For anyone who doesn't get the wordplay, you may hand in your 'hipness card' now. Either that, or check out the tune 'Truckin' by the Grateful Dead, one of the few Dead tunes that actually rocks. Reminds me of the joke, 'What did the Deadhead say when the acid wore off?'..... 'This band sucks!' But I digress...
Now that I'm getting the groove of life in Chiang Mai, it feels like time to take one of those 3 day, 2 night treks which are advertised at over 200 'tourist offices' all over town. There are lots of options for this and that, and I chose this one that includes an elephant ride, three or four hours walking per day, a trip or two to some hilltop tribal villages, swimming at the waterfall, an hour on a raft, etc etc you get the drift. There will be anywhere from 6-12 people on the excursion, so let's hope for some interesting folks to share this with. And the price for all of it, food included is 1300 baht (about $45) Such a deal! (as they say in Boca Raton)
It's actually a bit more than that, but I got a discount from a cool woman who runs one of the agencies and told me that since she owns her building, doesn't have to pay rent, then she can offer me a little break. sounds like a plan. Way to sell, sista! You got me. This as opposed to the first place I went where the guide was half drunk and half belligerant, so uh, no thanks, I'll keep looking. I think I made a good call, and it will be great to get into the countryside and into some good walking.
I won't need much on the trip, so I'll leave most of my stuff here at the Royal Guest House, where I've been staying the past 3 nights. They have a room with safety lockers and it seems like a good place to store my wallet, passport etc. But I think I'll bring along my guitar and make a little music for the tribal folk. I'm guessing they haven't heard much in the way of hippie guitar dudes, so we'll see how they react. And what the hell, it's fun to sing around the fire, right? Psyched for a little change of pace. Got my Deet, could use a hat, so I'll pick one up at the nighttime market down the road.
I'll be off the grid for the next few days so I won't write anything online for a little bit, but then I'm sure there will be much to report and reflect upon. For my last night in town, I'll check out this jam session that happens in a cute little cafe half a mile from here. Looks like a perfect place to play, and tonight happens to be 'open jam' night, so let's see what's up.
Really glad that Chiang Mai was my first stop in Thailand. I'm feeling my feet under me pretty good now, and I'll be ready for some new vistas before long. The general direction will be eastward toward Laos, and I'll do a little research to determine the route to take. It's good to be in the sun during january, yeah it is.
Time for some Thai food? Yeah, I guess so. Good stuff, healthy and inexpensive.
I never rode an elephant before... but then again, I never drove a Jaguar either. OK we're even. (Obviously I have nothing to say at this point, so I'll just leave it at 'Laa gon crop' Good bye.... Until later,
rich
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