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Another, another day in paradise

When you get a flat…
You bring out your spare tires
It’s good to have your embroidered name on your cap just so you don’t forget it
My Advanced team
An afternoon treat
Self service gas. Insert coins and get what you need
7 PM is too early for customers
The entertainment bus
Bananas out my window
Coffee from the Local plantation
This hotel is a little rundown due to Covid
Coffee in the jungle
The front of the coffee shop
Starry starry night
Looks like a comedy but it actually happened, big nail
The bungalow owner brought me some fresh shrimp
This pillow seems to make the ride so much softer
A good thing for the buildings below this water tower there are no earthquakes in Thailand
I it’s really a good idea to take your face mask out of your swimming suit before going in the ocean. I should have remembered that
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Another day in paradise

A few days ago I was talking to a good friend about our situation in this pandemic whatever it is. They said to me, “do you realize how many people would love to be in your situation, on an island in Southeast Asia where you’re able to travel around and do a lot of interesting things?“ My response was, “how many people are there in the world?“ They responded, “about 7 billion“. I said, “ then I guess there would be about 7 billion people who would love to be in my situation“. Here are some recent photos and situation’s.

Would you drink this?
All of these Duk duk waiting for business to come back to normal.
A small shrine in a cubby hole on the street
The hotel is obviously owned by Chinese Thai
Hey small hotel shrine
And meanwhile, back at the ranch
A good lesson
I doubt the manufactures understand the implications of this brand name
John is waiting around on the beach for some cheese
Very nice menu
Walking in the narrow and dark alleys of Chinatown in Bangkok I was a little concerned about confronting some rats along the way. I did not expect this

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Downtown! Everything waits for you

Gold ornaments leading to the gold clock tower
Now these two are really into motorcycle riding
The green green Grass of home. Actually, it’s rice
Seems to be a popular place
You have to eat these buffalo wings with your hands so…..
Trying out someone else’s motorcycle
You can pick your own strawberries and buy your very own bottle of wine as well
I took a break off the side off the road and while I was stretching this fellow rode by on a bike and asked me a few questions. I said I was a little tired so I wanted to rest and he was offering me his home to take a rest in
Planted palms. Makes me feel as though I am in a tropical place (and I am)
Nice view up ahead
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Oh my Buddha!

Driving on the road to Chiang Rai, out of my left eye I spied a giant Buddha sitting just off the road so of course I had to investigate.

It’s actually a monk who might have become a Buddha.
Good naming
Of course I had to walk inside
It pays to look up
It’s nice to have a greeters as you climb up the steps
The snake up Close
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A day in the life of an idle traveler

The sticker now resides In front of a coffee shop
A sticker mysteriously appears on a friends motorcycle. Look at the way he stores his zoris and helmet and also his squid fishing hook near the starter
A caution for a tourist area in Thailand For those who go to bars
This very sweet and ripe pineapple was harvested a few days before I bought it. Fruit in paradise
Gelato afternoon at Mauro’s restaurant
This pig is just wandering around the neighborhood getting free food and fattening up
A beer with my Dutch uncle from Rotterdam
Danger on the beach
I needed my childhood friend to keep me company on my travels
Wonderful Turkish food
More good Turkish food
A good use of small horsepower
John’s domain is the beach. By the way, his nickname is “Scarface”
Paul finally got his Lamborghini but we had to wait a half hour for a cup of coffee to be made
An old workhorse is still going strong
OK, working on this website is exhausting so I need to take a break with my Toscanello
On this photo blog I am also posting the video. 100% cute
You see! 100% cute
Always something exciting to see on the local news page
My buddy John puts up with the noise but he really doesn’t enjoy it
In the countryside so many people have coconut trees in their yard so they just use this long stick with a knife on the end to cut them down. There have been many comments about monkeys harvesting coconuts. That may happen in some places but it is just so much cheaper and easier to use this method. After they harvest them they pile them up on the road and a truck comes by to them pick up. I don’t know if they get paid by the kilo or by number of Coconuts but they get something from the people who pick up the coconuts
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Moving for the 32nd time

I tried to count how many times I moved in my life and I think I got to 32 but I really have to go back and do a more careful Accounting. Anyway I’m in my new digs and I find it very pleasant, away from the tourist areas of the island and very quiet. Many of these photos are related to my new place but some are not.

Mine is the last one on the right up the path
Nice balcony outside with a built-in counter for drinking coffee in the morning and spending evening time in the cool air
Morning coffee
The brown one I name stinky because he hasn’t been washed for a long time probably due to his wounds which seem to be healing all right The white one I name Cicco, A recommendation from an Italian friend of mine. They keep me company and patrol the area
Just beside my bungalow the other dogs patrol
Not really minimalism
These were waiting for me in the bungalow but as careful as I am not they would all be broken in three months so I passed them back to the owner
Breakfast: muesli, yogurt and pineapple fresh from the garden

Breakfast: muesli, yogurt and pineapple fresh from the garden

My friends cat. Looking for an opportunity to jump on me and tear my shirt
A friend hand designed this mask. Very detailed. Please don’t call Interpol
My bike is looking better with these stickers and one may keep me safe
One reason I moved. Some young girls were making egg food which nobody bought but they made us move our motorcycles from the hotel parking area to the street and then back up to the parking area at 10 PM so they could sell their egg food. I did not consider this very customer friendly.
Paul, Willhelm and myself at The Office
At A friends place for a morning moca and a toscanello cigar
Three nice Dutch fellows. The fellow in the white shirt is the big businessman, as you can see.
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Minimalism – Introduction

So, what is minimalism? There’s no reason for me to write a definition since thousands of other people, more famous than I and definitely more widely read, have their versions in print.  My purpose in writing this is to explain how minimalism is reflected in my retirement life and travel life. The photo below represents what i am willing to walk away from.

This is not minimalism. I am moving to another place with all of the stuff I added to make my pandemic temporary stay in Thailand more comfortable.

I have been encouraged to write something about how to pack for the rest of our life on the go with a “minimalist frame of mind“. I will do that in one of the chapters but consider this just an introduction.

Minimalism is greater than zero since zero would be “zero-ism“. Zero-ism can most probably be achieved in a non-life state, if there is one. So it is greater than zero and it is less then traveling around the world on $1 billion yacht. So somewhere in between “ Minimalist travel“ is out there to be enjoyed.

Let me give you an example of some of my habits here in Thailand that I consider actions promoted by my “minimalist frame of mind“. When I take a shower in the morning the things I need to wash go in a bucket below my feet. As I wash, the water draining off me goes into the bucket and, if necessary, after I finish my shower I will add some water. In that bucket I put some soap for the clothes and then wash them. (just as an aside, I remember my two sisters arguing when I was about 14 concerning the great debate of whether to add soap and mix with water before adding the clothes or to add the clothes first and then the soap. I have no opinion on this since I am sure it could cause an international incident and possibly a riot.) After I finish washing the clothes by hand I use the water to flush the toilet or save it for when really needed. I think you know what I mean.

So given that example I start off the series of chapters. Stay tuned and stay alive.

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Bangkok a la China

Recently, I stayed in the Chinatown area, around the back streets, and found it to be a very interesting place. There are many tourist shops and restaurants open that cater to people they may never see again but you really want to go to the local shops and restaurants where you get local Bangkok and surrounding area residence to frequent. The back streets are also filled with automobile repair and motorcycle repair shops. One shop I found particularly interesting was the Vespa repair shop.

a sick Vespa. This is the special shop with very old Vespa‘s to Cannibalize for parts
Outside MBK. You can worship anywhere, even outside a department store
A top executive from Don Quixote in Japan came to the opening of their store in MBK which replaced Takashimaya
It’s really nice to have this sticker on the taxi window but it would really be nicer if the driver spoke English. If I didn’t speak any Thai getting where I wanted to go would’ve been a little bit difficult
In the very early morning the evening temporary shops on the sidewalk by the canal need to close up and make way for the daytime Shops
These are the nighttime shops. Squid game seems to be a very popular kids T-shirt theme
Food from a very popular and usually crowded restaurant in Chinatown
This is the name of the restaurant
The product under this cat must be the most popular. That’s just how cats like to place themselves. Right in the way!
That’s a funny company name for a people network
This GYOZA was pretty good
This GYOZA with WAKAME was especially delicious
Roads in Bangkok have to accommodate a lot of different vehicles at a lot of different speeds
Moving inventory off the street and back to the shop
Stickers for my motorcycle but I gave some away
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Vespas continuing saga

A little over 30 years ago I was commuting to Bangkok on business and I can’t remember seeing one Vespa, the famous Italian motorcycle/scooter, but I have to admit I wasn’t really looking. And now that some friends on Koh Chang are interested in Vespas I have been keeping my eyes open. This is what I found in just a 500 m area around this area of Chinatown in Bangkok this week.

This shop is near my hotel. I bet they can fix everything related to Vespas. They have a lot of parts available from old ones
It seems that Chinatown has become very much a motorcycle and automobile service and Fixit place
F
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Around and About on the Trip

You know, I traveled 4,700 km (almost 3,000 miles) on this 6 week journey around northern Thailand. I came back badly in need of rest from bumping around on the not so smooth roads here and there. But it was a great adventure and I would recommend it to everyone. Here are a few random photos from that trip.

A much different interpretation of the often seen image
every pool hall needs this addition to a table
my friend Roy helps take care of dogs at the crematorium. Here are the new additions.
am I skillful
this is how I finally affixed my 400 Baht saddlebags
Casa Vespa in Chiang Mai, a nice place to stay.
Khao Soi, the famous noodles of Chiang Mai and this is one of the famous small restaurants.
in the mountainside this is a small, small village
what a scene
went to the Korat Hospital and noticed this nurse with an interesting back covering. hope he isn’t in the radiology department!
my 160cc Honda PCX all fixed for traveling.
25 years ago theaters in thailand used to be so cold you needed heavy winter clothing to survive. well, I guess it hasn’t changed. It was pretty warm outside.
someone please tell me what is going on here!