Good Movies

WOW! I'm loving the Thai movie KING NARESUAN. It's a 3-part epic set in the 1500s, and the good part is we don't have to wait a year between parts like Lord of the Rings! I have no idea of the availability in the U.S., but do keep an eye out for it. It's great.

For a more user-friendly description see this blog.

A really good American movie I saw in January is the sometimes sad but overall heartwarming PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS. Do see it, if you haven't already!

I Ate Bugs!

Yes, I ate a grasshopper at the Sunday walking market... also a little grub thingy. They weren't bad.

FREEZING in Chiang Mai

OK, not freezing exactly... but it's been quite cool here, cooler than last year!

I've been wearing a sweater and a jacket in the mornings, as the wind sure cuts when you're on a motorbike! Shivering in the shower, too... never imagined THAT here!

www.weather.com says it's been as cold as 54F/12 C (BRRR!) and up to 79F/26C.

But this weekend it's going up to 95F/35C, so I guess the hot weather is finally on its way!

An Actual Conversation I Overheard

A: So she went to stay with her cousin Poo Poo.
B: Is that the lady who dresses like a man?
A: Yes, and got pregnant.

The Longest Trip Ever (for me, anyway!)

I just returned from an unexpected trip to Ohio to see my family. It was so good to be with them, and to meet up with friends! I am thankful that it worked out!

The trip back was going to be long, I knew it. First, I already had 4 airports on the itinerary:
Cincinnati (CVG)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Taipei (TPE)
Bangkok (BKK)
...not to mention I still had to get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (CNX). I had planned to get my ticket when I arrived, in case there were any delays and such.

Well, I *did* find out before my trip that my LA to Taipei flight would be stopping (conveniently) in Anchorage (ANC)! That added another airport and a few hours to the trip. Since they didn't let us get off in Anchorage, I ended up being on that one flight for 17 hours, ugh!

Once in Taipei, I was happy that my next stop would be in Thailand. But why did the monitor say my flight was going to HONG KONG?? It was true. We were stopping in HKG on the way. If I made it through, I knew it would be a short 1-hour flight to Chiang Mai. I think I can I think I can...

Now, this is a busy tourist season in Thailand. I knew that, but upon arriving in Bangkok at 2pm, I thought surely there would be 2 seats on a flight before the end of the day! No such luck. There were NO flights to Chiang Mai that day.

Hopped on a taxi to the train station to book a seat/bed on one of the overnight trains... but they were full, too!

A tour agent found me looking distressed and said she MIGHT have seats on an overnight bus. Thankfully she did!

51 hours after I left my mom's house in Cincinnati, our bus pulled into Chiang Mai. I was so happy to be home at 4:30 am, and slept almost that whole day.

What a trip! I should have taken photos. But here's a visual aid of a different kind.