A Quiet Sunday and a Busier Monday

I was pretty tired on Sunday after our long trip on Saturday. I was glad the only thing I had scheduled was a two-hour massage with Dang. It felt great! In the evening, we decided to walk due east to try to find the Whole Earth Restaurant, which had been recommended by Dan's Thai tutor. We found it easily and were surprised. It is a beautiful place. The main building was built in 1970 and served as the home of the first Transcendental Mediation Center in Chiang Mai. At that time they had a vegetarian restaurant as part of the center. For quite some time it has been just the restaurant, but the surroundings are unusual. Read more about the restaurant here.

Whole Earth grounds

Looking down at the pavilion on the right

Fresh spring rolls (not fried)

Mango shake with orchid and watermelon garnishes

Pad Thai - medium size. Notice vegetables on side not already mixed in.

Pineapple fried rice - more flavorful than last week's

On the walk I took a picture of the southeast corner wall of the old city. As we see everywhere, there is a picture of the king. We must have seen dozens of these on Saturday from our van.

And I couldn't resist this small restaurant, Tiny House, in front of a large well-known bookstore. It was truly tiny!

One of the men Dan plays pickle ball with gave him a photo he had printed out. I took a shot of it and thought you would enjoy it.

Monday afternoon we met up with Woodstock friends Jonathan and Mary Kay (Burkhalter) Larson. They are passing through Chiang Mai on an epic retirement trip around the world. We had fun chatting and after some coffee, we took them back to Smith Suites and showed them our room. They are considering spending more time here at some point.

While waiting to meet them on the corner, I saw these young Buddhist monks waiting to cross the street.