November 23, 2011

Dear Friends -

I have many photos to share and I’ll include a few of them in my blogs, which I plan to send out once a week.

I wish to begin with Phong (Pong) - the woman on the right. She’s a hidden treasure--an exceptionally gifted massage therapist. Phong is one of the reasons I

love Thailand. She is a sweetheart, totally dedicated to love and service. She works seven days a week from 10am to 10pm. My second appointment on Monday was at 10am. I waited at the door with an old white lab. Phong and her assistant arrived a little after ten. The first thing they did was prepare a hot tub of lemon grass and other herbs for my feet to soak in. Phong has five dogs, and the white lab isn’t one of them. The dog is like a Buddhist beggar, patiently waiting. The second thing they did was feed the stray, as they do every morning. Then they prepared three cups with food, which they placed on the outside altar, followed by a silent prayer. It was all done in silence—two ordinary Thai women beginning their day of sacred service.

I'm living in the old central city of Chiang Mai. It's a square area of land 1 1/2 miles from corner to corner - with a twenty foot wide moat (canal) of water around it. The moat was once on the outside of a continuous brick wall, with five entrance gates. The gates have been reconstructed and remnants of the original wall can be seen, especially at the four corners. Around 170,000 people live within the old city, and over a million in surrounding Chiang Mai.

The big hotels and tourist section is outside of the old city, by the Ping River. Although there are hundreds of Buddhist temples, some of the oldest are in the old city. They are like Starbucks in Seattle—everywhere! (btw--there is a Starbucks across the canal not far from my hotel). Here are some pictures of inner city temples.

I love the Sunday Market. Last week I showed an older woman dancer. Here's a cute girl.

I went to the big Chaing Mai Ram Hospital and had a complete physical - twenty five tests. Ekg, sonagram, xrays, blood work - the whole nine yards ($220) When the doctor looked at my answers to the questionaire she couldn't believe it. "You've never been to a doctor for a physical?" "No" I wanted to say - an Army physical, which I flunked, two times - and holistic wizards Miles and Latifa. "You've never had a complete physical exam?" She repeated. "Not by a normal doctor." "No presciption drugs?" "Never." "Sixty four?" She looked at me like I was some sort of ET. The hospital wasn't crowded at all - I moved from one specialist to another with orchestrated precision. Impressive.

Chiang Mai is clean. I've been to many open markets - seen people cook all sorts of food in outdoor make-shift kitchens—and there's three critters I've yet to see: an fly, an ant or a cockroach. I've seen plenty of dragons.

Below is my good friend and traveling companion JB - standing at the back side of one of the largest temples in the inner city.

I'm so much at home in Thailand that I'm thinking of an extended stay. New friends are going to Kathmandu in March, when the weather is better, and then on to Tibet. I'm seriously thinking about sticking around and going with them. In Shambala I write about Mt. Kailash, the most sacred place in the world for four religions—Buddhist, Hindu, Bon and Jain.

It's in far western Tibet and very remote. From the moment it popped into my head as a destination for the characters in my novel I've wanted to go there. Here's my chance.

As always, it would be great to hear from you.

With all my love, David Dakan Allison