If I could bottle a rural village...

If I could bottle a rural village, I'd make a fortune, selling it as a natural sleep aid! Our sleep patterns have been pretty woeful since we arrived in Thailand four months ago. The night before I headed to my friend's hometown, I managed three hours of broken slumber.

Living with the Tiger

Fellow blogger Talen (The Land of Smiles) is doing his utmost to draw attention to the plight of HIV infected orphans in the Lopburi province of Thailand that have been abandoned by society. Filmmakers have produced a documentary, 'Living with the Tiger', to raise public awareness.

"I will be giving away 3 copies of the Festival edition DVD of Living with the Tiger as well as making a donation to Baan Gerda in each of the winners names." - Talen

For movie screening times and dates, Talen's competition qualifications and more details about how you can help, please visit the The Land of Smiles for the full story.

At the very least, if you're a Tweeter...please Tweet away! Or, if you're into Facebook, spread the word. Bloggers and Website owners can obtain a 'Living with the Tiger' widget to display on their side bars, "desgined to provide information about the film, direct viewing of the trailer, pictures and latest news pulled from this site." http://www.livingwiththetiger.com/

I won't be running in the competition myself, but good luck to those who do!

Snap's other blog Chiang Mai Thai

Hairy predicament

A while back Talen was discussing the incredible amount of women's hair he swept up off his floor and removed from his shower drain. He claimed he'd collected enough to make a new rug for Donald Trump, in just one cleaning session...and I believe him, 110%. At that time the situation was just beginning to get my goat, here in our own apartment.

By the way, did you know that some of these beautiful young girls spend up to six hours in a hairdresser's chair having their hair chemically straightened? Like it's not already straight enough? Once treated, no matter how much the wind blows, their locks will fall back to dead vertical.

I recently had my hair permed, not that that has any bearing on this story, apart from now the hair on my floor is curly and probably easier to see. I'm not just talking about a few hairs...I'm talking at least 100 per day, or more. They even seem to appear overnight, like some little hair gnome runs amok while I'm asleep. I was going to post a photo of the contents of my dustpan, but thought I'd spare any readers, just in case they were eating, as my hair isn't that attractive after being mixed in with dirt, fluff, sesame seeds and food crumbs.

'E' is for Oology

Granted, oology is the study and or collection of eggs, but nowhere does it state that you can't eat them.

Recently one of our neighbours (who is one of the most generous, loveliest ladies I've met) started introducing us to a few Thai delicacies. This one reminds me of the first bottle of shampoo I purchased here, both in colour and in pleasant surprise.

This is khai yiao maa – (ไข่เยี่ยวม้า) literally ‘egg urine horse’ or commonly known as Century Egg. Usually duck eggs are chosen and undergo a lengthy preservation process borrowed from the Chinese, which doesn't involve any equine pee. However you do get a definite (short lived) whiff of ammonia when peeling them, so I imagine the intensity of their odour during the fermentation process would be enough to knock you off your feet. Quite pretty really!

Khan Toke Dinner

This a Khan Toke (ขันโตก), a small raised table,  indigenous to areas in Northern Thailand and Laos, where sticky rice is mostly consumed. The name is derived from kan, or bowl, and toke, a low table made of woven bamboo (or sometimes from wood, coconut shell or rattan). I think they're customarily painted red.

Even though there are a few dishes traditionally served on a khan toke, any type is acceptable. However, it should always include sticky rice in a woven basket...this was ours. The rice is just out of frame. More than enough food for two, although, the staff are more than happy to refill the bowls throughout the evening.

Maesa Elephants

When CJ was just a tot, the elephant was one of the first animals she learnt to mimick, thanks to her Pop. Six years ago when she was 21, she announced "I want to go to Chiang Mai and ride an elephant". Stray and I looked at each other and decided to tag along. For the three of us it was our first time out of Australia. A whirl wind trip to Singapore, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay and back.

So now, as friends visit us in Chiang Mai, either Stray or I find ourselves again at the elephant camps just outside of Chiang Mai. This is part of the day I spent with JJ, at Maesa Elephant Camp, just the other week.

On arriving we posed with some of the mammoth mammals. Cute, rubbery and in need of a shave...the elephant didn't feel that cuddly either.

The Real Chiang Mai Flower Festival

WARNING! This post has extreme graphic and floral content.

My Own Chiang Mai Flower Show

The Chiang Mai Flower show is on RIGHT NOW, but this post isn't about that. I love flowers and plants and so continue to whip out my camera near cafés, on sidewalks and in front of people's houses and over their fences, to document some of the more unusual ones I encounter around Chiang Mai and beyond.

If you know any of the names, please leave a comment. Dad...please drag Mum to the computer for a look see :)

1. I'll start with the most impressive find, which reminds me of a character from the 'Little Shop of Horrors', because it appears to have eye lashes.

Wat Chiang Man, the oldest in Chiang Mai

I’ve been to Wat Chiang Man before, back in 2005, but, didn’t realise it was the oldest wat in Chiang Mai at the time (clearly I wasn’t paying attention to our tour guide that day).

The Ubosot ordination (prayer) hall is the first building we (being JJ and I) noticed on entering the temple grounds.

Close by and looking a little like a cubby house is the cute and extremely small, locked, Hoi Trai (temple library).

Is there a doctor in the house?

Firstly I’d like to say ‘EVERYTHING IS OK!’...now.

JJ and I were just pulling up, in a tuk tuk, at Chiang Mai airport, when my phone rang. It was Stray. He’d come off the scooter and thought he’d hurt himself...his arm...his shoulder?

Mr Nikon (the nicest, MOST honest, reasonably priced tuk tuk driver you’ll ever meet in Chiang Mai) carefully speeds back to the accident site. Stray’s collected the bitumen with the left side of his body. He was looking to change lanes (not very Thai of him, I know) and had to brake hard, when the truck in front stopped suddenly. The front wheel just slipped out from under him and he had no chance to break his fall. He didn’t look or sound well.

Mr Nikon pushed the scooter to a secure spot and we asked him to take us to a hospital. I pointed south, because I know there’s one just down the road. But, he points in the other direction and takes us to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital...or Chiang Mai Lam as he calls it.