I start Wednesday getting Person Ha_V out the door and I go run laps around the lake. Again there are many people out walking and running and doing the Tai Chi/yoga/etc exercises. I get in a good 76 minute run/walk and pick up a strawberry croissant before getting to the hotel for a nice warm shower. I take a Grab taxi to the airport and fly to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Evrything on both ends goes super smoothly. I even get the Vietnamese immigration officer to smile as I give it a last practice shot before leaving the country. After getting my hotel room I go walk to the little marketplace of food stalls and have a tasty red veggie curry. (Except I didn't ask for it to be super spicy. Next time.) Then I just wander around a bit and note a few changes from two years ago.
I sleep very well on Wednesday night and grab breakfast at the hotel (one of the rare times that I prepaid for breakfast). Afterwards I gather my things and walk to the bicycle shop that I've used a number of times before. I'm very confused because there is no traffic and nobody around. I'm not sure if the owner remembers me because I look so much different. But he says that he remembers and I tell him I'm 25 kilograms lighter due to cancer. And I can see him looking at my legs and he says, "You look good at this weight". And I just say, "I like this size". But I wouldn't recommend the caner/radiation diet for anyone. The bicycle shop owner also tells me that today is Fathers Day (On Thursday?) and so its a good day to ride. That also explains why there is so little foot and vehicle traffic. I get my bicycle and ride to the lake - the traditional first ride in Chiang Mai. In the middle of the ride I stop to adjust the seat with the tool that the rental shop gave me with my rental. I stop in at Taphae Gate at the end of the ride and, again, shocked at how few people are here. After relaxing during the heat of the day I walk to the same dinner market but different vendor. And then I wander around the streets of CHiang Mai for a while.
I'm awake a bit earlier on Friday and grab breakfast and then get ready to go cycling. It's an out and back ride to Lamphun today. WIth the add-ons, it's about a 70 kilometer ride. I again stop at Taphae gate and am still surprised at the smaller number of visitors. Maybe its because it is the lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I rinse and wring-out my cycling clothes to let them be used for another couple of days before a real laundering. And then relax in the afternoon with paying bills and watching a movie on the television. Later I go to the dinner market and return to the first place from Wednesday to get the same Thai curry but ask for more heat. It is delicious. And then I wander around a bit more before going home. I have a couple of nasty leg cramps and so I better take a recovery day tomorrow.
Saturday starts with breakfast and then a recovery bicycle ride. I ride out along the Ping river which had horrible flooding a couple months ago. I see the effects with some structures half collapsed and some roadway washed away. I turn back for home and get held up for some activity where there are a number of ambulances present at a construction sight (that were not there on the way out). After a shower I walk to the groceyr store and buy some bread and cheese and coca cola since I'm craving these items. And then I go home to watch FP2 for F1 from ABu Dhabi and watch a couple of movies. Later I take another shower and get dressed to go out to a club and listen to music and mingle. I'm playing mind games on this trip as I've brought some dress clothes and two ties on this trip. I get a lot of inquiring looks as I walk to the club, semi-dance in the tight confines of the club, and watch the two shows that the club presents. Its especially interesting to read the foreigners' minds as they look at me all dressed up and they look like typical bum tourists or expats. I'm at home in bed by 12:30 on Sundya morning.
I start Sunday with breakfast and getting dressed to go cycling. I ride out to the Chaing Mai bus terminal 3 to get a ticket for Thursday's trip to Chiang Rai. There is a line of people because a couple different sets of people can't figure out what's going - they came to buy bus tickets and now, all of a sudden, they've lost the ability to buy a bus ticket. It's my turn and I conduct the purchase and everything in Thai language. There are people, both Thai people and foreigners, looking at me like, "Who the f&$# is this guy?" But I get my ticket and then climb onboard the bicycle to get in a decent ride. My legs and entire body are hungover from the riding, but it feels good. After a shower I watch the F1 qualifying from Abu Dhabi and relax. afterA bit 5pm I walk over to the Chiang Mai Sunday walking street and check out some of the arts, crafts, needlework, and etc vendors' offerings. I get a bit tired of the crowd so I turn around half way through the walking market, stop in at Taphae Gate where it is also crowded, and then walk home to relax.
After breakfast I get out for another good bicycle ride. Today I take a brand new route south on the western edge of the Ping River. Oh this is much better! I get out of the city much quicker and onto two lane roads with very little traffic. And beautiful countryside. This is definitely going to be a preferred ride in the future. After a shower I update a website and eat lunch in my room while watching the F1 race from Abu Dhabi.
Tuesday starts with breakfast and a bicycle ride. When I am approaching the bicycle to unlock it and get on, there is a man dressed in workout clothes walking (staggering) into the hotel parking lot holding his mouth with his hands. He makes it halfway towards the bathrooms and throws up. As I unlock the bicycle and strap on the helmet, I can hear him violently ill in the bathroom. Did he work out too hard this morning or eat something bad for him or expending last night's alcohol? Regardless I get in a good 60 kilometer out-and-back ride near the airport. After a shower I walk to the grocery store for supplies and then do some laptop software maintenance and relax. I go for a short walk in the evening as the days in Chiang Mai wind down.
Wednesday starts with breakfast and a 50 kilometer bicycle ride along the west edge of the Ping river. I like this ride! When I get home I change shoes and return the bicycle to the rental place. Mr Winau is happy that I am happy and was surprised that I rode all six days of the six days that I had the bicycle. I walk back home, grab a shower, and do the laundry at the coin laundromat a few blocks from my hotel. Though I already did the wash and started the dryer, when someone points out a loose sock I keep hitting the "Start" button label rather than the button itself. And, of course, the dryer won't restart if you hit the label. The Thai lady who noticed the erant sock steps up and pushes the button for me. WTF - I just started the dryer hitting that button and now I'm hitting the label? I make a joke to the Thai lady (in Thai) about a crazy foreigner and she says not. But I reinforce, "Crazy foreigner. Not a problem". And she repeats "Not a problem" to me. The laundry is done and I finally get lunch and relax for my last day in Chiang Mai.