H & H

H & H stands for heat & humidity. At the moment we're experiencing plenty of that. 

The last few day the temperature has approached the high 30s

and with the humidex factored in, it feels like 43º ~ 45º.

It's a test to find out two important things; what is the melting point of the 

human body and, how durable is the air conditioner.

As a result of the elevated H & H I don't spend as much time walking 

around with my camera as I used to but still have some file images to share with you.

This gentleman is a crippled beggar who gives me a big smile
and thank you whenever I drop a few coins in his cup.
He seemed very thrilled when I asked to take his
photo  and greets me now like an old friend 

Colourful delivery girl

Antique temple motif at wat museum

The heat gets to everyone at some point

This friendly fellow lives beside the river behind our building. In the event
of rain he can scoot about 20 meters and sit it out under the
bridge or just throw his tarp over himself and sleep

This little charmer walks around to different restaurants and tries
to sell the traditional Buddhist flower leis

At a seafood restaurant that we frequent, this is one of our typical meals,
grilled red snapper,
stir fried vegetables with prawn and steamed rice all washed down with a
glass of wine for Noni and an ice cold Singha beer for me

Spicy food vendor in the market place in the evening. I didn't notice her reflection in the
store window on the left till I put this on the computer

ARMPITS

Watching the advertising on Thai T.V. is a bit discouraging.

There seems to be an obsession to turn everyone white.

Cosmetic companies are touting every kind of cream, lotion & potion to turn the skin

of Thai women and men into pale imitations of western people.

This sickness even extends to the armpits where every deodorant not only

makes one smell sweeter but makes one whiter as well.

There are countless commercials showing woman dancing 

 or holding a bar on a bus, their arms high in the air,

 armpits, pure white of course, 

exposed to the gaze of handsome male admirers. 

WEIRD

Here is a collection of random photos I've captured recently. 

Sorry, no armpits.

back wall in a Chinese restaurant

Noni at the hairdresser
a monsoon rain was raging outside at the time

construction worker on a break

can anyone identify this flower/fruit?

flower delivery truck

sidewalk art gallery 

SOI ~ RHYMES WITH SOY

According to my Thai/English dictionary a soy is a lane, alley or side road.

Thai cities are set up with main streets and, running off of these

are the sois which are numbered and named after the main road.

For example, the name of a main east/west street here is Thapae Road.

Off of this are Thapae Road Soi 1 to Soi 6.

In Bangkok the sois running off one side are even numbered and on the other, odd numbered. 

Some of these sois are just lane ways while others can be busy side streets. 

Some seem deserted but seldom stay that way for long and some seem like they're leading nowhere. 

Some lead nowhere.

I take a lot of shots of these sois; I find them very interesting and, in some cases, mysterious.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY SOI PHOTOS

SMOKE, MOTHS & TEMPLES

SMOKE

The smoke here continues unabated. 

I had thought that by now it would have all blown away but that doesn't seem to be so.

We might decide to head south and spend a week on Koh Samui

to get away from it for awhile.

MOTHS

One evening we walked out of our condo and were inundated with small white moths.

They were everywhere, not just hovering around the lights as in this photo

but flying all around our heads. One flew up my nose and when I snorted it out

another one flew in my mouth.

We made our way to a restaurant and sat inside for dinner. When we emerged from the 

restaurant about 45 minutes later, the moths were gone. 

Haven't seen hide not hair of them since. 

TEMPLES

A Buddhist temples here is called  a Wat.

They can be seen in every part of the country and Chiang Mai has more than its fair share.

From the outside many of them look like quite unimposing buildings 

except for their elaborate roofs. Others  are elaborate both inside and outside.

Inside they can be simple or very elaborate.

After seeing a few they all start to look more or less alike.

However, it is the detailing that sets them apart. 

Here are a series of photos of details of several of the local wats.