Laurie's World

It must have been quite a day….and therefore how I earned by 2.5 hour nap this afternoon in the couch in the lobby of the hotel. Just saying……

Up bright and early at just after 7am…breakfast here starts at 7:30 which i was quite anxious for due to the fact that there is no coffee facility in the room! Not even a sip of Nescafé instant coffee (that delectable coffee specialty that Thailand is known for in some circles–right Terry??)

Toast, egg and fruit for brekkie….and a very yummy pineapple shake…nice touch!

After an awesome phone call with Rachael, we decided to go on a walk about. Despite this being our 4th visit to Chiang Mai…we know there is a lot in the old city we have not seen. And we were right….we went to some awesome temples (Wats) and saw some elephants and even cuter rabbits….we are always on the look out for rabbits ; ))

We also took a stroll through a local market where all I could imagine buying was a banana waffle.

Troy doesn’t understand why I am so fascinated with the waffles here as, in theory, I could get those at home. Yes I could, but they are just different here : )) and the corn especially is SO good!

Jackie….we did go by Riam’s temple and guess what? She was there!! She saw us before we saw her even! She got her hair cut 5 days ago!

Had massaman curry for lunch today at Ginny Place. Very good as i have been thinking about trying it for a bit now. Also thinking about starting a collection of pictures of signs we see here that are funny and/or make no sense. I know i need to be careful to keep my pg13 rating….but here are a couple chuckles we had today….

We had street food for supper tonight…there is a huge collection of mobile street carts that pop up right before supper all over the place….but we went over to Chiang Mai gate tonight. We had pomello, pad thai, pad see ewe, chinese donuts and a lemon shake for 120 baht….yes, that is just under $4 and we were stuffed.

Here is a picture of my new favorite massage place! The little massage lady is actually sitting in there….she waved at me after I took the picture….she might think I am a creeper now…I have no idea…but she certainly seemed happy when we came over to her tonight for a massage after supper! I forgot to ask her what her name is….but there is always tomorrow ; )

We got in to Chiang Mai around noon! It is just as awesome as I remember! There is some sad news to report….but I will get to that in a minute.

The first order of business was to check into our hotel, The Chiang Mai Boutique House, get everyone settled…..

and then get down to Ginny’s Place for lunch. I had Pad See Ewe for you Ruby!! So very good!!

Then after a nice visit with Ian (captain Bob), we headed over to Sopa’s for a foot massage. Well as we turn down the alley to go to her place….something is very different! The bar across from her has expanded out into the street and there are lights up and stuff. We get to Sopa’s and I look in to see if I see her…the girl at the table outside the door gets up and when I ask her if Sopa is here….she says “no” and that Sopa sold the the shop to someone else!! We are shocked and saddened : ((

So dazed and confused we wander off, aimlessly at first….after a bit, we find ourselves back at our hotel….there is a massage place right across the street called “Golden Hands Massage”. So for 150 baht we can have a foot massage ($5). Given that it s RIGHT across the street….it seems like its worth a try….and the end result, I can tell you, is like angels are watching over us! Amazing amazing ladies in there…worked their magic and we WILL be going back : )

Now…BK….here is a test for you….do you recognize this street corner? There has been one change since you saw it last…..let me know what you think.

And Amber….I’ve been reading the book you recommended! Having a hard time putting it down….but did manage to do so to write this blog…and hopefully long enough to go get some supper ; )

Trying to decide if I have the energy to hit the big Sunday market! Prolly will muster that up as it likely where my supper is going to come from!

Also going to include this little picture I took at Ginny’s Place bcz I think it’s funny! Look carefully…

Oh my goodness…that is one (well 2 actually) long flights!!!!! Glad to be off the plane…managed a couple hours max (if you added it all up) sleep on that second leg….so looking forward to some rest before we get back on plane tomorrow morning to fly to Chiang Mai.

The bed is classic rock hard….so no surprise there : )

Anyway…it is 12:48am Bangkok time….and I have been up (for the most part) for over 28 hours…so won’t be too long with this entry…just wanted to make sure our kids and our parents know we are here!!

We are staying at the Thong Ta Resort…and for $28 per night…it is pretty good deal! They have shuttle to and from airport and breakfast is included….so all in all pretty good.

Not sure why the towels folded into elephants still tickles my fancy but it does : )))

This is the view from our balcony this morning!

The breakfast room/restaurant had the cutest garden with a tonne of clay garden gnomes!

Well…we made it to Tokyo…30 minutes early! It is 2:28 pm on Saturday here! Didn’t sleep on the flight…so might regret that! Watched 4 movies though : )

Food tolerable on the plane…flying JAL this time….

Jackie…did grandpa tell you? I could not find pooh this morning…so i had to bring piglet! I think he is enjoying his first big trip though…I will put the pictures up as soon as I can.

We have a 4 hour layover here….not the best connection we have had, but also certainly not the worst! The first year we did this we had a 10 hour layover!!

Will be spending the night in Bangkok when we get there…will update when we land!

Currently heading north!

Caught the St. Amand shuttle to at 7am (thanks Am!!) and then got on the Quick Shuttle from Tulalip to Vancouver…where we catch our flight.

This shuttle to Vancouver has wifi! So I can keep playing words until the very last minute
; ))
Awesome possum!!
If only it had a coffee pot!

To my children….here are the bears on the shuttle! You will have to turn your head to look at these until I figure out how to rotate the pictures….hahaa!

….and I did leave without my laptop…so we will see how that goes ; )

Stay tuned….

Hi loyal followers! If you are reading this, then I have found a way (even if it is crude and limited) to blog with only my iPad.

DH has issued a challenge this year….that I try to travel without my laptop. AAAAHHHH! Not sure about this, but am going to test out blogging before I leave to make sure it works ok! Don’t like change don’t like change ; ))

So we are heading out early early Friday morning….thanks in advance to the St. Amands for the early bird ride to Tulalip to catch the shuttle to the vancouver airport.

And to answer the burning question about whether we are ready to go….the answer is “no”…but I will be ; ))