Arrival in Chiang Mai

When I first arrived in Kamphaengphet many years ago as a 22 year old, many of the men asked me, leeringly, มา ถึง แล้วหรือ ยัง? Have you arrived yet? The slang meaning - have you gotten laid yet? Fortunately, they had taught us this slang before we got to Thailand so we were in on the joke, but it didn't stop people from asking and laughing hard. I have arrived in Chiengmai in the literal sense only. And no one has asked. I got picked up at the airport by Grib who is the Chiang Mai representative of the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) who we'd met last year when we were here and taken to the Pooh Guest house. By about two I was asleep and with a few brief sleepy intervals, stayed that way until this morning's breakfast.


View from my room



The wifi in the guest house isn't working so after a great breakfast of boiled rice soup, some Thai sweets, I'm sitting at the front desk with my laptop connected to the internet. Soon I'm hoping I will reduce this addiction. I have to get to an ATM for some Thai money and to a place to see if my I can renew the old simcard in the phone we bought last year when we were here. I start work tomorrow Grib said and have to look at a couple of housing options nearer the office. Joan should be headed for Seattle in a few hours - if I've got my dual time function on my watch working right - and then LA and should be here in ten days. I'm already missing her.