At wood carving village - wind chime store

biking through rice paddy fields

Mission Church in Leprosarium

Leslie at new temple

Leslie by temple with Burmese influence - 700 years old from original capital

First Bike Trip in Chiang Mai July 24 to temple, rice paddies, old mission, etc

On July 24 we took a bike tour to the south of Chiang Mai, starting at the Park Hotel just 200 yards from our apartment.  We checked our rented bikes, which were American comfort bikes, adjusted the seats, and then started riding following our Thai guide, Jib.  We drove the first kilometer or two to get outside of town, then drove through countryside, past the first capital city temple sites, which had been flooded and were recently excavated.  Then we passsed through a Christian Mission leprosarium and hospital, with two churches and a gift store for handicrafts made by the disabled/lepers, where we sat our a short rainstorm and had a snack.  We then proceeded through rice paddy fields to a wood-working village, where we had lunch, and then on further south another 7 or 8 kilometers.  Total distance per our GPS: 40 kilometers.  All quite flat and easy riding. Click and Travel was the tour company we used.

Birding with Tony Ball and Marie Bedell

We were picked up by Marie Bedell at 5:30 am on schedule by Marie, met Tony Ball, and proceeded about a half hour drive north of Chiang Mai to the foothills of the mountains, the the shores of some lakes, and later to the agricultural farm of Chiang Mai University's School of Agriculture.  Using our new 8-power binoculars, and those borrowed from Tony, we were able to see 56 species and to hear another 10 or so that we did not see, as per the list below.  It was a wonderful day. Marie brought us back to our apartment at about 2:30 PM, so we had been out birding for 9 or 10 hours!  Tony was magnificent as a guide, identifying the birds so quickly that there was no need for our newly-purchased field guide. We have a wonderful bird book and also several CDs of bird songs to learn. 

Huay Tung Tao lake     Running list - 259 species       80   migrant species                6 passage migrants	Scientific name	Tick as seen
Oriental Darter                      22/2/2010	Anhinga melanogaster	1
Cinnamon Bittern	Ixobrychus cinnamomeus	1
Black Bittern	(written in - Unusual)	1
Lesser Whistling-Duck	Dendrocygna javanica	1
Black Baza	Aviceda leuphotes	1
Chinese Francolin	Francolinus pintadeanus	2
Barred Buttonquail	Turnix suscitator	1
White-breasted Waterhen	Amaurornis phoenicurus	1
Red-wattled Lapwing	Vanellus indicus	1
Greater Painted Snipe	Rostratula benghalensis	1
Spotted Dove	Streptopelia chinensis	1
Zebra Dove	Geopelia striata	1
Banded Bay Cuckoo	Cacomantis sonneratii	1
Plaintive Cuckoo	Cuculus merulinus	2
Common Koel	Eudynamys scolopacea	1
Green-billed Malkoha	Phaenicophaeus tristis	1
Lesser Coucal	Centropus bengalensis	1
Greater Coucal	Centropus sinensis	1
Asian Barred Owlet	Glaucidium cuculoides	2
White-throated Kingfisher	Halcyon smyrnensis	1
Blue-tailed Bee-eater	Merops philippinus	1
Green Bee-eater	Merops orientalis	1
Lineated Barbet	Megalaima lineata	1
Coppersmith Barbet	Megalaima haemacephala	2
Rufous Woodpecker	Celeus brachyurus	1
Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker	Picoides macei	1
Asian Palm-Swift	Cypsiurus balasiensis	1
Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica	1
Wire-tailed Swallow	Hirundo smithii	1
Red-rumped Swallow	Hirundo daurica	1
Rufous-winged Bushlark	Mirafra assamica	1
Richard's Pipit (Paddyfield Pipit)	Anthus novaeseelandiae	1
Common Iora	Aegithina tiphia	1
Red-whiskered Bulbul	Pycnonotus jocosus	1
Sooty-headed Bulbul	Pycnonotus aurigaster	1
Streak-eared Bulbul	Pycnonotus blanfordi	1
Black Drongo	Dicrurus macrocercus	1
Ashy Drongo	Dicrurus leucophaeus	2
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo	Dicrurus paradiseus	1
Blue Magpie	Urocissa erythrorhyncha	1
Rufous Treepie	Dendrocitta vagabunda	1
Racket-tailed Treepie	Crypsirina temia	1
Large-billed Crow	Corvus macrorhynchus	1
Puff-throated Babbler	Pelorneum ruficeps	2
Striped Tit-Babbler	Macronous gularis	2
Chestnut-capped Babbler	Timalia pileata	2
White-crested Laughingthrush	Garrulax leucolophus	2
Bright-capped Cisticola	Cisticola exilis	1
Grey-breasted Prinia	Prinia hodgsoni	1
Yellow-bellied Prinia	Prinia flaviventris	1
Plain Prinia	Prinia inornata	1
Common Tailorbird	Orthotomus sutorius	2
Oriental Magpie-Robin	Copsychus saularis	1
Pied Bushchat	Saxicola caprata	1
Ashy Wood-Swallow	Artemus fuscus	1
Burmese Shrike	Lanius collurioides	1
Black-collared Starling	Sturnus nigricollis	1
White-vented Mynah	Acridotheres javanicus	1
Common Mynah	Acridotheres Tristis	1
Olive-backed Sunbird	Nectarinia jugularis	1
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker	Dicaeum cruentatum	1
Eurasian Tree-Sparrow	Passer Montanus	1
Plain-backed Sparrow	Passer flaveolus	1
Baya Weaver	Ploceus philippinus	1
White-rumped Munia	Lonchura striata	1
Scaly-breasted Munia	Lonchura punctulata	1
Seen (1)	56
Heard (2)	10
Species Seen and Heard	66

first Birding trip - with experience birder Tony Ball

double rainbow over Chiang Mai - view from our penthouse

June 30th to July 4 Settling into Chiang Mai

Open Great room -facing kitchen & office

We continued on to Chiang Mai with all our luggage and had to wait for an over sized cab to be available to take us to the Galare Thong Tower.

Before we left the USA we had rented a studio for a week - the Galare Thong has turned out to be our address in Chiang Mai. We have rented the 15th floor 2 story penthouse which gives us about 2,000 sq feet of space including balconies. This is a very large place and room for visitors. The building has a little Bistro at the entrance so we have actually talked to several residents and have meet the 2 very active expats that run the condo association.

How did he get in my shirt?

Master Bedroom

On Sunday, July 3rd we went for a 6 mile hike with the Chiang Mai hiking group. This required unpacking the hiking gear, figuring out how to get there and printing out the map with the name of the Arboretum in Thai. Hardest part was getting up early as we are still regrouping from the 13 hour key lag. As it happened we got into the elevator at the same time as another resident couple who were also going on the hike - easy to spot a hiker with boots, poles, liters of water etc. They gave us a ride to the hike meeting place and volunteered many good tips for settling in. The hike we did was over 6 miles with quiet a bit of elevation change, climbing over fallen logs, crossing steams, and walking through underbrush with leaches. While we both got leeches on us David got 2 inside his shirt that actually latched on to him. Good thing members of the group shared their salt so the leeches quickly dropped off.

CM Hiking Group

The hikers included 3 men and 10 women of various nationalities. An older Korean couple (late 60s) and a British lady (70) have also walked the Camino in the last 2 years. We met many interesting individuals and even though we had to back track because the trail had become so overgrown with bushes that it was indiscernible. Even with a GPS for guidance it was decided to retrace our steps. It was also raining some of the time but we had not purchased any rain gear and figured we would just risk getting wet. We learned from the group to just get a cheap rain poncho from 7 11 (they are global) as most of the time even if you are wet you won't be cold. We were also advised where to buy hiking boots - lesson learned - buy your gear in USA as it is much cheaper and more selection.

Today, the 4th we were busy setting up high speed Internet for the house and a land line. Then set up a joint current bank account which took some time, getting check book, wire transfer instructions, and ATM cards. Wrinkle only came at the end when we asked about online banking- no Internet banking for jointly owned accounts. More time spent setting up a single savings account which will get online banking and then link to the joint account. Also went to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital for scheduling of our Wellness Check ups which start tomorrow. We also went to get Jonathan's broken cell phones fixed. While waiting for those repairs I had a foot massage and David had a shoulder, neck and head massage. What a wonderful way to wait for repairs!

Kitchen Area

Office on Main floor

Views from windows

Large Balcony

Guest Room

Master Bathroom