Orchestral Leader

Orchestral Leader
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan

Chiang Rai Youth Orchestra, Doi Chaang Coffee House, 29/11/09.

Violin Rai

Violin 2
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan

Violinist, Chiang Rai Youth Orchestra, Doi Chaang Coffee House, Chiang Rai, Thailand, 29/11/09.

Third week in Chiang Rai

Another week passes. Notably the weather hasn't been as wintry as the previous week. The couds shifted and the northerly winds mostly subsided. It hasn't again been as hot as when we first arrived but its been warm enough during the day. Evenings have varied from being OK to sit out in shorts and t-shirt to needing long sleeves and a jumper. Last night I joined the nightly drinking and talking gang at the guest house. The Thais were all in coats, one wrapped up like an English festival goer might be, while the Europeans were in a variety of shorts, trousers, shirts and thin jumpers.

The other notable events of the week have been meeting Onepen and Maurice, a Thai-English couple who are building their luxury house in a village near to town. She teaches English to kids from the surrounding area every weekend in a purpose-built classroom on their land. We have also met Thia, a north European traveller who has settled in Thailand and Tom, a gentle and positive Huddersfield bloke who lives hear with his Thai wife and two kids. He's 65 and has a 3 and a 2 year old!

We've been to the Rim Kok once, but the pool is too cold for Kaya now who complained bitterly at going in, the Youth Orchestra and the Saturday Walking Market. Where last week Thais were dressed up in their winter coats, this week it was back to shirts.

I've also had to spend some time on tenders and grant apps which has taken up some mornings. We've also been to the palypark a few times where Kaya loves going down the slide with me to be lifted into G's arms at the bottom. She's met some Thai children, who all interacted with her at the park. The park also hosts regular evening keep-fit sessions to music - everything from trance to synthetic electro-pop. Kaya's crawled around a few more temples, had the pleasure of being greeted by a monk. We've also been to one of our favourite cafes - the Panja - and I've done a little bit more photography of Buddha images and other Buddhist art at the temples as well as a big tree with abandoned spirit houses.

Today (or tomorrow according to blogtime-UK) we move out of Peter's House over the lane to the guest house for a night then we are going to My Dream Guesthouse for a few days before returning to Chiang Rai for a week.

Buddha Revealed

Buddha Revealed
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan

One of the Buddha images in Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Rai, seen through gilded stalks of lotus seeds.

Abandoned Spirit Houses

Abandoned Spirit Houses
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan

Chiang Rai, Thailand. Discarded and broken Buddhist spirit houses are taken to a large holy tree in the middle of a road where they are deposited. Their importance means that they cannot be simply dumped when they need to be replaced.

Vacating Peter's House

We had the news from Mr Chian today that Peter is returning from China very soon and we'll have to leave his house at the end of our initial three weeks. We'll be out on Thursday or Friday which is something of a shame as we have got used to the space and having a kitchen. We'll have to make the most of it before we go. We'll probably move into a room in the guest house for a few days. We may then go to My Dream for a few days, a riverside guesthouse along the Mae Kok River from Chiang Rai in a rural location, before returning to Chiang Rai for Kaya's last Hep B jab then return to Chiang Mai for a few days before flying to Krabi.

Cometh Winter Weather

Winter has set into Chiang Rai since Friday. Its been coming all week, ever since cloud blanketed the skies on the morning of our visit to the White Temple. A couple of cloud mornings giving away to sunny afternoons didn't drop the temperature much and it remained 30 oC + in our bedroom at the start of the night. Day time temps have been 32-33 oC and outside evening temps only a little less.

Over the week the cloud lingered longer through the day until we noticed that Friday was a couple of degrees cooler than previous days with an almost chilly wind when felt under shade. It was still shorts and t-shirt weather for my visit to the Night Bazaar that evening.

Then it was Saturday. The cloud thickened and the cool winter breezes picked up with the arrival of the weekend. The temp in the shade at about 9am was 23 oC and it dropped a bit furthr during the day. We didn't spend long in the Rim Kok pool or stay in swimmers much either. Kaya needed a towel over her for her early afternoon nap. I thought briefly of taking a jumper to the Walking Market but thought it wasn't that chilly yet. But, between 5 and 8pm it was cool enough to welcome a long-sleeved shirt or jumper and Georgia had goose pimples on her arms. Luckily we'd thought ahead for Kaya and put her in a sleepsuit. Thais were covered in coats, woolly hats and scarves - foreigners managing happily in shirts.

Where on Thursday night we were still using the fan and a sheet on our bed, by Saturday night the fan was off and a blanket on.

This is more like the weather we remember from our last visit here and why we have brought jumpers and fleeces with us. I think it is brought by the northern monsoon across China which pushes cold wind over Thailand from the north during November and December.

It should make days much more manageable for us all as we won't have to avoid the heat between 11am to 3pm like we did so should have more flexibility as to when we go out with Kaya. We should pick up the heat again by the time we go down south to Krabi and Koh Lanta on the 17th December. Until then we'll wrap up warm, be thankful for a warm shower and think of England!

Three Aubergine Red Curry

We're making the most of our access to the kitchen in Peter's House while we can. Tonight I made a red curry with three types of Thai little aubergines, a white round, green and white variegated oval and mini purple ones. It was absolutely delicious. Luckily the white and the purple are 5 baht (less than 10p) for 12 each and the variegated ones the same for about 20. And there's lots of them and red curry paste left!

That was the Week that was in Chiang Rai

Its another Saturday in Chiang Rai which means its the Saturday evening Walking Market. It also means another week has passed.

This last week has been half dominated by my work, writing audio and iPod trails for a client in the UK. Friday was the deadline for the first drafts and it ended up being a three session day beginning at 9.30 and ending at 10.30. This could have been avoided if I'd done half a day on Wednesday or Thursday but I was waiting on replies to some queries from the client before completing the drafts. I'd been in two minds on whether to send the queries to them at the start of the week or leaving them in the drafts. We'd decided on the former which caused the long Friday session as they didn't reply to the specific queries they could or were prepared to answer and let us know firmly that general queries we'd have to do the research for.

The remainder of the week has all been in Chiang Mai, mixing our time between Kaya, yoga, swimming, visiting temples, going to cafes and shopping in the local produce market.

The highlights from that, just to shake things up, were these. We visited Wat Rong Khun on Tuesday. Known as the White Temple it lives up to its name. Kaya's 8 month birthday on Wednesday celebrated by a big crawl in another temple, and, for me, a trip down the Night Bazaar on Thursday Night where I managed to buy the grand total of three postcards, 2 birthday cards, one rosewood spoon for Kaya, a plate of vegetable tempura and a pineapple shake. It is fun to walk around browsing the stalls and catching the various stage acts - everything from traditional Thai dance to traditional US 60s folk covers. The hat dance wasn't a patch on the umbrella dance we saw in Chiang Mai. The walk there and back, about 20 minutes each way, was a great opportunity to stretch my legs and walk out fast. We've not had a lot of exercise on this visit to Thailand so far.

Kaya also had her second Hep B vaccination at the private Overbrook Hospital where the staff speak great English. It was the same make as used by the Crookes Practice in Sheffield. She has one more to do in mid-December. She has been a bit cranky ever since but we thought it might be teething and we managed to catch sight of a tooth-shaped white lump today. They are truly on their way now. Her crawling is getting better and better. Its lovely being greeted when coming into the house with Kaya crawling from around the corner of the L-shaped room with a smile. She's also trying out getting herself up to standing and taking steps when we support her. Onwards and upwards!

We're off now to the Rim Kok Resort for some poolside action and relaxation.

Buddha and Tusk

Buddha and Tusk
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan

The large Buddha image framed by one of the pair of elephant tusks in Wat Klang Wiang, Chiang Rai.

Elephant and Tusk

Elephant and Tusk
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan

One of a few images from in and around Chiang Rai's Wat Klang Wiang, a historical Buddhist temple in the centre of town. Stucco elephants on the outside, but a pair of real tusks framing Buddha on the inside.

Wang Come

What I hear you ask? How rude. Be off with you. Its just the name of a semi-posh hotel in Chiang Rai. Isn't too far from a dodgy looking massage place or too mind.

Loi Krathong

I've posted a short introduction to Thailand's Loi Krathong festival on Travel for Breakfast.

The White Temple

Today we visited Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, just outside Chiang Rai. The temple is the phantasmagoric brainchild of Thai artist Chaloemchai Khositphiphat and his overworking imagination. Attention to detail is incredible with the outside of the building and other structures decorated lavishly with ornate swirling designs. The exterior is white with silver mirrors and changes colour with cloud and sun. Under cloud it has a deathly pale yellow palor, which when set behind leafless trees, is reminiscent of a Tim Burton film set. When the sun shines the mirrors twinkle and the white takes on the hues of its surroundings - grass green, sky blue and clothings reds, yellows and oranges.

The art inside the hall does strike me as being the product of a talented fantasy-loving teenager or 70s heavy metal album cover artist. That, however is not a surprise or such criticism as it may sound. Where, after all, did the artists of psychedelic album covers or fantasy novel covers get some of their inspiration? Hindu and Buddhist religious art. The wat's art brings these influences together.

It is a lot of fun with hints at attempts to make statements. Superman, Spiderman and the Matrix sit alongside Buddhist apsaras, garudas and demons. The World Trade Centre is shown during its destruction by Al Qaida with a demon-headed serpentine petrol pump pipe snaking around one of the towers. Yet how much do intended meanings resonate after a single visit? That probably depends on your attitudes to politics, fantasy and Buddhist religious art.

The dream is still being built and all power to him for making something so bold that it generates reactions from visitors. You will either love or hate it but you're unlikely to feel indifferent towards it.

As you enter you come face-to-face with a gold structure bearing a white Buddha in its ornate folds and twists.



After passing the first structure between ponds with white fish you are next greeted at the approach to the central hall by concrete hands reaching out to the air and your sense of fun. Some hold skulls up next to others proffering alms bowls.



Apsaras or bodhisatvas float in the air either side of the approach to the central hall. Every inch of the white building is adorned with white mirrors.





To either side of the hall are matching pairs of Buddhas facing each other.



The purity of white certainly makes a statement that cannot fail to influence you in some way, even if only while there. It is perhaps part Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, part Taj Maha, part Southfork.

The temple is very easy to reach from Chiang Rai. A sangthaew from the produce market station costs 20 baht and they leave regularly through the day. You can also catch a local bus to Phayao from the old bus station in the city centre or a Chiang Mai bus from the new station on the city's edge. The journey takes less than 30 minutes. To return to Chiang Rai go up to the main road and flag down a sangthaew or bus. A sangthaew driver spotted us walking towards the road and waited for us to get to him.

Peter's House

Here is a short walk in tour of Peter's House, the home we have in Chiang Rai for few weeks. We moved in on the 5th November and will move out either at the end of the month or about the middle of December.

Here's the front of the house with overlooks a narrow soi, Thai for side street, opposite Chian House. Note the seaside blue. Next door to the right is used as a hand-produced food kitchen making all sorts of small Thai dishes. To the left is a quiet Thai man. There are comings and goings at the kitchen between 6am and 10pm each day.


In through the front door.


To the lounging and dining area. An L-shaped room. The stairs to the next floor are on the left, next to a downstairs squat toilet and shower room.


Round the corner of the L to Peter's lounge or currently one of Kaya's play rooms. The door to the right is to the kitchen.


The kitchen, now devoid of ants, is the furnace of the house. It is south facing and the only ventilation are vents in the wall.


Upstairs into Peter's front room which he uses as a spare room. His room is at the hotter but quieter south-facing back of the house. Kaya sleeps in her LittleLife tent-style travel cot.


The murals were painted by a Japanese ex-girlfriend of Peter's who lives two doors away. Big space for Kaya to practice her crawling. Tile floors easily mopped after wees.



This overlooks Chian House where we are usually serenaded by Eddie, a Thai guy who sings and plays guitar. Its a really pleasant backdrop and he's sometimes joined by others. I enjoyed a beer with Eddie last night. He's been entertaining us each evening with his rendition of his favourite Beatles' song - 'Don't Let Me Down'. He knows half the chords and almost as many words.

Nervous Thai Liverpool fans walking alone?

Chiang Rai Living

Welcome to Chiang Rai


Peter's House

We've now been in Chiang Rai for 10 days and the pace of life is steady. We needed to orientate ourselves to begin with. We thought we would have to buy a cooker and a few domestic necessities as the house we were going to let from Mr Chian of Chian House guest house in Chiang Rai was totally unfurnished. But because we had left it late to confirm our tenancy, he had let it to a more certain tenant and offered us Peter's House instead. Peter is a Canadian who we met last year and discovered there were rentable houses associated with Chian House. He lives in one but spends a lot of his time teaching English in Chian, which he prefers because the students are more interested than in Thailand. Right at the start of thinking about living in Chiang Rai, we had one eye on renting Peter's house if he was away. The big advantage is that its fully furnished and equipped so setting up home was a lot smoother once we had the house cleaned of its two months of dust and bird shit. I'll post some photos of his house soon. Chian House is on a little island formed by a narrow, mostly dried, loop of the Mae Kok River.

The house next door is used by a family who make different meals or dishes, presumably for restaurants. We overlook the guest house where some of the employees usually hang out at night playing guiter, singing and generally providing a relaxed backdrop of people enjoying themselves.

We've settled into a Kaya-led routine of breakfast, morning by the Chian House pool or going out with Kaya while it is not too hot, lunch then the same as the morning but the other way round with going out waiting until after it has stopped being very hot, followed by Kaya's dinner, bed time for Kaya, our tea, maybe a bit of hanging out on our balcony (which is where I am now) then bed. I've some freelance consultancy work for Natural England writing audio trails and podscroll trails for Wye and Stodmarsh nature reserves in Kent so I've been working a few mornings to get the first drafts done for a 20th November deadline.

Every other evening we visit the local produce market to stock up on veg, fruit, tofu, curry paste, rice, noodles and eggs. Most things are sold in 5 baht bunches, bags, plates or blocks - even the tofu which is stored in a large vat of ice. We've been cooking green and red curries, tom yum and noodle soup so far.


Wat Phra Singh apsara

We've discovered plenty of small scale trips out that we can manage with Kaya and avoid the hot part of the day. There is a promenade on the Mae Kok River with a set of tennis, football, basketball and sepak takraw courts. Kaya loves watching as an evening stroll between dinner and bed. She's especially fond of tennis much to Georgia's delight! There is a play park and public library within easy walking distance in a municipal wooded and grassed area. Further along from this is Wat Phra Singh where Kaya undertook her first long crawl, a 12m dash for my mobile phone from one end of the temple hall to the other. There are a couple of great cafes we've discovered for tea with aircon and a cake - the more Western Doi Chaang and a more Chinese one. Both have seats big enough for Kaya to have a play. The Chinese one has a strange fish with a protruding forehead called Elvis.


Walking Market 'food court'


Walking Market

Further afield are the 'evening out' markets. Every night there is the Night Bazaar in the town centre which begins about 5pm. We've only been once to as its a bit of a trek. Each Saturday one of the main streets a bit closer to Chian House is converted into a long 'Walking Market' which is lots of fun. We've worked out how to do this with Kaya. We head down about 4pm, find a place to feed her with what we've brought, then continue along and about 7,30pm or so she'll fall asleep in the sling. Its a short walk back along quiet streets. That's what we did tonight, except she only had a little of her dinner before she got fidgety and gave up on it. Later she eyed my bean-filled rice dumpling and when offered some of the bland dumpling she became very enthusiastic and had a whole one!


Chiang Rai Youth Orchestra

Tomorrow we're planning a repeat visit to catch the Chiang Rai Youth Orchestra in Doi Chaang. They play every Sunday for an hour from 3pm in the foyer with a waterfall and pond. We met an American woman there last week who tipped us off about a pool to visit in the attractively named Rim Kok Resort on the other side of the river. We've been twice already for day visit sampling of luxury tourism. The pool is huge and Kaya has picked up on her swimming there again, as well as in the mini-sized pool at Chian House.


Evening Chiang Rai

Chang Prang

Chang Prang
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan

Elephant-riding tourists lumber by Wat Phra Ram, Ayutthaya Historical Park.

Mor Kok Massage

Mor Kok Massage
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan

Can it really do what it says or is it just hard sell? Seen in Sukhothai October 2009 just before Loi Krathong.

Broken Buddha of Wat Phra Singh

Broken Buddha of Wat Phra Singh
Originally uploaded by Bill Bevan
A Buddha statue lies apparently abandoned below a Bhodi tree in the grounds of Wat Phra Singh. However, he is far from forgotten. Taken at 3.30pm in the afternoon.

Day out at the Rim Kok pool

Today we took a sangthaew, a little bench taxi, to the Rim Kok Resort - one of the posh riverside resorts in Chiang Mai because it allows non-guests to use the pool. It did take a while for the driver to understand where we wanted to go which seemed strange as it is a major resort. First I tried Rim Kok Resort, then again slower, then Rim Kok Hotel. Eventually he got where we wanted and repeated back to me the name - Lim Kok Lesort. Silly me, we're in east Asia of course.

The resort is a pleasant 10 minute ride over the Kok River Kaya loves being on sangthaews and tuk-tuks, specially if she can get the breeze on her face. We spent most of the day there. We all had a swim, and two lengths were about enough for us as the pool is about 50m long. Kaya enjoyed a pool side lunch then Georgia and me took turns doing some yoga while Kaya first snoozed, though only for a short time, then she met some friends - a gentle German guy with his Thai partner, then had a tour of the grounds.

It's only 80 baht a person to use the pool. There's also a jacuzzi, bar that plays music over shot speakers and a lunch time buffet for 150 baht though you need to order dishes when you arrive if you're vegetarian. The resort is right by the river opposite an army camp.

I think we'll be going back again soon. We'll just ask for the Lim Kok.

Red Curry

Chiang Rai

We arrived in Chiang Rai, a quiet small city in north-east Thailand, a bit like a small version of Newcastle without such a good football team, on the afternoon of the 5th November, just as people were waking to Bonfire Night in the UK.

We are renting a two-bedroom house from a Canadian ex-pat who spends time teaching English in China. The house is part of a street owned by Mr Chian of Chian Guest House which is over the street so we have access to their pool, laundry service and wifi as well as restaurant if we need it. We're just settling in now. We have a kitchen and are cooking ours and Kaya's food again! She is loving carrot and sweet potato with coconut milk and scrambled eggs as well as new fruit to her - pineapple, watermelon and papaya.

We shop for fruit, veg, eggs, tofu, rice and noodles in the local produce night market. Today we came back with two types of long green veg that we've never cooked with before. No idea what they are, except one looks like a sort of aniseedy flavoured vegetable seen in Thai dishes. One cost 2 baht.

The Mae Kok river is nearby with a fancy new concrete prom. Also at hand are a couple of play grounds, the public library (where we went this morning and read Kaya a story about a baby with two mouths who ate lots and worried his parents but went to see a wizard and lost a mouth, got upset he couldn't eat his huge lunch by a pond, was advised by a stick person to go back to the wizard and next thing you know he is on a three seat bike singing songs with his happy parents!), some shops, an on-street 1 baht a litre water dispenser and a som tam stall.

We've been into the Saturday night Walking Market today, a long street packed full of stalls selling all sorts of gifts, clothes and handicrafts, a few food stalls (thought not as many as you'd expect in Thailand), live music and lots of people. Kaya loved it. We bought her two rattles and a pair of long pants. Thai's worry we don't cover her feet as the cold weather of winter is setting in and its only getting up to about a nippy 29oC during the day. That's much higher a temp that in Britain parents would be worrying about getting their children out of the heat.

We also visited a temple yesterday where Kaya rolled around on the carpet in front of the Buddhas and poked the carpet a bit. It is the beautiful old Wat Phra Singh temple which is all wood with red and gold decor inside. Today we saw the Chiang Rai Youth Orchestra perform at the Doi Chaang Coffee Shop.

We should be here for three weeks and then plan to move on to Pai, Koh Lanta and either Bangkok or return to Ayutthaya for the few days.

Kaya in Thailand

Were here! In fact we've been here two weeks already. This is the first time we've had a chance to blog. Our first two guesthouses were without wifi or easy reach of an internet place and my mac has gone down with a kernel panic so is now in the Chiang Mai Apple Centre.

We had four days in Ayutthaya at the Sherwood guesthouse and six days at Orichid Hibiscus in Sukhothai, both places we stayed before with great managers and staff who were all excited to meet Kaya and see us again. We're now in the White House [no relation] Chiang Mai.

Kaya is taking everything in her stride. She didn't have any problems with flying, take off or landing, except for the first part of the first flight when her recent constipation caught up with her and her bowel movements made her cry. Once that was sorted she was fine. She was awake for most of the first flight, falling asleep just before landing in Dubai at her normal bed time. She had already slept through customs leaving the UK. She then slept through most of the second flight, first in the bassinet cot then on us. Her first long bus journey was fine for the first four hours but then she filled her nappy and it came loose due to her squirming and crying! We did a quick change on the moving bus and then she was happy again.

She enjoyed Thailand immediately as Thais love babies, and go ga-ga over them, especially farang babies. It means she is having lots of lovely happy interactions but we do have to be on guard against strangers pawing at her hands or going in for cuddles. Its men and women both who are gooey, but especially women. She returns their smiles with great smiles of her own and wiggles her legs with excitement. She also took to the smiling Buddha in Sukhothai with a big smile for his.

She is an absolute trooper. We sorted out her night time routine once in Sukhothai and have had a few late nights out with her recently as it is Loi Krathong so there are lots of fun things to see. She usually falls asleep in the sling about 8pm-ish but then wakes about 10 for a feed and a great big play. We'll have one more late night as it is the finale of loi krathong tonight with floating candles on the river (River Ping here in CM), a big parade, chinese flying candles and fireworks. She has slept through thunderstorms and not noticed fireworks. She is a star.

We've just about worked out routines and food for her. Restaurants and stalls with good english cook her something with no salt. Breakfast at the Orchid Hibiscus in Sukhothai was a big hit - scrambled egg, coconut pudding, toast and banana. The pumpkin soup with coconut milk was a big success, the pureed watery vegetable soup on rice as popular as her first attempts at parsnip and avocado. She definitely prefers food she can chew now. She has also learnt to drink water through a straw but then I guess sucking is something she has plenty of practice at!

Everyone says how good-natured and happy she is and she certainly is. She usually wakes up in her excellent LittleLife cot singing and rocking on all fours.

She has been coo'd at by a Buddhist monk on a bus and yesterday a young monk sang Old MacDonald had a farm to her in a temple in Chiang Mai! Now how many 7 1/2 month olds from Sheffield can say that. And if they could tell you about it would be something of a miracle anyway.