We got up about 5:00 AM. We dressed and I filled out my departure card for leaving Thailand as well as a new entry card for our return later today. They are a lot easier to do sitting at a table then when standing in line at the immigrations window.
We have two goals today. The first is to see Pastor Lota's Church in Burma. The second is to find a jade chess set for a special friend in California.
We left our place around 6:30 AM and had our usual breakfast at the morning market. We then headed to the Thai Immigrations office so Daeng could get her paper to visit the border city of Tachileik. It took only a few minutes as we were the only ones there at 7:40 AM. The cost to her was 30 Thai Baht (about 90 cents US)
We met Saimoon at the border bridge. Saimoon is a Burmese guide that we have know for many years. He speaks English and several other languages very well.
The border crossing was very easy and the Burma side did not even give us a hard time about using a ten US dollar bill instead of 500 Thai Baht. The difference is about 200 Thai Baht. I think the reason is when they asked for the 500 Thai Baht, Daeng gave them the 10 US dollar bill and said she would use the 200 Thai Baht that was saved to buy a new purse. Daeng had also ironed the bill with a little spray starch so it was a pretty good looking bill.
We got our Burma permits and left my passport at the border office for pick up when we return later in the day. I did mention that the passort did not belong to me but belonged to the United States.
We called Pastor Lota on his cellular telephone. He said to wait for him, he would pick the three of us up and take us to his church. We waited in the Valentine Tea Shop. We had Burmese Milk Tea.
Pastor Lota arrived about 15 minutes later in a pickup truck with about four door jams for his new church school. There was four other fellows with him. He said hop in as the trip was only about 20 minutes long.
I must say, it was the bumpiest ride I have every been on and I have traveled a lot of dirt roads. I was worried about the six folks in the back, sitting on the wooden door frames. If I had know it was this bad a ride we would not have gone.
When we arrived at the Akha Christian Settlement we were greeted by everyone. Almost everyone spoke English, to some degree, also. There was a kid's bible class going on. It was wonderful to hear the kids singing bible songs.
We sat and had tea and talked about all kinds of things. Saimoon was a big hit with everyone as he explained how God had saved his life.
We talked with Pastor Lota and the other church Pastor's wife. We donated a little money, 3,000 Thai Baht, to help buy cement for the new church school building. We took one more picture and hopped back in the pickup truck for the bumpy ride back.
The nice part is Daeng and Saimoon would not have to sit on the wood door frames on the way back, they can just sit on the pickup bed. I sat in the cab with the driver; give me a break, I'm old. (Yep, I used the old card on this ride.)
Now for shopping, we visited hundreds of purse shops. Daeng said no more pictures after about the fortieth purse shop.
You can buy a knock-off of just about any purse made in the world.
The folks in every shop will tell you it is real. Then they wonder why we don't trust them.
Purses, purses and more purses.
Then, clothes, clothes, clothes and more clothes.
Saimoon had gone on ahead of us to visit some jade shops to see if he could find a chess set. He called on the phone and met us.
He took us up around the corner to visit a shop that had lots of jade. We did see a nice set but it did not have any feeling, as I say. The pieces were just normal and had no special look.
There was a beautiful wall picture done of the Dead Sea. It was all done in polished jade stones.
We visited several other shops but with no luck for something that was really special. It was now about 2:00 PM, after the pick-up truck ride and walking several miles through out the Tachileik Market we decided to call it a day.
Saimoon said he had some other things to do and would go on ahead of us and would see us again in the next day or two.
Daeng wanted to look for a friend that she had not seen in over twenty-five years so we said: "good-bye" to Saimoon and we went looking for Daeng's friend.
On the way through the many side-walk shops Daeng saw a bronze shop and told me to take a look.
In the back of this shop was a chess set, made of bronze, that looked very old and had a wooden case that was also the chess board.
It was not jade but differently had a classy look to it.
The more I looked at it and touched the figures, the more I liked it. It was a special set for that special person.
We made the deal for the set and the shop owner put it all in the wooden case and wrapped it in paper to go.
We know felt it was a worth whiled day. It is a special chess set for that special person.
We picked up my passport and made the walk over the Mae Sai River bridge to Mae Sai. Immigrations stamped my passport and we were back in Thailand, again.
We hopped on our motorbike that we had left in front of the bank and made it home for hot showers and dinner. It was another great day in the "Land of Smiles" and "Burma".
Another day in Mae Sai; up at 6:00 AM and breakfast in the Ban Pa Meat morning market.
The fellow on the left, with his head down working, is "Me's" husband. He is the Pa Thong Ko maker.
Same stuff for breakfast, I love it. I had Soy Milk, Pa Thong Ko, Coffee, Tea, Fried Chicken and Sticky Rice.
Daeng talked with "Me" and I made a deal with the market beggar, "SuLa". The deal is if he takes a shower, cleans his finger nails and puts on clean clothes I'll give him 100 Thai Baht.
Now, that may not help him, as a beggar, because if he cleans up folks will think he is doing okay, they won't fell sorry for him or give him any money.
More will be revealed.
I wanted to tell that the Thais have gotten around my saying: "Life is like a roll of toilet tissue as the closer you get to the end the faster it goes!"
How they got around that saying is they take the center of the roll out and use it from the inside. You have got to give them credit.
When we got back home, Daeng let "Bang's" little boy play with the Dancing Santa that our friends, Micheal and Charlotte, gave her. He and Santa did a little dance.
Life is good.
This morning we got up pretty early, around 6:00 AM. It was raining pretty hard so we had coffee and some fruit while we waited for the rain to stop.
This time of year it rains pretty hard, almost every day, between 4:00 and 6:00 AM. Here it is known as the rainy season, go figure.
After it stopped raining we hopped on the motorbike and rode the 4 kilometers into downtown Mae Sai to the morning market.
We had coffee with the folks that have the Pa Thong Ko shop in this market. He is Muslim and also makes some other treats with potato in one and another with a bean topping.
I also took a picture of the girls of another family on a motorbike. Yes, that is five (5) head scarfs (khimar's) on one motorbike.
After coffee and Pa Thong Ko (Thai donuts) we headed over to a big jewelry shop that has a lot of Burmese Jade. We are looking for a Jade Chess set for a special gift. This is the only set they had and it was not Jade.
We did go into the Jade cutting area and talked with a couple of Daeng friends as they were working.
Daeng and I decided we would go into Myanmar (Burma) on Monday and see what we can find in the border town of Tachilek. Here is a quick video of the Tachilek Border Bridge.
Also, the kid "huffing glue" in this video, Fences Between Us, is standing on the bridge crossing over the Mae Sai River into Burma.
On the way back to the house we stopped and bought the big Hula Hoop that Daeng wanted to exercise with.
Yep, another day in Mae Sai.
By the way, the hill in the back ground, over Daeng's shoulder, is Tachilek, Myanmar (Burma).
Daeng told me last night that she was going to help make Som-Tom Papaya Salad for the Monks at the local Temple today. I ask her what the occasion was. She tried to explain it to me but I just could not get the substance except this was done every year is this part of Thailand and Myanmar (Burma).
We got up late, around 7:30 AM, showered, dressed and headed to the Pa Thong Ko shop for coffee. To our surprise it was already closed.
After having coffee at another little shop in the back corner of the Ban Pa Meat morning market, we headed over to the Temple.
The place was pretty busy at 9:00 AM with lots of folks and hundreds of baskets full of stuff, wrapped in cellophane, for the Monks.
I wondered around the place and make a little noise hitting the big drum in front of the Temple. It made more noise than I expected.
Daeng hooked up with her friend, Com New Wan (spelled like it sounds), and they started the process for making the Som-Tom Papaya salad.
The process was an example of momentum. It started with the two of them, Daeng and Com New Wan, getting things going with the crabs and papaya and ended up with over 15 people helping out.
I asked a lot of folks what this celebration was about. No one could really make me understand except that they did it every year.
Like I said, toward the end of the food preparation, a lot of folks helped out.
At around noon, the Monks came and sat at the tables that food had been placed. I would guess that about 80 Monks sat down to the tables. After a blessing they all ate.
After the Monks eat, they got up from the table and the regular folks sat down and continued to eat.
As for us folks helping, we ate on a little porch by the food preparation area. We had lots of food and stuffed ourselves. Everyone had fun helping and eating. It is always nice to see folks having fun.
The Som-Tom Papaya Salad we great, as well!
After that, there was a ceremony for all the Monks and then each Monk got a paper with a number of the gift basket that was for them.
They each came and got their basket and then sat and prayed for the person that gave it to them.
It was a nice celebration but I still don't know what it was for. The next time I talk with my friend "Cola", who runs the Internet shop, I'll see if he can make me understand.
Oh, before I forget, we had this desert that I call "worms in coconut milk". It is sweet and tastes like chicken. Come on, I'm kidding. It tastes like a sweet gelatin in coconut milk.
By the way, a couple of things happen when we get older. I just can't remember what they are.
After spending a few happy days, soaking up some fun and sun in Pattaya, Thailand we made the trip north to our home in Mae Sai, on the Myanmar (Burma) border.
Here is a picture of the ocean from the front door of McDonald's on Beach Road in Pattaya. Yep, this town has everything you can think of and more.
Daeng spent a little time shopping for some Halloween gear in the seven story Central Festival Shopping Mall between Beach Road and Second Road.
It is the largest beach front shopping center in Asia.
I don't really like shopping but I love my wife and want to keep her happy so I went with her.
This shopping mall is huge and, in my humble opinion, very pricey.
We did eat in a buffet style setting that you don't even have to get out of your chair. The food just rotates around you on little conveyor belts.
We ate way to much!
Yesterday, we got up early and met our driver at 7:00 AM at the Honey Lodge Hotel where we were staying. It was than a three hour drive, in the rain due to a bad storm, to the old Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok (BAK).
The old airport has been fixed up pretty nice and everything went smooth with baggage check in, ticketing and plane boarding.
There was something that I had never seen before; yea like I've seen a lot. It was a giant television screen that had a picture of Time Square, in New York City. When you stood in front of it you were in the picture. It was a big hit and everyone that walked by wanted to get into the picture.
When we landed in Chiang Rai we hired a car to take us the 50 Km north to our home. When we arrrived we said "Hello" to Daeng's brother & sister-in-law, unpacked, had the flat tire fixed on Daeng's motorbike, uncovered all the furniture in our master suite, showered and had a good night's sleep in our own bed.
Our TV did not work correctly as the satellite company had changed some things. Our fiber optic Internet connect still works great so we can stream English TV and Movies through that connection.
This morning, it was up at 5:00 AM and coffee at the Ban Pa Meat market.
It was nice to see the Monks blessing folks as we ate fried chicken, sticky rice, Pa Thong Ko and coffee at Me's place.
"Me" is the Chinese lady that waits on us and makes our coffee in the morning at the Pa Thong Ko shop with her husband at the market that is close to us.
I even gave the beggar in the market a big hug as when I see him he always makes me feel grateful.
I have been trying to get him to clean his finger nails but it's been progress and not perfection. He did get his hair cut while we were away.
It's nice to be back in our home here in Mae Sai.
We are in the fun city of Pattaya, Thailand. We're rested and over jet-lag from our eighteen hour California plane trip last week. The weather here is nice today, around 90 degrees and the sun is shining. We will rest here for a few more days and then travel north to our home on the Myanmar (Burma) border.
Pattaya has not changed much while we have been gone except for a little inflation. I think that is the story all over the world.
We had a good summer making enough money to bring us back to Thailand for the next couple of months.
Remember folks, the best thing you can do for your heating and air conditioning system is keep it and your air filter clean!
We were part of the celebrations of lots of birthdays this summer. Some of us young folks enjoyed the cake, pony rides and bubble bounces.
They would not let Ralphie or me on the bubble bounce or the pony. Although we did eat lots of cake.
Some of us older folks celebrated birthdays, too. I was happy to celebrate my emotional 24th birthday. How I got that number is I started using mind altering stuff at age eight. After Cub Scout Meetings some of us kids would sneak into the bushes and drink the whiskey we stole from our parents. I stopped using all mind altering substances sixteen years ago and started developing emotionally again, alas age 24.
My Mom turned 91 years old in July. My sister, Diane, arranged a big party at Flagship Health Care Center. We eat cake, sang Happy Birthday and Mom had a great time seeing friends and opening birthday presents.
Daeng made her a beautiful picture tree with pictures from the last 90 years.
It really is a piece of art and took her over a hundred hours to make.
We visited with lots of friends to celebrate just being alive.
We also ran into a few friends that we had not seen is a long time.
Daeng wanted to see the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove before it changed hands. It is my understanding that the church went bankrupt and the 40+ acre complex was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese. It is kind of beyond my thinking but I'm not judging, I'm just saying.
You can read more about what is happening at the Crystal Cathedral by CLICKING HERE.
Deang loved the music from the stately Hazel Wright Pipe Organ inside the Crystal Cathedral. It is the most widely heard organ in the world today, made possible through the television ministry.
It was a good summer. We plan on spending the next 62 days here in the "Land of Smiles" and then back to the "Good Old USA" for the Winter.
Just give us a call if you need your furnace or air conditioning fixed. Just CLICK HERE for DIAL ONE Cooling, Heating & Plumbing, Inc.
We will try to keep everyone up to date with the interesting things that happen to us along the way.
We left our place around 6:30 AM and had our usual breakfast at the morning market. We then headed to the Thai Immigrations office so Daeng could get her paper to visit the border city of Tachileik. It took only a few minutes as we were the only ones there at 7:40 AM. The cost to her was 30 Thai Baht (about 90 cents US)
We met Saimoon at the border bridge. Saimoon is a Burmese guide that we have know for many years. He speaks English and several other languages very well. 
When we arrived at the Akha Christian Settlement we were greeted by everyone. Almost everyone spoke English, to some degree, also. There was a kid's bible class going on. It was wonderful to hear the kids singing bible songs.
We sat and had tea and talked about all kinds of things. Saimoon was a big hit with everyone as he explained how God had saved his life.
We talked with Pastor Lota and the other church Pastor's wife. We donated a little money, 3,000 Thai Baht, to help buy cement for the new church school building. We took one more picture and hopped back in the pickup truck for the bumpy ride back. 
You can buy a knock-off of just about any purse made in the world.
The folks in every shop will tell you it is real. Then they wonder why we don't trust them.
We visited several other shops but with no luck for something that was really special. It was now about 2:00 PM, after the pick-up truck ride and walking several miles through out the Tachileik Market we decided to call it a day.
Daeng wanted to look for a friend that she had not seen in over twenty-five years so we said: "good-bye" to Saimoon and we went looking for Daeng's friend.
On the way through the many side-walk shops Daeng saw a bronze shop and told me to take a look.
