Last Week in Chiang Mai

We are on the countdown to our departure on Sunday. In spite of my setbacks with health and knee, the two months here have gone by quickly. Sunday morning we fly to Penang, where Dan will get his next visa in Georgetown and then we'll enjoy a couple of days at the beach.

This morning I went to a print shop near my tai chi school to get our boarding passes and a few other things printed. (We couldn't get the Air Asia passes to come over electronically.) I was surprised to see that they were draining the section of the moat nearest us. When I got a bit further along I could see a digger scooping up the mud, but I didn't see where they were putting it. Traffic was backed up, as the road was reduced to one lane in that area.

Graffiti on a lamp post. I'm not sure if the perpetrator wanted us to know that he was "bad," or just wanted to write something randomly.

I like this street sign:  "Share the Road." Indeed there are cars, trucks, buses, motor scooters and bicycles everywhere (not sure how I happened to catch this road with almost no traffic, though!). Thailand is a pretty laid back place and there seems to be no sense of road rage. I think I heard a horn beep three or four times in two months. (Not quite like India!)

Earlier I posted about a new Ganesh temple, and today I finally went inside. There is an open area with a sign that there is a gathering at 8:30 every evening. The golden Ganesha is attractive.

There are niches along the entry way walls with different Hindu gods and goddesses. And of course there is a shop at the front selling lots of small idols and baubles.

This is a typical produce seller along the road in front of the Tesco Express where I regularly shop. Today I was looking for pomelo, but no one had any. I hope I can get it once more before I leave!