Happy New Year!!!!!

Communication with the tuk tuk driver had been difficult because we had forgotten to bring the address to the guest house. We had directed him to the night bazaar because we knew it was nearby and were pleasantly surprised when he rounded a corner and we saw something we recognized. We got out there and walked 2 blocks to the guesthouse. Just to the right of the guesthouse was a mom & pop grocery with very limited items that fortuitously included cold bottles of Chang beer for 30 Baht ($1.00). As we stepped out of the grocery a woman yelled to us.......


Timmy – You want foot massage?

P- (to Gina) OMG! I'd love a foot massage. My feet are killing me! Let's do it.

G- I want to go up to the room first and use the bathroom and get the computer. We'll come back. (to Timmy)

P- How much?

Timmy – 60 Baht for 30 minute.

G- We come back. (Yes, we've taken to speaking like this. Why waste complete sentences or proper grammar when you're trying to get your point across?)

We sat in the guesthouse's breeze way which is lined with large, almost single bed like, chaises with cushions and big pillows. We enjoyed the cool breeze and our cold beers as we checked our emails and facecrack. Around 7:00 pm we stopped for a 2nd beer and went to see Timmy.

P- Hi, Timmy! We're back.

Timmy – Sit, sit. Only me. All students off for New Year.

G- That's not a problem. You can do her first and then me second.

Timmy, mid 50s, totally knew what she was doing and was a God send. We learned that she also taught massage classes. A Thai foot massage is more about pressure points than the rubbing you get during a pedicure. She rubbed Phyl's feet with oil, then pressed on certain pressure points with a little wooden dowel.

P- (grimacing) *small gasp*

G- You ok?

P- Yes. It hurts, but in a good way. Ya know?

Timmy – You walk a lot?

P- Yes, Timmy. It seems we walk miles everyday.

Timmy -(as she rubbed up Phyl's leg to her knee) You have scar tissue here, here, and here.

P- That sounds about right. I have knee problems. Can you help that?

Timmy- A little, but it take a long time.

A man walked up (Australian or British) and Timmy told him hello.

Man – Can you make my dinner?

Timmy- No. In 30 minute. You come back?

Man- Ok, I'll come back.

Timmy then turned her attention to my feet. All was good until she drove her dowel into the middle of the arch of my left foot. ARGH!!!! I yelled and jumped.

Timmy – That hurt?

G- Ouch!! Yes, Timmy! That really hurts!

Timmy – You have small colon, too small little intestines.

G- No shit! I've had problems with my intestines and colon for such a long time.

Timmy – Yes, I can see.

The remainder of my massage was enjoyable and we chatted with Timmy whose English was very good. We started seeing little fires up in the sky.

P- Timmy, what is that?

Timmy – Um, how you say? Hot air balloons?

G- Hot air balloons?

Timmy – Yes, to celebrate new year.

P- I've been sitting here, seeing them grow in number, and wondering what the hell they were.

As we sat there, more and more hot air balloons filled the sky. It was very pretty. After my massage, the guy returned and Timmy went next door to her restaurant (yes, Timmy is a Jack of all trades) and cooked the guy dinner on a little propane burner with a wok and all fresh ingredients. We decided that we should also eat dinner at Timmy's restaurant and ordered fried rice and chicken curry. She ground the curry seasonings in the small “kitchen”, and I use the term loosely and cooked each dish one at a time. Her curry was divine and her fried rice was very yummy.

As is the norm, dishes arrive at your table one at a time, and you must eat each as it arrives if you want to eat it hot. We discovered that this is due to the fact that the cook is making each item in the same wok. The fastest things are made first. In the west, we are accustomed to soups being served before the rice or main dish, but here, the soup it typically last. We assume this is because it takes longer to make.

After dinner we decided to walk along the moat and see the goings on. I grabbed my sweatshirt and Phyl her jacket because it was fairly cool. We were ecstatic that we were not sweating!! We walked the 3 blocks to the moat and discovered that the hot air balloons were really super sized paper lanterns powered, and propelled, by a burning fuel cake. There were many lantern hawkers and we purchased one for 50 Baht (about $1.75 USD). We thoroughly enjoyed holding our lantern as it filled with hot air and watched, like little children on Christmas morning, as we released it and it rose into the dark sky. The scene was festive and the road along the moat was closed to traffic and filled with revelers.

We walked along the moat and looked at the vendors' wares. Food stalls lined the moat and we were so very disappointed that we had eaten dinner. I did purchase a skewer of grilled squid, heated on an open flame and served to me in a clear bag with some sweet chili pepper sauce. It was yummy even if a few crunchy parts were a bit disconcerting. The atmosphere was excited but relaxed. Crowds of people mingled around the food vendors and a concert at the main gate drew a large crowd. As we neared midnight, we returned to Loi Kroh Rd and the location where we had previously sent up our lantern.

We stepped into a bar to use the bathroom and grab a cold beer. We sat next to a group of Thais celebrating the western new year (It should be noted that most Thais are Buddhists, they follow a different calendar with Buddha as the starting point, whereas the western calendar follows Jesus as the starting point. The Buddhist new year is in April and they're current year is ahead of the west's.) I sat next to a Thai girl who had gone to college in America and was currently living in London. She was sharing a snack of various bugs with her friends and offered me some. The water bugs were about 3” long and she pulled off the wings before biting off the heads. This, I declined, but I did accept her offer to taste something that resembled a grub worm and something that resembled a beetle. The beetle was more tasty than the grub worm, but neither were so delicious that I would have to eat them again. Maybe if they had been sauteed in a red wine sauce! :)

Standing on the corner, waiting for midnight, we started talking to 2 Frenchman. We sent up another lantern...............

G- This sure is beautiful, but it is an environmental nightmare!! The wire on the lanterns and the paper itself, is no doubt, strewn across Chiang Mai, in waterways and rain forests, for years to come.

P- But it sure is fun and beautiful to see the hundreds of them floating in the sky.

G- I agree, it is beautiful.

We talked to the guys for a while and eventually I took a photo with one of them.

G- Did you see that that asshole had his hand on my ass while you took that photo?

P- Yeah, I saw. I was thinking, in your dreams, buddy. You might be touching her ass, but she's going home with me. I contemplated kicking him in the nuts, but decided against it since he bought me a beer. Nasty ass pervert!!!

G- I'm glad you restrained yourself. I decided not to cause a scene.

We yelled Happy New Year, but were disappointed because no one did a countdown. We just all yelled Happy New Year, in various languages, at the stroke of midnight. This was the second time we had been out of the country for New Year's Eve, the first with Connor in Paris, when changed from 2005 to 2006. Too bad Connor wasn't with us this time too!!!!