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A Shopping Spree?

/ betstravelsabout / 1 Comment

These days the last thing I could ever see myself doing would be to go on a shopping spree at least for myself. I have always had difficulty in shopping by myself and for myself especially with clothes. I am most successful when I have someone like my daughter or a close friend who knows me well and is honest and not afraid to say that something I might be interested in wouldn’t look good on me.

However, I seem to have no trouble shopping for others. I was once a buyer for a retail store that sold kitchen and gift ware. I loved doing that type of buying, displaying what I bought, and having our customers buy the merchandise I had chosen. I am still doing this today in my retirement years. For the last ten years and more, I visit Chiang Mai, Thailand which has markets galore. One day I suddenly realised that I should buy some of the great clothing and other accessories I was seeing at these markets and take it home to sell. I didn’t have a clue how or where I could sell it, but somehow knew I would. I was right and it did. I am still doing it. I have no trouble shopping for this little business and seem to make good choices because just about everything sells. Somehow it’s easier for me to buy this way whereas when I have to shop for myself, it’s much more stressful. Why? Probably because I am looking at the price tag and finding it’s too expensive. Besides most of the stuff I see these days I don’t really need. I am a retired senior so I don’t need a fancy wardrobe. When shopping for my business and for others, I don’t have to worry as much about the price tag. I know my customers well enough now that I can pretty much target the price range that will work. The other big bonus is that I can make enough money buying for others to help pay for another shopping spree in Thailand.

Daily writing prompt
Where would you go on a shopping spree?
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Three Things I Love About Central Viet Nam

/ betstravelsabout / 6 Comments

A visit to Viet Nam was not in my plan for travel this time over to SE Asia. I had booked a round trip to Chiang Mai in Thailand for almost four months to give me just enough time to escape the worst part of a Canadian winter. On my past forays to this part of the world, I had a plan about where I would go to do visa runs to other countries and then return to Thailand until it was time to go home.. Making a plan this time wasn’t so easy as travel has become more challenging with trying to fit any kind of plan into the constant changes to each country’s visa requirments. After mulling over the various possibilities facing me, I quite suddenly woke up early one morning with my answer…it would be Viet Nam.    Continue reading →

My Main Complaint

/ betstravelsabout / 3 Comments

I really don’t think I am much of a complainer but, hey, I am not perfect nor is anyone else on this earth so we all will find something to complain about. I would say that the thing that really gets me upset and puts me into the complaint mode would be my cell phone.

I have a Samsung- Galaxy 12 which can really drive me crazy at times. It has become my main camera for taking the pictures for my blog posts. Someone stole my trusty old Canon digital a few years ago and ever since I have been struggling to understand the camera on my new phone. It’s so sensitive to the point that if I don’t hold it the correct way, it simply won’t take the picture that I so desperately need such as people pictures. It’s embarrasing to keep my people grinning so valiantly while I wrestle with focussing my picture. I can’t help complaining about it and sometimes cursing it to the point I want to throw it away. I had a Zen phone before which never gave me this problem. Sorry Samsung, but that is the truth. I have consulted their manuel which I don’t find very helpful most of the time. What this all boils down to is that my complaint is almost always got something to do with my devices. The companies that make them keep coming out with new versions which are supposed to make our lives easier. I can’t accept this for one moment. I see it all as a way to lure us into buying the latest model so they can make more money. To make matters worse, they don’t even give us a proper manual that fits the model we might have so we are left having somehow to figure it all out on our own. Friends who have Iphones tell me I should switch over and get one of them. I would consider that suggestion if I had an Ipad or MacIntosh but I am hooked into Microsoft on my computer.

Could that would solve my problem? If anyone has experienced this problem with incompatible devices, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Bloganuary writing prompt
What do you complain about the most?
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The Question of Whether to Live a Long Life or Not?

/ betstravelsabout / 3 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?
View all responses

Whether to live a long life is a personal choice which we need to make for ourselves. We must go inside to seek the answer from our ‘self’ or listen to our inner voice to seek the answer. We must not make such an important decision based on what society, family, or friends might think about this controversial subject. However, we ought to arrive at our decision after discussing such a heavy topic with those we are close to if possible. It should never be left to others to make it for us. We must take responsibility for that final decision.

Yes, we can play an important role on whether we want to have a longer life or not. To help us make such a decision we can do so by answering the following questions:

  • Why do we want to live a long life?
  • Would we want to live a longer life if we met up with some misfortune such as an accident crippling us for life?
  • What kind of contribution could we make to the world if we live longer?
  • How would we like to live out our life as we get older?
  • And finally, what is our purpose for living a longer life?

This list could lead to many more questions around this topic. However, I think the most important question we need to answer is “why” we want to live a longer life? Is it because we are afraid to die? If that is the case, then we will have much trouble with the whole process of what constitutes a worthwhile life. On the other hand, if we want to live longer because we have more to do that would be of some kind of service to others or the world, then why not go for it and live longer?

A Resurgence for Tourism in Thailand?

/ betstravelsabout / 4 Comments

Despite the strife and discord throughout our world these days, Thailand is either ignoring it or is coping with it better than most western countries such as Canada or the US. At least that is my impression since I’ve been back to the “The land of smiles”. The two weeks I have been in Chiang Mai, for what is now my fifteenth time, have given me the time I needed to see if those impressions are true or not. 

As some of you may already know, Thailand was once two separate Kingdom’s….Lanna in the north and Siam to the south. Lanna is actually an older dynasty than Siam dating back to its founding in 1296. Over the years amid many wars with their Burmese neighbours, Siam gradually incorporated Lanna into their kingdom which they called the Northern Provinces. In 1949 Lanna officially became a part of Siam which was then named Thailand. Although united physically by land, the Lanna culture still thrives in the north especially in Chiang Mai. One more interesting little tidbit is the meaning of the word Lanna: “Land of a million paddy fields”. After all Thailand is one of the world’s largest suppliers of rice so this translation is aptly named.

The north and the south remain quite different in many ways because of their past history. Bangkok has always been the capitol of what is today Thailand. The Royal dynasty makes their home there, the seat of their government too, and it has a much larger population. It is the centre of Thailand’s  manufacturing and big business, thus, attracting more people who want to work and live there from all parts of Southeast Asia. Add to that, it is nearer to all those gorgeous beaches and islands that have made Thailand such an attraction for tourism.  

With this smattering of history and culture for those of you who have never visited Thailand and would like to, I hope you have gained a bit more valuable knowledge about what makes this country so special. Now back to my story about my fifeteenth arrival to Chiang Mai over two weeks ago which is indicative of the kindness of the Thai. First of all,  there were staff planted in various strategic places to meet me when I got off my plane to direct me in the direction I needed to go to fetch my luggage. I suspect it did have something to do with a sticker saying I was a senior. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful welcoming touch. When I reached the carousel, there was my bag just waiting for me. What a relief since the thought of not finding it there is always on my mind. My first task before looking for a taxi or shuttle is to always buy a  plan for my cell phone which this time took all of ten minutes if not less. I also had enough baht with me so I didn’t have to go to the ATM for money. However, the icing on the cake for this tired traveller was to have the owner of the hotel where I am staying there to greet me. As soon as I settled into her car, I could feel the fatigue and anxiety which had built up after two nights of flying over here just melt away. I definitely felt like I was coming home. In case anyone reading this is looking for a wonderful place to stay where you will be treated like family take a look at it on http://booking.com. Look for Ban PongPhan and discover what this family offer for an enviable  9.5 rating.

Yes, I am happy and so thankful to be back and settled into the  welcoming Thai culture. Their smiling faces and their courteous ‘weis’ {hands together at the heart with a head bow} along with a friendly greeting of ‘sawadeeka’ is a great start which we ‘farangs’ {foreigners} learn the first time we visit. I should, however, mention that theThai really are masters at putting on a brave front or saving face as they call it. It’s the Asian way but it’s also important to them because so many depend on our tourist dollars. However, the truth is that behind those smiles that I keep referring to, not just in this post but others I have written, the reality is that it’s often a cover up for much emotional turmoil within them which has built up over the centuries. Men today are showing the worst of this by resorting to violent acts of all kinds. The truth is coming out as reported recently in the newspapers of the increase in acts of violence and murder which are becoming every day news items moreso in the south than in the north. Unfortunately, women are the target of the men who might be a father or a husband who drinks too much so are speaking out and saying to them, they’ve had enough. I wrote a post last year about Thai women entitled Impressive Thai Women which addresses this change occurring with Thai  women.

Tourism has morphed into one of Thailand’s important money makers over the years and all the signs are there that they are counting heavily on its future.  However, there is another dark side to this silver lining which is, I am sorry to say, showing its ugly head as evidenced in the latest news. The Chinese recently uncovered one of those dark spots which resulted in an order from their government not to travel to Thailand this year. Apparently the story is that many young Chinese men wanting to have the freedom that Thailand can offer them along with a good salary decided to apply for those good paying jobs being offered here, only to find out when they arrived that it was all a scam. They found themselves being forced into menial jobs instead. Naturally this has left a bad taste with them so the government has discouraged them from coming to Thailand as a tourist.

Enough of what is hidden behind the smiles and kindness of the Thai people which is what they are famous for and has attracted so many of us over the years. Sure they have their faults, but no one that I know can honestly say that they’ve been mistreated by a Thai person. More than likely, it’s been some tourists whom I have seen mistreating them, especially the tuk tuk drivers. I have learned to smile to all the Thai I meet and once that is done, chances are I won’t be bothered by them. Of course, there are always some very cunning and brave Thai who will try to lure you into going on a shopping spree instead of taking you to your destination. This is an old ploy long used in the big cities like Bangkok. I have personally never experienced this in Chiang Mai. In fact, when I return it’s always a surprise to me when they seem to recognize and even remember where it was they first met me going back to several years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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