in Schenectady and woman who lived in CA and has moved home to Minnesota.   Who moves to Minnesota? She rented a scooter, road to the corner, crashed and was out of class yesterday thinking she broke ribs…  I am praying for her and I don’t pray.. Actually I am praying she is not in my path…for she will probably be going the wrong way…  She is an accident waitng to happen.. as in .. I think I should meditate.. .. oh the temples are called Wats… and I say… yes Virginia there is a Santa.   .There is another man who is always on the right side when we are on the left..   Interestingly…even thought I know…. I don’t know when I allow him to be in my vision.  Close your eyes bonny.  This is what will prepare me for home.

Shopping… I went to Rimping and got cheese & crackers for H&H. toilet paper, an extension cord and light bulb for my reading lamp.    I am all set…  

I tried to find the Wat for Christmas Eve and will have to ask Jeanine.. and it is all good.

This is an old cemetery... very small "stones"... probably all cremated

 What is wrong with this picture... I wonder in which pocket the ATM card is held... mmmm

These are banner sold at the Wat... you pic the banner for your birth animal...i.e. rabbit.. sign you name and then hang it... very colorfull    100 baht... $3.

A favorite view at my favorite Wat...  not counting Doi Suthep

AND    i am obsessed with the Macha Ice cream... no... haven't had any...but isn't it fun... 

Forest and not the trees (SB)

I had a good thought as I read this morning. When you are sitting and not thinking, planning, projecting, plotting etc….many times, situations from the past present themselves in a very real way. They actually become your Now, they are so real… The difference is, with some practice, you can step out and be the observer watching not one you, your actions, your feelings but each person in the scenario – their actions and feelings as well as the scene of the scenario.

With compassionate eyes, you can see the feelings and thoughts of all. In therapy, you relive the event, you are there and it is the process of therapy for you to get into and feel your feelings rather than just observe. – you are feeling sorry for little bonny that was so misunderstood and who did not have a clue about herself etc. Like grief for a friend, it is grief for your loss rather than whatever happened in the loss of the friend..… and in many ways selfish.

So when you sit in meditation – a mindful manner, you observe remembering that many of the true details are lost in the time passed..and your memories are not necessarily fact…. and then you take it all and toss it in the air and let the wind take it… What comes to the ground is yours to use as fertilizer for your forest for some of it has made you who you are…. In your forest, when you clear the bush, undergrowth etc.. you will find a magnificent tree, just waiting to grow strong and tall.

Shifting Sunday

I got a missed call notice on the Magicjack so I called a few folks and found that several friend/family are in hard places. My first thought was maybe I should go home… and then what can I do… and then what is the lesson. The continuous lesson is to live every second as mindfully as I can. So I will send Reiki energy and good thoughts to all… Try to connect as many people as I can…and try to keep my eyes wide open to what is happening now.
I had a great day starting off at Nice Kitchen with French toast and fruit… the fruit is mango, pineapple, green apple, watermelon, dragon fruit, banana, papaya and coffee… mmm That is my Sunday treat. The rest of the week I have portage – mango, banana or portage banana, raisin, almonds and coconut milk. Then organize my camera and stuff and out the door.
I was thinking of going to the old city temple on the river road, but I cut into the road farther down the lane and road with traffic and a bike club outine for some time. I stopped at a Wat but it was closed so I just too a pic of the entrance way.

There are a few traffic lights and almost all the lights have a right turn…then straight… for each traffic lane… you can be there a long time. The group at the light are big Mercedes suv, regular cars, occasionally a tuk and scooters and bikes. So from wealthy to poor. The picture I just could not get was the woman riding 55k in front of me holding her brown straw had with her left hand…with her laundry bag on the handlebars… I was waiting to catch the hat since she occasionally let loose.
This guy was next to me. (bike)
The great thing about getting out of town…there is such quietness and so few people. The bamboo are lazy over the road… the birds are chirping,,, and I smile as I ride.
So here are a few picks of the road much less traveled.

And I spoke to this cow...who said... what is that Joe talking about eating my cousin

And I stopped at the Art Contemporary place that has photo ops everywhere… I was able to get my camera propped on the harness and then times to jump into a few.. and then take a few of the Chinese folks at were there

 

 
Finally… off into the sunset… and the nest adventure.