Chiang Mai, Thailand

Heather and I flew to Chiang Mai, Thailand early Saturday morning. A shopping trip for her new "business" when she returns to the US.  We had lunch with Gary and Phyllis Stolp, a couple I met in San Antonio, that owned an import business there and are now retired and living in Chiang Mai. They provided a wealth of knowledge about agents, shipping and customs and we had delicious Thai food.

We shopped around a bit in the afternoon, came back and took a nap (we got up at 3:30am!) and then went to the "Night Market." Saturday/Sunday are the big market nights here. Heather bought several "Hmong" bags but believe it or not I didn't find anything I couldn't live without! I'm hoping the Sunday night market will have better "stuff." We ate Italian food at a Giorgio's, came back and went to bed early.

Sunday morning was another lovely day here - a little cooler and less humid than in KL. We had an appointment at "Peak Spa" - they picked us up at 10am and brought us back to the hotel at 1pm! Three hours of pampering - they massaged me into oblivion - Heather said I was snoring! We had lunch at the hotel and then went to check out a store called "Ginger" and shopped around that area. Found a store similar to "Charming Charlies" in the US called "The Pink Pussy!" We went to the Sunday Night Market around 5pm - many more hand crafted items and less junk - got some good buys! We ate outside at a lovely restaurant called "The Whole Earth" - as is typical we had to take our shoes off!

Heather had an appointment with the owner of "Ginger" at 10am so we met him at their main store, we ended up buying quite a bit, so brought it back to the hotel and then headed out to her next appointment with Carlos, a wholesale dealer for Hmong bags. What an experience! His business is in his home in a "subdivision" near the airport - trying to find it was an adventure! Hmong bags are beautiful handcrafted bags, some made of vintage fabrics, made by the Hmong hilltribe people. The bags come in all different sizes and colors and of course we bought some!  We came back to the hotel and had a drink by the pool - overlooking the city. We ate at "The House" tonight - three out of three great restaurants!  

The Thai people seem to be a warm, gentle people and are very friendly - they smile a lot and bow slightly in greeting and farewell. Chiang Mai is near the mountains and the number one tourist attraction is "Flight of the Gibbons" - a multi-stage zip line tour through the rain forest with the monkeys. They also have "Tiger Kingdom" and an elephant preserve.

The quickest and easiest way to get around in Chiang Mai is to ride in a "tuk tuk" - a scooter with a bench seat across the back. They also have red pick-up trucks with bed covers and bench seats along each side - a better way to stay dry when it rains! You climb in, hold on tight, and pray the driver understood where you want to go and knows how to get there!

Thailand currency is in "bahts" - 1,000 = around $30 US. Most "tuk tuk" rides cost us 100 baht or $3.
We found ourselves bargaining at the night marker, negotiating for a better price, and then would realize we were haggling over less than $1-2 dollars!!

There are over 300 Buddhist temples in Chiang Mai and hundreds of "street" temples where people can worship anytime!

Kyle had a major catastrophe at home, while we were gone - August, Renu, the maid's son, told the girls that Santa is not real - just your Mom and Dad!!! The girls were all upset and full of questions when we talked with them on SKYPE! Think we were able to convince them that Santa is real because Mommy and Aunt MeMe saw him one year at Grandpa Dick and Grandma Kate's house!

In the meantime, Sonny, the elf, is still watching. They found him in the copier one morning with a picture of himself in the paper tray! Tonight he is tucked up in my bed!