De Naga Hotel Chiang Mai

... we have school holidays coming up next week!)
Thanks once again, & we hope you'll be able to make it to visit the children in Chiang Rai one day soon.
Very best regards,
F.

I'm very excited and when I go to the Burma border and get my visa renewal, I will definitely be going to the orphanage to visit as Chiang Rai is right there.

I'd love to do more volunteering soon, but I did say ...

... the narrow passageway...

Only the Thai words from the curt conductors could shatter this bizarrely nostalgic illusion. That and the disappointing lack of upper-class English types, murder, intrigue, and 90 minute running time.

Interesting toilets consisted of a hole in the floor of the train, with a handy window whence one could smile to passersby (or more probably animals in the increasingly dense forest festooning its way ...

... on the trip. A pre-trip bruise, so I guess it doesn't count. The family at Thapae Gate are extremely nice, even though English pretty much escapes them. They get it figured out. If we ask them for something they remember and have contacted other places for us and made phone calls to find out information. The younger brother even took us to the book store on his moped. We had to ride one at a time instead of all 3 of us. It wasn't far and they couldn't tell us how to get ...

... on, what was just 7 bamboo poles tied together and gently floated down the river. Then the young lad taking us down the river started to have a bit of fun, rocking the raft trying to knock us off. After several minutes hanging on, I was the first to fall in, to the delight of everyone on the riverbanks. This was the river that an hour ago Natalie had dumped the contents of her stomach!! We carried on going down the river through the rapids and yes we fell in ...

... though after I discovered the best, most unusual tuk tuk driver in all of Thailand! His name is Paul Collins and he is Chiang Mai's #1 Farang Tuk Tuk Driver!!!! No, not because he only drives farang around town.....but because he IS a farang. (He is actually the ONLY farang tuk tuk driver in all of Thailand) Paul was born in Chiang Mai and both of his parents are American ...

... my emotions had set in and it took me a few minutes to get myself under control. We recognized everyone and presented them with a gift. Tears were shed by many. Maw really cried to the point where she could not speak. Following our gift giving and recognitions the BCNC group began their gift giving. We were so overwhelmed with gifts. We never anticipated so many gifts. The evening was filled with emotion. Everyone was exhausted by the end of the evening. We left the party at 10:30 pm.

... star. So, she pulled to the side, so that I could give it a stab. It looked tough, but I figured I would have better balance than an older woman. I was making my way down successfully and was in midsentence "This isn't so..." and wham, my front wheel just stops and digs in and I'm over the handlebars into a bamboo tree and Deb. Thankfully we were both ok, so we were laughing our heads off. We eventually made our way all the way down the hill and ...