空飛ぶ絨毯（soratobu jūtan: flying carpet)

Friday, December 4, 2009

The Green Arrow Technique

Many, and I do mean many more pictures to post from our recent travels, but meanwhile back in NYfC...

On my little walk to work this morning I dropped off an old black suitcase at The Salvation Army on 4th Ave and 12th Street. It was filled with a snowboarding backpack, miscellaneous t-shirts with miscellaneous designs, a dated black Italian suit with vest, wool pants that are designed to make your thighs sweat the moment your eyes make contact with them, evergreen-jungle-camo shorts with Black Hole pockets, and other various non-flammable items. There's extra storage room in my closet now. Enough for at least two dozen Mahjong sets.

At the southern corner of Park and 19th I noted a man curled-up and all cozy inside the half way phone booth swigging a brown liquid out of a brown paper bag underneath his beaten brown fedora. I walked a block and realized... damn that could had made a nice photo. I continued on to Park and 21st where I decided I'd post a photo of another phone booth and tell the story of the AM boozer. Within the booth was what I assume to be an empty and straw adorned lonesome can of Heinekin Beer. It was then I wondered if the 19th Street fedora fiend was responsible for this abandoned can. Was he on a phone booth pub crawl? I once had a friend who smoked pot in phone booths. He referred to this open public smoking technique as The Superman.

Welcome back.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Kome Kwaen

Chiang Mai- Still November 23. Taken at Thapae Gate on our walk back to the Village Inn. Hundreds of turquoise and golden hanging lanterns, also known as Kome Kwaen, were hung for a celebration taking place today in town (December 4th) for H.M. The King's 82nd birthday. But... their may be a delay in the celebration as breaking news has happened with H.M. The King.

The lanterns remind me of scene straight out of Hero or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Jet Li's Fearless or House of Flying Daggers. I asked Yen to battle me and she pointed out that I wasn't even wearing my hakama or obi (my sources of power) and she would easily defeat me. Sadly, she may have been right.

Manhunt for Willy Thai Wonka

Through the brightly lit winding roads of Chiang Mai we stumbled into yet another market with a heavy concentration on Thai Sweets. I know there's a Thai Willy Wonka out there... somewhere- boiling sugars and other somewhere and gelatinous Thailand treats. They range from hearty sweet sticky rice stuffed in bamboo shoots to multi colored layered jell-o bites. As much as Thailand is know for their spicy plates, their sugars are just as noteworthy.

Paung Din

Miniature Fruit Candies

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Chiang Mai's Left Eye

Chiang Mai's left eye.

Three wheeled and ready to ride.

There's hope in those wheels, hope and pride.

Hop in. Hop on.

He'll take you to your destination and beyond.

Chiang Mai's left eye.

Nov 23, 11:15am. Chiang Mai, Thailand. (please click image for clarity)

Discovery

After a late breakfast/early lunch, around the corner and down a bright alley, I found a photo for my brother who asked me to find and photograph the coolest bicycle during my travels. I found it Matt. I found it.

The Cold Season and Fried Chicken.

Early Tuesday morning, November 23, we left Bangkok and headed to Chiang Mai. Somehow through all the rush hour traffic we managed to make our flight and arrived in Chiang Mai at 9:30am. Anytime someone in Bangkok inquired as to where we were going to next they looked a bit shocked when we said Chiang Mai. "Oh it's cold there." "It's so cold in the north." "I'm from Chiang Mai and it's just Brrrrrrr there now." And sure enough residents were wearing wool caps, sweaters, and we even saw a woman with a fur coat. Retailers were selling ski mask, mittens, and other hypothermia protection. The cold season. The high the day we landed the temp was 92 degrees fahrenheit. With a real feel of 96.

Frigid.

Chiang Mai is a sleepy northern Thailand town with plenty of day and night markets, Cockfighting, nightly Muai Thai events, monks painting temples, and the best damn fried chicken I've ever tasted.

Down Ratchadamnoen Road (map) just past the Tha Pae Gate in front of a bank with green trim you'll find this happy husband and wife duo cooking up Thai Fried Chicken so good it's the only place we returned to on our entire trip for a second meal.