Happy New Year 2025

We had a fairly quiet week after our lovely Christmas dinner at Et's house. 

For New Year's Eve, Dr. Smith (owner of our building) put on a lovely catered dinner for residents of his two buildings. The Smith Residence is the older one and is about 3 blocks away from ours, the Smith Suites. When we first came to Chiang Mai for the winter, ten years ago, I found the Smith Residence online. It had exactly what we wanted -- a kitchenette and a pool. But it was full, so I found another place, adequate, but less desirable. Shortly before we were due to leave, we had an email from Smith saying that they had a new building and we could stay there. And we've stayed here every time since then. The management is very good; last week we had a drippy faucet in the bathroom, and the repairman came and replaced it within a couple of hours of our request. (There is also now a Smith Hotel across the street from the Residence, but we haven't been inside.) The Residence has a bar and a small restaurant, which we don't have. Dr. Smith is a dentist and very friendly. Dave told us last night that when a resident was bitten by a dog and needed rabies shots, Dr. Smith himself came and administered the shots daily so the person didn't have to go to the hospital. For New Year's Eve, we were all given black Smith Residence T-shirts. You can see some people wearing them in the photos.

Reception desk at the Residence

By the time we arrived, the tables set up in the lobby were full. I suspect they were mostly people from the Residence, who came down early. We managed to find a couch with a coffee table and sat there.

Tables set up for the dinner

Tuna appetizers and spring rolls

Potato salad with sweet potatoes; grilled chicken

Noodle dish and fried rice

Oranges for dessert, all shiny

There was also soup, which we didn't try. We enjoyed the food but didn't hang around long. On our walk home we saw lots of fireworks, even though it was just 8:00. I had my evening swim and again had glimpses of fireworks in every direction. We were surprised to wake at midnight to hear a barrage of firecrackers, lots of them very loud. This is the first year we've been here in December so we didn't know what to expect.

Here's wishing you all a wonderful 2025.