I start Sunday with a two hour mountain bicycle ride. Afterwards I lay down some weed-preventive substance in the rose beds in anticipation of upcoming rains and to head off the harder work of de-weeding the rose beds once the weeds have taken hold. After a shower I start laundry and start laying out clothes and items for the trip. Since I have a good checklist to operate from, the possibility of forgetting somethingis greatly reduced. I watch some real football games on Sunday, close up and make the house go dormant, and start the Lyft, train, shuttle bus process to get to Los Angeles International airport.
The entire set of flights runs smoothly and I get in some good sleep on the first leg from Los Angeles to Taipei. When I'm picking up my luggage in Bangkok I see a man that I saw back in Los Angeles and I start talking with him. It turns out he has a PhD in engineering or one of the sciences and works for the Thai National Science and Technology Development Agency. So we have a nice conversation about the projects that we're each working on and we exchange contact information as he gets a taxi and I get the airport train. Later in the day I meet up with my facebook friend, Chor. I met her since she is a MotoGP and racing fan but we had not met for about two years. We go have a nice dinner and conversation. She seems really nice but tends to be afraid of uncertainty. So we have a long discussion about being able to know what's in the future. Afterwards we take the same train back towards my hotel for me and to Chor's apartment for her.
As expected, I sleep very well on Tuesday night and start the day a bit slowly. At mid-morning I catch a train and walk fifteen minutes to a co-working space that I dsicovered last year. Today it is not as crowded as the kids must be in classes. I work a bit on websites and on some crime demograhics for the city council candidate. At some point I get hungry so I ride the train to MBK center and go to a vegetarian food stall that I go to regularly. And then I catch a train for home. It turns out the train rides costs more than the food did. Later I walk around for an hour and then call it a day. During Wednesday night's sleep I have a dream that I will run into Noelle, a girlfriend from 35 years ago, on the BTS skytrain. That would be weird. But I once ran into an ice hockey teammate from Los Angeles in the Bangkok airport.
On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I sleep well and a bit late. I start arranging lunch and dinner appointments and then take the skytrain out to an area of Bangkok that I've never been to before and work on websites, processes, and crime demographics as I eat lunch and linger at the cafe. One of the workers is from Tibet and we talk about how he and his wife have come to Thailand. Late at night I meet up with Tree, who I have not seen for four years. We first met eleveln years ago when I was building the school. Tree looks good now and it more thoughtful in his life (as expected as one gets a bit older). He seems to be enjoying life and working hard but complains a bit about the added responsibility of getting older. It's a good visit!
Friday is just a blah day. I get out to another digital nomad coffeehouse and work away and make great progress on the crime demographics. I think they are done except to write it up for the city council candidate. Leter in the evening I walk for about two hours and then fall into deep sleep.
I start Saturday with breakfast and packing up to fly to Chiang Mai. As I'm walking to the train with my luggage a wheel gets caught in a rut in the sidewalk, falls forward on my foot, and trips me such I fall down. I fall into a bush which cushions my fall. But my left forearm is bleeding and my left rib cage hurts like crap since I fell right on the rim of the concrete planter near the widewalk. I'm more embarassed then hurt, but two people help me up and I'm just laughing and keep telling them that I am okay. I get on the train by pushing a bit since the train is crowded on a Saturday approaching noon. I look along the length of the train and I see a familiar face staring back at me. It's Person C_T from Los Angeles. Are you kidding me after the dream that I had two nights ago? When the train comes to a stop I exit the train and re-enter where Person C_T and his friend are and we have a nice conversation. We're going to the same stop - Person C_T and his friend to the day market and me to the airport. I think all of us are in a state of shock about the coincidence. Me the most because I keep thinking how I would have easily caught an earlier train if I had not fallen. Eventually we bid goodbyes and I have a smooth flight to Chiang Mai and my bag is already on the carousel as I walk up to it. Later I walk around and grab dinner and go back to the hotel to relax a bit. My ribs hurt like crap on the left side and somebody has mentioned that I'm limping, so the Aleve that I took back in the airport isn't going to fight this off easily. I grab dinner and run into Person B_T, a new friend. We hang out near the night bazaar and watch the world go by. Eventually we head back to my hotel for sleep.
On Sunday Person B_T and I have breakfast and then I go to rent a bicycle. The owner of the shp is not there but his wife and daughter are present. After we contact the owner on the phone and I remind him that I was here last year, he lets me change the platform pedals on the bicycle to my SPD pedals and then I head off for about a two hour ride. Since it is the middle of the day, I'm hot and tired, but I just keep riding along. I notice many mountain cyclists coming back after a day of racing with their racing bibs and numbers on. Later Person B_T and I grab dinner and walk again to the Taphae gate and relax. Since Person B_T has to work early on Monday, we call it an early night.
Monday starts with breakfast and paying some bills. Then I get out and ride the bicycle. Person T_T, my friend who I've known for three years, has cancelled our lunch plans. So I make the long ride out to Lamphun and back. This is the ride last year that saw me struggle and even feel like I might faint and needed to steady myself on a rack of fruity buns at a 7-11 as I tried to hydrate. Today's ride is much different. I feel strong throughout, get a cold Sprite at Lamphun, and ride back. Only at the end as the heat of the day is rising do I want the ride to finish. Person B_T has left his Buddhist monk medallion in my room, so after a shower I take it to the hotel where he works and then go grab a late lunch. Back at the hotel I download the latest Long Beach crime statistics and re-perform the crime analysis for the city council candidate. There are different ways to look at the data and the city council candidate and I will have to discuss them. Person B_T comes over and we ride a Grab Taxi over to the flower market. I've known about the Chiang Mai flower market for years but never walked around it much. We also pick and sample some of the food. (The vendors add sugar AND salt to fresh strawberries?) Later Person B_T orders Grab Food to deliver his dinner (since I've already eaten).