Last night I flew into Glasgow around 10 pm. I’d flown from Chiang Mai and I’d been on the go for nearly 24 hours and so by the time I landed here in Glasgow I was a little tired. Ken was picking me up at so I headed to the Holiday Inn Hotel to tap into the free WiFi so I could call him. We confirmed the pick up point and in my haste I did not pick up my lovely bottle of Jura single malt.

I did not realise this of course until we had returned home. When Ken returned from checking the car and said it wasn’t there I really thought he was taking the piss. When the penny finally dropped that I had lost it somewhere I felt very sad and very pissed off.

Today however I am in a happier mood because I returned to the scene of the crime and asked the lovely young lady at reception if a bottle of a very fine Single Malt had been handed in and she said “YES” 

Woo Hoo 

I’m going to buy a lottery ticket today too!!!!!

What more can you say about Black Pudding and chips especially when outside there is sleet. It’s been over 18 months since I have last had such a delicacy and it’s been worth the wait. 

And then for dessert I had ginger bread. What a day of calories I have had 😆

I’m flying Qatar Airlines and I must admit I’m very impressed.  The air hostess just asked me if I wanted two glasses of red and I thought here is a girl that knows her job and her customers.  I’m on the second leg of my trip from Doha to London and I intend to get a snooze so red wine is always on the agenda.

But you know I feel very lucky that I can sit here 40.000 feet above the world tucking info my beef curry, red wine and dessert and below me on the map I see places like Baghdad, Basra, Damascus and all those other places that you see on the news when they have the latest bombing or suicide bombing. I’m not sure how I manage to do what I do but in very grateful that I can. 

18 months ago or so I decided to escape the rat race and I’m still not in it and that is bloody marvelous and long may it continue. But every so often I stop and I wonder how the hell is this working.  And as I look down over what looks like snow covered mountains I feel very humble indeed. 

Got to love technology when you can blog from 40,000 feet, 10 mins free WiFi. 

😆😎😅😇🤗🙂☺😚😙😱👿👾👽👻💀👺👹😈😵😨😧😡😬

Yesterday I was in a restaurant that is near the “Smith Residence” in Chiang Mai where you will find many foreigners living and dying by the look of it. The Smith Residence is just one of the many places that offer long-term or short-term rentals for furnished apartments. They are small studio apartments but quite adequate. The location is also perfect because you don’t have to walk too far for medical, food or anything really. You can get a place here for about $800 a month plus electricity. Many old people from many western countries are finding it more and more difficult to survive financially and so many are packing their bags and coming here to Thailand. To be honest it’s something I have considered myself, but the difference between myself and many of the single men that come here is that I don’t feel the need or want to drink everyday and recapture my youth by going to bars and picking up some young thing a 3rd of my age, but in saying that maybe I might just fall into that category . Of course the other reason is that if I did do this then any money I had would quickly disappear, these girls are in business not charity. If I did come here then I would need to find a life similar to the life I have in China where I have been lucky to meet many people and have been given opportunities. to try new things

Many folk are content with the really simple life and they also need company, in fact they crave company and they can have that here very easily. I on the other hand like my space and every so often I will venture into the real world. I like a simple life on one level, I like an easy uncomplicated life, a stimulating life where you can discuss complex issues or at least have your brain challenged, you need to exercise your brain just as much as you need to keep your body in shape. By completely judging the books (people) by their covers it looks like many of the men I see here are really just coming here to die, but they have also decided to go out with a bang, they’re going to drink and party till it kills them.

I’ve been in Chiang Mai many times and for the last 3 years I have passed through here on an annual basis. There is a guy that I have seen many times and I don’t know if we have had a conversation or what but I know his face. I saw him the other night in Chiang Mai and he looks really old and haggard. Yes he might be ill I don’t know his circumstances but he was floating around the bars in the red light area and he was wearing all the correct hippy clothes that many expat locals will wear after a while. He looked sad, fat and lost and that seems to describe many of the old men that you see and I will not be joining their team any time soon. Of course not every foreigner comes here to die, some come and set up a business and create a new life for themselves just like they do anywhere else in the world. But Thailand makes it very easy for you if you wish to retire here and this of course is why so many older people come here. And you know there is no stigma if and when an older person craves the company of a younger one whether that is for pleasure or simply company,

I enjoy going for a massage when I’m here and I can have an hour-long relaxing oil massage for $10. I can then go and have some lunch and I will pay around $3 or less and then I will have tea or coffee for about $3 also. Life here can be simple and very cheap. You don’t need to cook anymore, you can just get on with doing what you want to do. The climate in winter is very pleasant although the summer heat can be oppressive and you will need air conditioning. It’s easy to buy a car, driving here is easy but I would not travel outside the city after dark because on the open road in Thailand it can be quite deadly.

So maybe one day I too will come to Thailand to die, I could think of worse places to do it. 

As I no longer live in Australia I decided that when I came to Thailand I would get them done here. Thailand has a better reputation than China and to be honest a lot of the dentists in China have no privacy so when you are in the chair you have an audience, this is not something I wanted. Thailand has also a very good reputation when it comes to dental work and as I was only getting a clean there was no problem.

I’m pleased to report all went well and they charge was 650 bhat which in the big scheme of things is pretty damn cheap.  I have a friend that recommended this clinic and to be honest if I need further work in the future then I shall return.  

The dentist was very young and she was very pleasant. I explained to her that I had sensitive gums and sometimes this was a painful experience but to be honest with you apart from a couple of times it went well.  

I’ve been in Chiang Mai for a few days now and I’ve living more like a local than a tourist. My friend Rin has a house here as I mentioned before,The crazy dog is still crazy, although he is not howling as much at night. When I come back home I bring him a small snack and try and bribe him a little which I think must be working.

The other morning I found two mice in his water bowl and one was still clinging to life and it looked at me intensely when I pulled him out as I guess he wasn’t sure if he was going to meet his maker there and then. The poor wee thing sat for about an hour recovering from it’s ordeal sitting next to it’s friend that had already moved on to the other side.

The weather has been cold the last few days, no sun and it’s only been about 18c during the day which is quite cool for Chiang Mai. Having a shower in the open air bathroom is the only challenging part of my day really. I’m a big Jessie and I like my comfort and I do enjoy a nice hot shower in the morning and to get dressed with without feeling the cold, that’s not been possible here. But this morning the sun has returned once more which I’m pleased to say.

This morning I have been planning my next phase of me travels and they are as follows. Fly to the UK and then stay for about a week before heading off to Venice. Flights and accommodation are booked as far as Venice and then I’ll play it by ear, but I’m hoping to go to Florence, Rome and maybe Naples and then I’ll have to see how the bank balance is looking before I go any further. But I shall continue to write as I go.

So far I’ve had one oil body massage and 2 foot massages and I’m only in Thailand for another 4 days so I’ll be getting a few more before I leave. A one hour oil massage will cost about 250 to 300 bhat which is just so cheap.  I’ll be back for another one tomorrow for sure. 

In every city and hotel I stayed at in Burma we had a power cut. I walked through my neighbourhood in Rangoon and the streets were pitch black and only illuminated by the many people walking with mobile phones. On the street that my hotel was in there wee many large generators on the roadside for just an occasion and when my hotel was affected it only took two or three minutes before the back up kicked in.

So all over Burma you will come across this situation and I must admit it didn’t really cause a big problem but it must be very annoying if you have to rely on large diesel generators to keep your business running smoothly and I would imagine that they would cost a small fortune.

Even at Heho Airport near Inle Lake we had a blackout for a few minutes, now this could be a problem when an airport loses power. The reaction of the staff and locals was to just laugh, I guess there’s not much else you can do.

My friend Rin has a house in the outskirts of Chiang Mai, it used to be her fathers house but he passed away a few years ago. Her fathers second wife lives at the house but at the moment she is not here and so I have the house to myself apart from one very lonely terrified wee dog that belonged to her father. It’s cries at night are painful on the ears, it sounds like someone is killing the poor beast and I think the killer is sadness.

At least his tail is up today and not between his legs. 

The poor wee thing is also trying to get its head around this invader which it can’t understand and so it will give me a wide berth. The first night I stayed it howled like a Banshee for most of the night and the neighbours and myself did not get much sleep. Last night was my second night and it was a little better. This morning as I sit outside having breakfast he is coming out of his den and walking around me closer and closer and so I guess he is starting to trust me and is checking me out. Mind you I have tried bribing him with food as you do in these kind of situations. My breakfast of choice in Thailand is as follows, black coffee, 2 bananas and 2 pineapple pies which you can buy from 7/11. My new friend also likes pineapple pies. I’ve decided to call him Mutley for the duration of my stay.

Now when you move to a new place you have to get used to your environment of course and as this house is semi rural it is very dark at night and last night when I came back I saw a green Firefly. I was standing on the steps about to unlock the door and this green tailed Firefly slowly moved passed my face, it was quite amazing and I felt very privileged to see such a creature so close to hand. I think they are absolutely amazing. One good thing about Fireflies is that they don’t make any noises that I can hear.

Next door however we have chicken coops and at the crack of dawn or even before usually they do their thing. So the first night here I had the Mutley going off every 5 mins and then it was the time for the Rooster. No sleep was had.

The house is made from timber and only has bars on most of the windows, no glass, no fly screens. The bedrooms have fly screens thankfully and there is also one on the bedroom door. There are many wee flies and mosquitoes about but I haven’t been bothered too much with them so far. If I stayed here I would have to have air conditioning because even in winter the temperature will reach the 30+Celsius. The cost of this place would be around $100,000 and so it might be something for a future time when I decide to change my country of residence. But in Thailand foreigners can not buy land and so I would be unable to buy this wee place,  but I could buy an apartment or a townhouse.