Wednesday

I don't know if I"ll be posting every day, but so far there is so much to show and tell. If I skip a day, I won't be able to remember as much. Wednesday Dan had pickle ball again at the park and I went for my third Tai Chi lesson. I'm not the most advanced in the class of 6, but not the worst either! As I sat outside before class, I looked at my hurting toe and realized that I had an enormous blister in the outside corner (fortunately, not where it hit my sandal). On the way home, I stopped at a pharmacy to get some rubbing alcohol (available in a nice tiny bottle) and bandaging material. It is already better. While there, I asked about doxycycline, which we need to take as a malarial preventive for when we go to Cambodia and Vietnam in a few weeks. The young woman asked the right questions about drug interactions and allergies and included a little card with the proper dosage (2 a day for 2 days before departure, one a day while there, and one a day for 4 weeks after return). All this cost about $15 (100 capsules plus the first aid supplies). I also saw another lovely spirit house on the walk. Notice the offerings on the platform below the house.

A shot of road signs at a corner. The small roads (sois) off the main roads are identified by the name of the main road and a number. Fortunately for me, the number is in Arabic numerals. This is Soi 3 and my turnoff is at Soi 2.

I didn't do much the rest of the day; I am nursing a cold that has settled into a URI with  a cough. I'm glad I had some cough medicine in my medical kit bag. Dan had another Thai lesson in the afternoon and I did get my swim in. The pool is wonderful, salt water with no chemicals and feels good on the skin. I really enjoy swimming in it.

We had a light lunch in the room and headed out for dinner in the area we had gone the night before. But on the way we stopped off at an optical shop. One of my pairs of glasses lost its nose pad and I wanted to replace it. While waiting in the shop, I couldn't help admiring the swan doilies on the tables. I think they may have been machine-made and the swans were sewed on. Not exactly my taste, but quite impressive!

As in most places of business, photos of the royal family are on the walls. Many buildings even have a picture of the king on the outside.

This area inside the Old City is dense with tourist facilities. The shops include many hotels, restaurants, motorcycle and bicycle rental shops, tourism opportunities, massage parlors and convenience stores. I think "boutique" means "more expensive." A few of the sights along the way:

Boutique hotel

Budget hotel

Another boutique hotel

 Most restaurants have a pedestal with their menu on the sidewalk in front. We can compare offerings and prices, which are pretty much the same (at least in the Thai places). The sign below is from a sort of kiosk that has an interesting menu!

I had pineapple fried rice with chicken, which looked very blah but tasted good. Dan had a stir-fry with wide noodles, lots of veggies (and chilis!) and some pork.

We like our room quite well. Unfortunately, it is on the south side of the building, so we have sun all day. When we are in the room, we keep the hall door open and a nice breeze comes through. We only have used the air-conditioner briefly when we come into the room and it is very hot. Then we can run just the fan. I'd be happy with a ceiling fan, but they didn't install them in this new building (only 3 months old). We have cleaners who come in twice a week and change the linens. We do our own breakfast and lunch (or occasionally the evening meal). Here is a shot of our kitchenette after breakfast. It has a sink (cool water only), a drainboard, about 20" of counter space, a two-burner glass-topped stove, and another 9 inches of counter. There is a decent amount of cupboard space. We are provided with a skillet and pot; two each large plates, medium plates, bowls, mugs and glasses; two each forks, teaspoons, tablespoons; one ladle and one knife. We plan to pick up a table knife soon, as spreading butter or peanut butter with a kitchen knife probably isn't the best way to do it! We bought a few cheap hand towels for bathroom and kitchen. Notice the bottled water under the window; we buy a six-pack of 1-1/2 liter bottles about every 2-3 days. Fortunately it is quite cheap.

We are told a cold spell is on the way -- rain and highs around 70°F. Compared to the current weather in Goshen, that's not too bad!