Thursday, November 29, 2007
Fook, Me and the Waterfall
Here are some pictures of Fook and I's trip out to the waterfall near Pai town. Very nice relaxing place to go and read a book or swim. Later we came back for a BBQ.
Loy Kratong
Loy Kratong is a very big festival that occurs on a full moon in November. If your really interested in the meaning behind it Google it for yourself.
During the festival people gather by the river to put Kratong's in the water, little boats made from banana tree stocks and leaves, decorated with flowers, candles and incense. From what I heard from friends and people here is that you put a few pieces of hair, 3 Baht, and finger and toe nail clippings in the Kratong. Light the candle and incense and let it float away with a prayer of thanks to the water gods. They also are supposed to give you good luck from your angel.
Here is some pictures of me and my little family of white people putting our Kratongs in the river. We also sent 4 lanterns up into to sky. During Loy Kratong lanters fill the sky, making little moving constellations. They go amazingly high up, becoming mere specks of light in the midnight sky.
Here are the Kratongs:
Here is Boz and I sending up our lantern:
]
Here is Giw, her daughter Guide and I putting KraTongs in the river on the second night of Loy Kratong.
The sunset on Loy Kratong
Loy Kratong street festival, and Boz, Katie and Trudy:
During the festival people gather by the river to put Kratong's in the water, little boats made from banana tree stocks and leaves, decorated with flowers, candles and incense. From what I heard from friends and people here is that you put a few pieces of hair, 3 Baht, and finger and toe nail clippings in the Kratong. Light the candle and incense and let it float away with a prayer of thanks to the water gods. They also are supposed to give you good luck from your angel.
Here is some pictures of me and my little family of white people putting our Kratongs in the river. We also sent 4 lanterns up into to sky. During Loy Kratong lanters fill the sky, making little moving constellations. They go amazingly high up, becoming mere specks of light in the midnight sky.
Here are the Kratongs:
Here is Boz and I sending up our lantern:
]Here is Giw, her daughter Guide and I putting KraTongs in the river on the second night of Loy Kratong.
The sunset on Loy Kratong
Loy Kratong street festival, and Boz, Katie and Trudy:
Musical Pai
Hey there all, after not posting for a while I received some emails and such from people wanting me to post again, so here you have it.
This is what I've been up to for the last little while.
Since Pai is such a little musical metropolis there is much opportunity to partake if you know your way around an instrument. The places that have live music are mainly BeBop, Phu Pai, and Buffalo Exchange. There are some other that have live stuff on some nights too. BeBop has the aim to make people move, to make those hips shake and those arms flail! Phu Pai caters more towards the sitting coffee, tea, but mainly beer drinker, offering many tables and couches to sit down and listen to some nice music. Reggae, world, blues and recently some acoustic music fill the air and your ears (the sound system here is the best in Pai in my opinion, BeBop a close second).
Buffalo exchange has more folkish stuff playing, some funk also. I had played at Buffalo for nearly a week straight before starting to play BeBop and Phu Pai on occasion. Buffalo is just a really fun place to sit and sing along to some good Jack Johnson or more popish stuff.
I have been playing a little drums with my friend Pu playing guitar at Buffalo doing some America (horse with no name) or Neil Young. Always good fun.
I've been playing bass at BeBop for the last 3 nights. I now realize how much I miss playing in a band, it's so much fun! We play blues or rock and roll, the owner Chart on guitar, he plays a mean slide. Sometimes I will sing a couple of songs such as Crossroads, Sitting on top of the World, Little Wing, Red House, Let it Be. You get the idea, we play classics. Now, BeBop doesn't really start "bopping" till about 11:30, before that time imagine a darkly lit pub, couples sitting around tables sipping beers and bobbing there heads to the music.
Last night however there was a guy named Mitch Woods in town, he is a blues singer and pianist from the U.S. (http://www.mitchwoods.com/)
Luckily during high school I played in a good jazz band for a number of years, learning to play with many styles and acquiring the skill to site read music. These skills came in handy, we played so much walking blues my fingers were falling off! I had an absolute blast! Also playing with us was a guitar player names Joe Cummings, also one of the chief editors of the Lonely Planet!! His picture is most likely inside the cover if you have one of the books handy.
Playing at Phu Pai was an awesome experience since the sound is so crisp. A friend of mine from England, Boz, also a singer-songwriter, has been coming to Pai for a number of years now for about half of the year. He has played at Phu Pai before and asked me to go halfers of an hour long set there for two nights. It was quite enjoyable! I played 4 originals and then 1 cover, High and Dry by Radiohead.
I only have pictures of me jamming with Chart and some others guys, unfortunately I have none of Mitch Woods and us.
This is Chart, Norbert, Bim and I jamming some blues!
This is what I've been up to for the last little while.
Since Pai is such a little musical metropolis there is much opportunity to partake if you know your way around an instrument. The places that have live music are mainly BeBop, Phu Pai, and Buffalo Exchange. There are some other that have live stuff on some nights too. BeBop has the aim to make people move, to make those hips shake and those arms flail! Phu Pai caters more towards the sitting coffee, tea, but mainly beer drinker, offering many tables and couches to sit down and listen to some nice music. Reggae, world, blues and recently some acoustic music fill the air and your ears (the sound system here is the best in Pai in my opinion, BeBop a close second).
Buffalo exchange has more folkish stuff playing, some funk also. I had played at Buffalo for nearly a week straight before starting to play BeBop and Phu Pai on occasion. Buffalo is just a really fun place to sit and sing along to some good Jack Johnson or more popish stuff.
I have been playing a little drums with my friend Pu playing guitar at Buffalo doing some America (horse with no name) or Neil Young. Always good fun.
I've been playing bass at BeBop for the last 3 nights. I now realize how much I miss playing in a band, it's so much fun! We play blues or rock and roll, the owner Chart on guitar, he plays a mean slide. Sometimes I will sing a couple of songs such as Crossroads, Sitting on top of the World, Little Wing, Red House, Let it Be. You get the idea, we play classics. Now, BeBop doesn't really start "bopping" till about 11:30, before that time imagine a darkly lit pub, couples sitting around tables sipping beers and bobbing there heads to the music.
Last night however there was a guy named Mitch Woods in town, he is a blues singer and pianist from the U.S. (http://www.mitchwoods.com/)
Luckily during high school I played in a good jazz band for a number of years, learning to play with many styles and acquiring the skill to site read music. These skills came in handy, we played so much walking blues my fingers were falling off! I had an absolute blast! Also playing with us was a guitar player names Joe Cummings, also one of the chief editors of the Lonely Planet!! His picture is most likely inside the cover if you have one of the books handy.
Playing at Phu Pai was an awesome experience since the sound is so crisp. A friend of mine from England, Boz, also a singer-songwriter, has been coming to Pai for a number of years now for about half of the year. He has played at Phu Pai before and asked me to go halfers of an hour long set there for two nights. It was quite enjoyable! I played 4 originals and then 1 cover, High and Dry by Radiohead.
I only have pictures of me jamming with Chart and some others guys, unfortunately I have none of Mitch Woods and us.
This is Chart, Norbert, Bim and I jamming some blues!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Permanent-Pai
Hey friends and family. I hope you are all doing well as it gets colder by the day. It's always hot here during the day, but night is a different story. It actually gets close to freezing here at night time, and when your spoiled constantly with wonderful rays of sunshine during the day, it feels cold.
As the title of this post suggests, I have decided to stay here in Pai for the majority of my time here in Thailand. I just can't deny how happy, content and free I feel when I'm here. It really feels like I have found a home. I do not think I have felt this care free, relaxed and content as I do right now.
In the past couple of weeks I have gotten to know a lot of people here in Pai, it's a wonderful feeling when you are meeting new people. The most influential person I have met in ALL of my travels is a guy named Fook. He is 21, and has lived here in Pai for 6 years now. He grew up in Chiang Mai and spent some years in Sukothai.
One night, I was sitting around a bonfire at a outdoor bar called "Don't Cry" when Fook approached me. The next day he came over with his motorbike and took me around town, we at lunch, met some of his friends here and then later grabbed some supper. Over the following week after meeting Fook things just started happening. We hung out literally every day. I decided to stay in Pai for at least 3 months. Fook introduced me to Katie, his friend from Canada. She introduced me to Norbert. Norbert was looking for a singer for a band he wanted to start, he had a bass player and a drummer but none of them had been in a band together before. Later we got together, decided on a list of about 8 songs to start with and soon we will be practicing them with hopes to play out here in Pai.
Fook also helped me find a house in Mae He, a little village just outside of Pai, 7 minute drive. I pay 3,000B or $85 CND per month for rent, plus electricity. The house has a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room! When we originally saw it I thought it wasn't anything special. But in the last few days I, with the help of Fook, picked out pillows and tables, the works! I spent 2,500B to furnish it. Not bad at all. I also rented a motorbike for my stay here. A Honda Dream was my choice, 4 gears, manual, dark green. Remember, even Martin Luther had a dream! Now I do!!! I pay 1,800B or $50 CND per month for it, plus gas.
I have not taken any picture of the house of bike as of yet but I will post them on here when I get around to it.
Love you all!
Here are those pictures I promised:
Here is Fook making covers for the florescent lights cause there so ugly.
My living room after I put the cushions and table in, but wait, it will get better!
My living room after putting some fabric up to cover the dirty walls.
My room, I'm still not quite done with it yet, but it will do for now.
My house from the outside.
The view from my house!!
My kitchen and bathroom, the bathroom isn't green by the way, the light is covered with that green tissue paper.
My mirror!
As the title of this post suggests, I have decided to stay here in Pai for the majority of my time here in Thailand. I just can't deny how happy, content and free I feel when I'm here. It really feels like I have found a home. I do not think I have felt this care free, relaxed and content as I do right now.
In the past couple of weeks I have gotten to know a lot of people here in Pai, it's a wonderful feeling when you are meeting new people. The most influential person I have met in ALL of my travels is a guy named Fook. He is 21, and has lived here in Pai for 6 years now. He grew up in Chiang Mai and spent some years in Sukothai.
One night, I was sitting around a bonfire at a outdoor bar called "Don't Cry" when Fook approached me. The next day he came over with his motorbike and took me around town, we at lunch, met some of his friends here and then later grabbed some supper. Over the following week after meeting Fook things just started happening. We hung out literally every day. I decided to stay in Pai for at least 3 months. Fook introduced me to Katie, his friend from Canada. She introduced me to Norbert. Norbert was looking for a singer for a band he wanted to start, he had a bass player and a drummer but none of them had been in a band together before. Later we got together, decided on a list of about 8 songs to start with and soon we will be practicing them with hopes to play out here in Pai.
Fook also helped me find a house in Mae He, a little village just outside of Pai, 7 minute drive. I pay 3,000B or $85 CND per month for rent, plus electricity. The house has a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room! When we originally saw it I thought it wasn't anything special. But in the last few days I, with the help of Fook, picked out pillows and tables, the works! I spent 2,500B to furnish it. Not bad at all. I also rented a motorbike for my stay here. A Honda Dream was my choice, 4 gears, manual, dark green. Remember, even Martin Luther had a dream! Now I do!!! I pay 1,800B or $50 CND per month for it, plus gas.
I have not taken any picture of the house of bike as of yet but I will post them on here when I get around to it.
Love you all!
Here are those pictures I promised:
Here is Fook making covers for the florescent lights cause there so ugly.
My living room after I put the cushions and table in, but wait, it will get better!
My living room after putting some fabric up to cover the dirty walls.
My room, I'm still not quite done with it yet, but it will do for now.
My house from the outside.
The view from my house!!
My kitchen and bathroom, the bathroom isn't green by the way, the light is covered with that green tissue paper.
My mirror!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
For Readers of this Blog who Wish to Comment...
I have just updated the settings on this blog so that ANYONE can comment on any post they wish. Before it was enabled so that only registered Blogger users could comment. So if you have something to say about anything posted on this blog don't hesitate.
Traditional Thai Massage
I just got back from my first Thai massage. I paid 150B for one hour of sweet ligament stretching, bone cracking and muscle... massaging. The lady put soothing music on in the background to set the mood just right, I then lay down on my back and she spent about 15 minutes on each leg. The pressing her thumbs deep into the muscles made me laugh at times, wince at others but it generally felt amazing. She hooked her foot under my leg then pressed with her other foot, my leg the meat in the sandwich of her feet. She then spent about 5 minutes on each arm, using similar procedures. She cracked each finger and massaged them. She then got to my back, which is pretty much always a mess of knots and tense muscles. Her thumbs pressing hard into the sweet spots, it hurt a lot but the pain was definitely worth it. She then twisted and contorted me till I cracked and was stretched in every single part of my body. I couldn't be more relaxed right now...
Friday, November 2, 2007
Things around Pai
This is my little bamboo bungalow right by the river in Pai, its called Pai River Lodge, I pay 120B per night for it:
This is me playing my guitar a hammock near by:
This is a crazy big bug I saw land on the street by my place, use my hand for scale!
This is me, Nadav and Itamar on our motorbikes:
This is Paun cooking us some food on his little bbq:
This is some of the best pizza I've ever had, besides our homemade stuff back in Winnipeg:
I am loving it here in Pai!!! The population is about 3 or 4 thousand, and 80% of the people living here a musicians! Live music and jam sessions every night. I don't wanna leave... so I wont, for a while.
This is me playing my guitar a hammock near by:
This is a crazy big bug I saw land on the street by my place, use my hand for scale!
This is me, Nadav and Itamar on our motorbikes:
This is Paun cooking us some food on his little bbq:
This is some of the best pizza I've ever had, besides our homemade stuff back in Winnipeg:
I am loving it here in Pai!!! The population is about 3 or 4 thousand, and 80% of the people living here a musicians! Live music and jam sessions every night. I don't wanna leave... so I wont, for a while.
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