Category: Frank’ Blog

Sawasdee Khrap

Just finishing up the week with visiting friends from the US, John & Roy.   Here is a shot of them at the tour for the Queen’s Bhubing Palace. 

So far here are some other places we have seen , 

Doi Suthep Temple,

Bhubing Palace (summer residence of the Queen),

Maeo (Hmong) Tribal Village, 

Mae Ya Waterfall (Doi Inthanon Nat Park – we didn’t get to the top of the mountain),

BaantaWai (wood handicraft village),  [so far I can’t find a non-commercial link to here]

Simon’s Cabaret (famous LadyBoy Show),

Palaad Tawanron Restaurant (great restaurant below waterfall for dinner), 

Oriental Mandarin Dara Dhevi for Chinese lunch (5 star – beautiful )

Just to name a few and today we will go to Lampang and take a horse carriage ride through the old walled city.  Maybe visit the Lignite Mine and surrounding area.

We are taking pictures and video and hope to have them ready after the visit – but you can go to the links above  and get a good idea how beautiful these places are.

Plan your Thai vacation here and I know you will be fascinated with the beauty and friendliness of the Thai people – especially in Chiang Mai ——— Join Us.

Sorry – Gotta go

Ciao

Frank

I almost forgot – here are some shots from the “LadyBoy” Contest held last Saturday night near the Friendship Bar in the Night Bazaar. Nui’s place — I didn’t stay to see who won , it was very late and I find I cannot stay up like I used to and function the next day. It’s hard to believe these are boys – or were boys in the beginning. Ladyboys are very accepted in Thailand and there is no discrimination – you see them working everywhere, some, like the girls here, are very, very beautiful while others just honor their female side. Several of the contestants were from Simon’s. Anyway

Sorry for the placement of these shots – the blogging software put them this way.

Frank

8670 feet high (2650 km) is the King’s Pagoda at Doi Inthanon mountain and National park. What a sight, we got there in the afternoon just before the clouds engulfed the mountain – you can see the foggy clouds moving in. Not many tourist – actually just 6 there today including us, but a lot of tribal workers planting new flowers and park rangers working on the facilities. It was 35 C (95F) degrees in Chiang Mai and here it was 18 (64F) degrees C. quite a difference but not as cold a SF. Very comfortable for me but cold for Tasanai and all the workers were in jackets and extra clothing – Before you get to the top of the mountain there are 2 major waterfalls – Maeya and Wachirathan Falls —– I didn’t have the wide angle lens with me so these shots don’t rally show the size – but they are both big and beautiful – there are really spectacular during the rainy season, but I don’t think you can get very close at that time —– If you come to visit we will make sure a side trip to the park is in your itinerary.

and Wachirathan

I’ll try to add more pictures in the Gallery – I hope to have it set up before the first of the year – but I am working on the AsianCoOp Shopping Cart store software first and this seems like a major project – cutting into my travels.

Ciao Frank

Here’s a great article on Lek’s Elephant Park from the Chiang Mai Mail.   http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/success.shtml

In my other blog I mentioned Lek’s park –  here is a pic from the article – please check out the article and when in Chaing Mai be sure and stop by.  Great experience – wonderful for the kids as well. – really feed the elephants, give them a river bath – work at the park if you desire.

 

I’ll post some of my pictures in another post soon – but this article caught my eye.

 

Ciao

Frank

 

 

Tasanai and I were having lunch at a local restaurant  – “Jerusalem Falafel” ( it’s great for Mediterranean food) and Tasanai spotted an article pinned on the wall about a special massage being offered.  After reading the article I decided to try it out so we call to set an appointment.  We were told that their office was in San Sai District about 25 Km from Chiang Mai and the lady’s daughter would meet us at the local City Hall.  When we met at the parking lot, the daughter exclaimed that our car used to be hers – she recognize the license plate even though the car had been painted another color – what a shock – we had just bought it and here we meet the previous owner. 

Anyway we followed her to the office and meet Ni , her mother – she showed us where she had dented the car and it was still there – everyone was really surprise – was it a coincidence or divine assistance.  I’ll leave that question up to you – I think it was the latter.  I needed her services and now we had something in common – in addition she needed some support and help with her web advertising – right up our alley – It’s a small world isn’t it.

Tasanai says that they Ni and He both honor the same Spirit and so the connection is very strong – What’s your comment?

Ciao   Frank

Sawasdee Khrap again

Lot to report this week – I also went to a unique and amazing massage given by  Khun ‘Ni’ (nickname)  actually  Bunjong Phan – with 28 years experience in Thai Massage and former specialist at Tao Garden Health Resort.   Called a genital health massage it is offered for both men and women – in men it’s prostrate and low circulation problems,  for women I didn’t ask !!  Takes a hour and a half and includes a full body herbal hot compress using Thai herbs.  

Great – I feel better, my legs don’t hurt as much as before – it seemed to help my back problem, relieved the strain and pressure and definitely increased my  libido.  I have a book she gave me, explaining the full Tao Massage and this specialty called  “Karsai Nei Tsang”.

Karsai Nei Tsang addresses the common problems associated with the sexual organs.  Blockages from the entanglement of nerves and circulatory vessels and accumulation of sedimentation or coagulation in the groin area, weakened or constricted muscle or ligament tissues,  and harding or constriction in respective organs interfere with circulation and thereby healthy functions diminish.  This is a massage of the glands and sexual organs  – not a ‘sexual’ massage.  In addition it’s quite effective in alleviating lower back pain, improving the body’s alignment, and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and increasing general vitality.  AND IT WORKS.

Tasanai is preparing a full page in the AsianCoOp web site for her – check it out – get your teeth fixed, great massage and vacation — Come on over

Ciao

Frank

 

Sawasdee Khrap

Want a vacation in Thailand?    Do you need to have dental work done?   Why not combine the two and get them both for the same price.  If you have to have major dental work done – have it done in Thailand.

For examples:

 Tasanai just got a new crown for a molar and it cost us 8,000 Baht, that’s US $200 – and what great service the dentist took 1 1/2 hr just preparing the tooth for the crown , making a mold and installing a temporary filling  – next Saturday he will install the crown – a semi-precious metal (platinum) insert and a porcelain crown –   The last time I checked that would cost about &1000 US – quite a savings – USE it for a plane ticket and see beautiful Thailand at the same time.

I had my teeth cleaned – 200 Baht  US  $5 —– in the States I pay $78 each time —

We have a great dentist here — Dr. Warut Muttarak DDS.  and his wife.  She is a dentist too , so gentle, she did my cleaning and I am really sensitive – didn’t feel a thing.  First time I felt like I WANTED to go to a dentist.

Anyway I just had to post this – check it out.

Tasanai is going to add a page to the website for the Dentist Office – you can look for it here.

Ciao

Frank

 

 

Sawasdee Khrap

We have been staying at home lately, or at least I have been, Tasanai had been in Lampang twice so far this month to video record several events. His business is really taking off, getting more and more requests. I think I mentioned before, his new business is providing a Portfolio of 2 Kodak paper 8×10 prints, 15 ink-jet proof sheets with 4 ea images and a 2 hour DVD of each project. He gets 2000 Baht or $50 for each project and then gets orders for enlargements and Kodak prints. So far a nice side business. He’s done 4–5 so far.

So he’s in Lampang now and I decided to take a short walk from the condo and get some shots of Wat Monthain. It’s just down the street at the moat. Let’s see, I’d say that’s about in the left half of the inside of the north side of the moat – Better yet – here is a Google Map: It’s a big file so it will take time to see the expanded view.

I hope you can see everything ; We presently live at HillSide4 at the top left of the map and used to live at the Lotus Hotel (bottom left next to the big shopping center Kad Suan Kaew). You can also see Simon’s (upper right area) – that’s the best “Ladyboy” show in Thailand and the YMCA – that’s a hotel actually, not bad, I stayed there last year when I visited Chiang Mai.

Oh Ya – Wat Monthain, look for it in the lower right area – here are some shots of it.

You have to be here to really see the colors – I’ll have some more later – Ciao

We just got back from the hospital, went there to make sure we were all right.  We took a trip to Lampang and on the way back started to get a very bad headache, having trouble with blurry vision and very hight-headed.  We just made it to the house and parked the car when I realized we were poisoned with carbon monoxide.  Checking the car, I find it didn’t have a tail pipe extending out the rear – it had broken off at the muffler and fumes were coming in the back area.  What a close call – Tasanai was very sick – almost vomiting – I wasn’t that bad but very dizzy – felt like I was drunk. But we had made it home – sick but safe.

It has taken till today for us to feel better, and we are still not fully recovered.  I took the car into the shop and they added a back tail-pipe  – but it’s amazing that a $10 US – 450 Baht repair could have costs us our lives.   I don’t know if the pipe was on the car when we bought it – I didn’t really check, so I can’t say.  But that simple pipe could have killed us.  It wouldn’t have been much longer before we passed out and got into a accident.

Thank God that’s over, cars fixed and hopefully tomorrow we will both feel back to normal.

Ciao – more adventures to come.

Frank

Boy did we go on the wrong day. Here’s a shot of Mok Fah Waterfall, slightly north of Chiang Mai. We went to test the car and check this place out for possible future photo sessions. We got there about 3:00 in the afternoon and it was sweltering back in the canyon. I was dripping wet in about one half hour of walking and shooting here. Not a place to take a model unless you expect to get wet shots – however, I am sure that we will try that later. Should have waited another day as it gets really hot and muggy just before it starts to rain – and it sure was at that stage then. Last night it started raining and the temperature cooled down – today, actually in the morning, would be the best time to shoot the falls – next time we go we will check the weather forecast and and try to pick a cooler time. I have more shots I am working on that we took and will post them in the future. This was just a tease – please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Ciao

Frank

Sawasdee Khrap

Just took some quick shots of the condo – no checking for perspective – just to show what it looks like. First the living room and kitchen areas

I had to use the wide angle lens to try to show the best view of the place and it tends to add a lot of distortion – anyway you get the idea. I really like the metal carving art pictures on the wall – we got it at Bann Ta Wai – a small district south of Chiang Mai known for its handicraftsman. You can also see the view we have from the living room – see the panoramic I took earlier. The kitchen is quite large and so far has really been nice for our entertainment of guests, Tasanai loves to cook and has prepared some really great Thai dishes – he’s learning farang cooking now. Now here is the remaining shots:

The bedroom and office — for you who saw my San Francisco apt – I cut and hung the Chinese 4 Seasons murals on the headboard, really fits the decor. The office is just my usual computer stuff

but I did get several insect displays from the Chiang Mai Night Bazzar. And finally here is a shot of the waterfall we have on the balcony – fish and all – really nice to have breakfast out there with the view and the sound of the waterfall. Hope you enjoy –

NOTE; I still need your comments –

Ciao

Frank

Here is a picture of our little Mira. Just got back from a trip to Lampang for Ed’s (Tasanai’s cousin) Spirit Ceremony. 200 Km trip. I have to admit that if we are going to go on long trips I will need to rent a larger car. This one is really too small for me for anything over a 200–300 Km trip. It got about 45 M/Gal – converted – we use only metric over here, but it really sucked up the water – must be a leak in the cooling system somewhere – although I can’t see it. It’s a real pain to make sure to check it after every 150 Km or so, just to make sure it doesn’t over-heat. I have to take it back to the shop and see if they can stop it from leaking. But, so far that’s all the problems we have had with the little beauty. Besides the SHORT leg-room. Definitely wasn’t made for farangs, most Thais, when I pass them, just smile when they see me in such a little car. – haha –

We went to Lampang for Ed’s yearly changing of the Lana Culture Spirit Altars. Each year he has to replace the khantokes (special bowels), flowers and altar setups he has at his house. Tasanai’s house has a similar setup for the Spirits for their family. Ed is one of the special people ( Yok Khan Kru ) who the ancient spirits use to speak in this world. This custom is part of the old Lana Culture and not in Buddhism or Hindu beliefs. In Thailand all three beliefs are intertwined – Buddha, Brahman, and Spirit – in that order.

Tasanai, because he is a relative, was invited to participate in the service and was also hired to take video and digital photos. As one of the services offered by AsianCoOp.com, Tasanai will record special events and then supply a DVD and photos in a portfolio form. I think I mentioned this before – so he was really busy the whole time we were there.

I have more pictures of the car and trip later.

Ciao for now

Frank

Here is the first pictures from our new HillSide 4 Condo. This panoramic view is from the front room balcony – (we face the city and not Doi Suthep as in the other place). If you look closely , the brown building at the right of the picture is the Lotus where we had a room before. You can see some of the flowers on the balcony but you will have to wait to see the waterfall we have there too. We have just about finished with the main decorating of the place – just need some mirrors on the living room wall to make the room look bigger and we should be done. – I’ll have the shots for you to see then. Sometime next week.

I’ll also have some shots of the new car we bought. – Small, everyone smiles and sometimes laughs to see a large “farang” behind the wheel. Driving on the left side of the road is getting easier each day. Tasanai has his license but now needs to get some practice before really taking the car out on his own. I got my Thai license so now I’m set. My California license doesn’t expire till 2010 so I’ve got both countries covered. — The cost of gas, or actually benzene here, is about 29 Baht per liter. Our little car gets about 14 Km per liter. That’s with the air conditioning on – but without it I think we will get about 20 Km/L. Let’s see, putting that into US $ would be approx. $2.86 per Gal and we get almost 23.6 miles/gal with air – 38 with no air con on the flat. Not that bad. Thank God Thailand is not that big – so our auto costs won’t be all that high even though we do travel across the country.
Tasanai’s video business is really taking off – 2 more venues this month. Another spirit-dancing event and a ceremony of a new monk “taking his bowl and robe”. Both in Lampang – I’ll probably go and get some shots myself to show you.

Anyway this is just a update – see you next week

Oh Ya, Now with the car, I plan to be on the road again shortly – starting to rain here, at least once a day but the showers only last about 2 hrs. Pours like hell but is over soon and most people don’t even use a umbrella (used more for the sun), they just get wet and it will dry soon when it stops. It is humid though. One large cloud raining like hell and the rest of the sky and area sunny — haha

Ciao

Frank

Sawasdee Khrap

We just bought a new car   – or actually a used car, a Dihatsu Mira – 3 cylinder, heavily customized purple 2 door mini car.  Really cute, I’ll have some photos next week.   Not made for very long trips but should do nicely for our travels.  The paperwork is being done now and sun reflective film is being applied to the windows so we won’t really have it till next Monday afternoon.  But then we will test it out with some local trips and photos.

As for the status of the Web-site – the shopping cart software will not be ready for at least another 3 weeks – what a bummer.  Delays, delays, delays.

Over the weekend I will try to add some new pictures –

Ciao

Frank