Chiang Mai 2019

Protective deity

Returning from Chiang Mai, Thailand, Halloween night, I climbed aboard the light rail from the airport at 9:30 p.m., and was confronted by ghoulish riders of all ages.  If I hadn't just returned from three weeks of viewing "protective deities" in and about Thai wats (temples), I might have been intimidated.  (And actually, many Thais nowadays celebrate Halloween -- minus the trick or treating -- in much the same way as we do.  Or maybe it is just the Western expats, of whom there are many in the Chiang Mai area.)

My sister had rented the same home in the Hang Dong area, southwest of the Old Town, that she had rented last year, and I stayed with her.  The rental contains two separate buildings facing a small, jungle-like courtyard, with Kathy's bedroom and the kitchen and living room in the main building.  It's an attractive residence, at the end of a long driveway, surrounded by pasture and farm land, as well as other residential units.

My visit was uneventful, perhaps, compared with my one-week visit to Italy in August, but it was intended as a family gathering and a time for relaxation and contemplation.  Kathy's rental is in an area networked with small roads -- some only theoretically two-laned -- which are lightly traveled and excellent for bicycling.

We biked to nearby restaurants for meals, we biked to my great niece's school, we biked to Denny's new rental home -- in a gated community that could easily be mistaken for California -- not far beyond the school.  I biked out occasionally for a morning coffee.  Denny has a motor scooter and Jessie, his fiancée,  has a car.  But mostly we relied on our bikes or, for longer trips into the city, on the local, and very inexpensive equivalent of Uber.

For a little variety, Kathy, Clinton and I did spend two nights at a hotel just outside the wall of the Old Town mid-way though my visit, and at a small, ten-room boutique hotel inside the walls the night before I flew home.   And my entire family (insofar as in Thailand) spent a night at a resort in Chiang Dao, about fifty miles north of Chiang Mai.  A beautiful rural area, dominated by the mountain, Doi Chiang Dao.  We did a hike to a wat part way up the mountain, and explored some famous limestone caves -- many Buddhist shrines and precarious limestone footing!

Finally, I should mention that one night, Kathy and I biked to a small outdoor restaurant a mile or so from her house.  The meal was good, but what was most memorable was the Vietnamese pale ale I was served.  The restaurant owner, a Thai graduate of William & Mary who spoke with the assurance of a native American, assured us that the brewery was owned by a friend of his.  The label was "Heart of Darkness," and was accompanied by appropriate graphics.  Their website assures us:

Heart of Darkness is all about duality. Good and evil. Sane and insane. Big, bold, crafted brews that will challenge the way you think about beer. Thirst quenching, session beers that will have you bouncing off the walls. Hop bombs that will give you a kick-to-the-teeth, while still being still balanced and smashable. Whatever your taste, we’ve got it….

Their beers, under the Heart of Darkness label, include Kurtz's Insane IPA, Futile Purpose Cucumber Pilsner, Dream Alone Pale Ale, and Pitiless Folly Pale Ale.

Panyaden School
Secondary school campus

Well, you get the picture.  Take that, LBJ!

This is Denny's third year teaching at the Panyaden School (6th, 7th, and 8th grades this year), and our third autumn visit with him.  I anticipate another, perhaps longer, visit a year from now.