Happy New Year 2012

I'm writing from the Kingdom of Thailand. Sounds impressive eh? It's been an okay place, Chiang Mai that is. Our hotel is out there & so we awake to the sounds of roosters, dogs, & cats that inform us all through the night & early in the day the local news. We also must be close to a local hang out as we hear live music until 1am. We forgot that the traditional beds are hard so my hips are sore. Oh, our bathroom to our suite doesn't have a roof! Yep, it is an outdoor bathroom equipped w/ a shower & jacuzzi tub, sink, etc. You go out there & see the stars. It really is odd. The tough part is bugs & leaves that collect there. Eileen filled up the tub to have a nice relaxing evening & when she turned on the jets out came all this dirt & ants that held up in there. Yuck! She took it well & now we stick w/ showers. The bugs haven't been too bad but I cover myself w/ bug spray often. Boy, don't I smell different! During the day it has been mid 80s & at night a nice chilly mid 60s. You have to drive hours to get any where. We did a day trip & spent 6.5 hours in the van to see only 90 minutes worth of sights. Whoa. So we saw the White Temple w/ modern art inside, actual entered the country of Laos, & visited the Karen tribe famous for the long neck ladies. They emigrated from Burma & settled in No. Thailand. The hard part for me was all the poverty, especially the children. That bothered me greatly. The food is good & the people have been very sweet & kind, at least outside the city. In the city the civility drops a bit w/ so many tourists running around. Last night we try to walk down "walking street" in the center of Chiang Mai. We never made it to the next block. It was packed! It is this way every Sunday & I’m guessing because it was the 1st of the year it was especially crowded. We went back the next day & it was empty. A lot of expats make Chiang Mai home, about 40 thousand. Most are into small business & charity organization or NGOs. It is the next largest city in the country or so I’m told & close to the famous Golden Triangle & beautiful mountain country. I believe the highest peak in Thailand is nearby at almost 2,600 meters. The land is very Buddhist & loyal to their king. I’ve added some quotes from his New Year address. I found them interesting & worth noting. Okay, write more from the job fair in Bangkok, about the 6th or 7th.

…live with consciousness, be mindful and brace for unwanted events in the future.

Suffering, threats and hindrances will come to our lives from time to time. Nobody always stays happy.

Remain mindful by being aware of what you think and do all the time.