Thailand, again

So, I went to Thailand again last week. I left on Tuesday and got back on Saturday. Is this the only picture I got from my trip? No. But it was the only one that wasn't pink (see next post for an explanation). Here I'm in the Chiang Mai Night Market at a typical partially open-air restaurant. The guys with beer and cigarettes and trash on the floor are Chinese (they spoke Chinese and I sort of eavesdropped; they have no idea). It was a kind of fun short trip. But I'm back to winter now.

Hot, snowy and pink

On the last day of January, I took a photo of the confused trees in my apartment complex. It was so warm, they thought it was spring so they started popping out pink buds. The following day (February 1st) it got to 75°F. That kind of warmth in winter never happens around here. We usually get cold and stay that way for six months.

The guards at my apartment complex put Christmas lights in the trees for Chinese New Year (Chinese New Year was January 31st this year). Is it a tradition to put lights in trees for CNY? No. They just thought it looked pretty.

Four days later it was snowing. And the week after that it snowed even more. It didn't stick (not much anyway). All these are pics from that general time frame. There's no snow in the photos, just wet pavement that resulted from it.

Super-sleuth Mimi. Hiding in the grass. Cats beware.

 Look at that plume tail!

Her paw hair has since been trimmed. It really grows fast! It was so long she was almost tripping over it when she jumped on the park bench. I would cut it more often if she wouldn't wiggle around so much when I got the scissors out.

I bet all this pink is making you dizzy. I bet you're headed to the kitchen for a bitter cup of coffee to cut through all the sweetness of this post. Even I'm a little overwhelmed, and I kind of like pink. Don't worry, I'll choose a non-pink color for my next post.

Not the plan

I was supposed to be eating Thai food in the night market in Chiang Mai tonight, and instead I am watching it snow from my hotel room in Kunming.

Uh ... it never snows in Kunming. This city is supposed to be the land of eternal spring, where it is 70°F year-round. The people here are weirdly giddy.

I didn't bring the right clothes for this kind of stuff. I brought capri pants and sandals, not sweaters and long johns.

It was snowing when I left Shanghai this morning and it was snowing when I got to Kunming. They are on opposite sides of the country. I think it must have been snowing everywhere in-between as well.

Due to the weather mayhem, I missed my connecting flight. I certainly wasn't expecting to spend more than 2 hours in Kunming, but God must have had other plans for me. I got a hotel room and booked another flight for tomorrow. Thailand, hopefully I'll be seeing you mañana. And please be warm because I packed my summer clothes!

Tea break

On that warm day a few weeks ago, I visited a tea plantation on the grounds of the China National Tea Museum in Hangzhou, China.

A steaming cup of tea with loose leaves floating around in it is the traditional drink of China, although young people really like their coffee and pearl milk tea as well.

We (my young American friend and I) were not offered a sip of tea while we were there at the museum grounds (it was the holidays and they had a bare bones staff on hand). But the scenery was awesome and I found the experience very relaxing. China is a beautiful place, so I hope you'll get a glimpse of it in my photos here.

Cute Coffee Shop

My city has a gazillion little coffee shops, and this one is so cute I couldn't resist taking lots of photos to keep and look back on. Enjoy the photos!

Pleasant weather

This winter has been pleasant. It's still plenty cold, but we've had far more sunshine than usual, and slightly warmer temperatures than in my previous winters here.

Weekend before last, we had a highly rare blast of warm winter temperatures, and it was 75°F on February 1st! I didn't have to wear a jacket or long johns. This has happened here NEVER before on my watch. Unlike Texas where the weather jumps up and down all winter long, here it is consistently frigid all winter, until now.

While the warm weather was here, a young friend came to stay for 10 days. We did some sightseeing in the nice weather.

The warm weather lasted only about a week though, then we had snow. It snowed again today.

I'm going to Thailand next Tuesday. It is in the 90s there. I'm digging out my summer clothes and sandals. Feels really strange to do so when it is snowing outside!

Seen around town

Crossed the line

I had a goal in mind when I was in the U.S. over the Christmas holidays.

I almost forgot about it in the rush of the holidays, but then a few days before I returned overseas, I borrowed my parents' car. My dad reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. He knew I didn't need the 53 cents, but he wanted to pay for this momentous occasion, to be a part of it.

I drove to town, pulled into the drive-up window at McDonalds, rolled down the window, and said these words for the very first time:

"I want a senior coffee."

Because, you see, I am now old enough to get a senior discount at McDonalds!

I have looked forward to this day ever since a decade or so ago when I discovered my dad could get McDonalds senior coffees for 27 cents (in another city where the price is lower).

People younger than me will not understand why it is such a good thing to get older. People my age and older totally get it though. It is an honor to say I lived long enough to be a senior.

At least by the standards of McDonalds.

It is a proud moment.

Soothing views of the city

 I live in a beautiful place.

 Ancient, quaint, beautiful, fascinating.

 Traditional homes are built along canals.

 These are not just for decoration; real people live in these homes.

What a beautiful piece of furniture. The arms have drawers in them, and the bodice has doors that open.  It was on display in a shop window.

Today is Chinese New Year. Of all the places I could have ended up, I am glad to have ended up in such a great place as this. I'm sure the world is full of fascinating places and people, but I certainly never get bored of my discoveries in this place.

Precious pebbles

I fly quite a lot. I don't love to, but I do.

In Asia, when it is time to board the plane, we just get on the plane and go. The flight attendants speak sweetly in low, pleasant tones, as if we were fellow human beings. They never roll their eyes when you ask for something to drink, and they are slim enough to walk down the aisles without brushing up against passengers in the aisle seats. The planes are clean and there is plenty of leg room. They give you something to eat and drink. They even answer the flight attendant call button! When the top ten airline rankings come out each year, you can bet that about half of them on the list are airlines out of Asia.

And then there are airlines in America. I usually fly American or United, so I can't speak to the condition of the other U.S.-based airlines. But no airline out of America even makes it into the top 20 airlines of the world. What a shame that we can't get it together in the airline industry. It's almost embarrassing considering the world expects us to be the best at everything.

I've found that while boarding in America, they have created quite an interesting and ridiculous class system, one that leaves me somewhat baffled.

The agent gets on the loudspeaker and spews out the priority of boarding.

"First class. Business class."

Several dozen men and women strut up to the ropes as if they were celebrities. Hate to tell them, but I don't recognize any of them. And I am dressed better than some of them.

"Advantage Elite passengers. Executive Platinum. Platinum. Gold."

Weaker people would have their self-esteem plummet about now as they watch more people file into the plane like they were our superiors. I am not used to all this nonsense, but everyone else seems to be used to it and thinks it is normal.

"Sapphire. Emerald. Ruby passengers can now board."

I start laughing. Out loud. Can this possibly get any more ridiculous? I feel like I am back in first grade lining up to go back into the classroom after recess. Teacher's pet gets to go first. That kind of thing.

"Pebble," I say. Another non-elite passenger waiting by my side looks at me with a curious glance, and I explain. If we all have to be some kind of rock to get on the plane, I am in the pebble class, I say. I get an encouraging snicker in reply. It's probably not good to encourage me when I am making snide remarks.

For a first-class round-trip ticket, first-class passengers paid $7000 more than I did (seriously) for my economy seat ticket. So yeah, let them go first, let them use real silverware (and cloth napkins!) and by all means stroke their egos. I feel smarter than them anyway for making my more frugal purchase. I spend at least half of our 15-hour flight thinking of things I could have bought for $7000 if I had it to blow, and a wider seat on a plane is not one of them.

But really, this class nonsense created by our sub-par airlines is comical. They are going to run out of rock names if they keep this up.