This retirement gig is definitely not a boring stint! Between writing for International Living, blogging (well, I guess I could call this re-blogging), and creating in my virtual la-la land (most people still don’t understand that part of my life!), the days have passed quickly.
After ignoring this blog for several months and now suffering the hacking consequences, I will attempt to rekindle the thing back to life. Hopefully, it will be back in shape again very soon.
As I renew my relationship with thaicanuck.com, I have decided to write less and just let the photos speak for themselves. The old saying of “a picture says a thousand words” is probably even more true when it is showing life in another country.
Anyway, for my once faithful readers, I guess you could say that I am back!
A few weeks ago, Nancy and I were invited to participate in two weekends of touring around northern Thailand courtesy of several local government ministries. We quickly accepted and joined a group of twenty or so other expats that also thought a free deal was a good deal. We were bused around to several towns and treated to some great food along the way. Of course, they got to film and video all of us on a constant basis. No doubt we will be showing up in some local PR tourist films down the road. The main goal was to show us what was available and to get input from us on how things could possibly be improved. A good time was had by all!
First weekend, Lampang and Lamphun, both within an easy day drive from Chiang Mai. Here are some of the adventures in Lampang, the ceramic capital of northern Thailand.
I like your new format Steve.
What do the coloured ribbons around the tree signify?
Hi Sylvia. They are usually offerings to the spirits that abound in this country. It is a very spiritual country. Here is an excerpt from an article that I found that explains it better than I can!
“Seen and unseen forces operate in daily Thai life. Flowers, incense, or food is placed in front of shops, on the bows of boats, in front of Buddhist icons and spirit houses. Brightly-coloured ribbon is wrapped around trees or other objects. These are all offerings to the spirits that reside there. A cement pole near my house receives many gifts. There have been too many accidents at this pole and local residents are trying to placate its bad spirit. Keep your eyes open for these offerings when in Thailand and you will be amazed at how many you see.”