A Priceless Day Trip

Today I traveled "The Samoeng Loop" on my motorbike for the first time. Considered one of the premier day trips for the bike or motorbike enthusiast, it's a 100-kilometer (about 62 miles) stretch that cruises through the mountain terrain to the west of Chiang Mai.

Below is the item-by-item price list for the trip...

One tank of gas for my Honda Dream: 90 baht

The ultimate northern Thai lunch -- somtam (spicy papaya salad with crab), gai yang (grilled chicken), and khaawniaw (sticky rice) : 65 baht

A bottle of wine from a strawberry farm in Samoeng: 200 baht

A Thai massage upon returning to Chiang Mai from the four-hour trip: 150 baht

(I passed by this sign early on my trip. It translates to "Beware, elephants." And yes, there was an elephant on the road. Anyways, I thought it was representative of how Thai massage sometimes feels like an elephant stepping on you. But it's a good hurt.)

Total cost of today's excursion: 505 baht (not quite $17).

A fully relaxing day with beautiful scenery on the open road: Priceless.

There are some things money just can't buy. For everything else, there's Thailand.

Cheers,

Eric

The Holiday Season

Holiday greetings to everyone -- and I'm not even talking Christmas yet.

The past few weeks have been full of holiday celebrating. First in line was the Thai holiday of Loy Krathong. It probably would be considered as the second most festive holiday in the country. During the holiday season (Thais like to celebrate, so it usually spans about two weeks), the evening sky is filled with beautiful lanterns, the river filled with homemade banana-leaf floats, and everyone's ears filled with the thunderous claps of fireworks and explosives into the late hours of the night.

I enjoyed two Thanksgiving meals this year. The first, on Thanksgiving evening, with some close friends from the mission. We went to The Dukes restaurant where we were able to enjoy a meal with all the traditional fixings. In the next week, Payap University also shared a Thanksgiving meal with students. Two rounds of turkey this year!

Last weekend was the celebration of His Majesty The King's birthday, which, not coincidentally, coincides with Father's Day in Thailand. The church I attend held its annual church camp during the weekend, at a great quiet place north of Chiang Mai. It was great to see some old friends and former Bible Institute students who were able to make it to the camp!

Finally, today is Constitution Day. I'm not exactly sure how it celebrated other than a day off of school and the closing of government offices. As for me, I celebrated by sleeping in, getting a Thai massage, and taking a nice long nap.

Happy holidays, whichever ones you're celebrating!

Eric