Eating in Chiang Mai

Nut and I have been patiently waiting for the end of the rainy season. We've done our our first big ride but it's still fairly warm and muggy outdoors, about 85-90 degrees F in the afternoon, so we've been spending those afternoons in our cool apartment only sneaking out around midday for lunch. Then towards evening after the sun is past its peak we'll go out and grab some supper.

Note 10-04-12: A friend asked in the comments section of this blog if we eat every meal out. Well yes, almost. But we generally eat breakfast at home: fresh fruit mostly and sometimes eggs or oatmeal. Shown is one recent breakfast. Fruited yogurt with muesli, oatmeal, juice and cocoa, or in my case, tea. There is mango, banana, long kong, and apple slices on the plate.



Now, back to the topic at hand. We've tried a few new restaurants lately and have discovered some great eating right in our neighborhood. One such place is on the ground floor of our building. And then too, we have a few special restaurants we discovered last year.  This article is about them and some Thai dishes we seem to order again and again.

Lately I've taken to ordering tom sap (ต้มแซ่บ) everywhere. This is a spicy, highly seasoned soup popular in northern Thailand (Issan) based on pork or chicken, less frequently beef, that's often served in a ceramic pot on a charcoal brazier placed right on the table. Many restaurants here in Chiang Mai serve it and each offering is slightly different.

We dip the fragrant soup directly out of the pot with big spoons. One of the seasonings is chilis of course, which give it a bite, and horapha (โหระพา) or Thai sweet basil, one of my favorite condiments. Add some onion, some lemon grass, a slug of nam pla (fish sauce) and you've got a lovely soup. In the photo you can see some of the horapha and chunks of pork in the pot as well as fresh green horapha and cabbage at the right. Thais eat raw seasonings and vegetables, usually cabbage or cucumbers, as an accompaniment to the main course.

Grilled tilapia, tom sap on the brazier, pickled pork sausage at Delicious Restaurant

This little place is an easily missed family operated shop aptly named Delicious Restaurant (เลิศรส) (Lert-rode) featuring northern Thai food, Issan food. Nut discovered it last year when we were staying at the Nice Apartments across the lane on Rachadamnoen Soi 1 near Tha Phae Gate. (N18.78881, E98.99238). One of  its specialties that I order literally every time we go there is grilled fish. These are farmed fish, as are 99% of all the fish eaten in Thailand, and are a type of tilapia with firm white meat and a reddish skin. They're called pla tab-tim (ทับทิม), literally pomegranate fish, and are stuffed with lemon grass and rolled in salt before going on the charcoal.  An average meal for two will set you back about $6 at Delicious Restaurant. The family knows us now as regulars — we are always greeted exuberantly and with wide smiles when we ride up on the bike.

Grilling pla tab-tim at Delicious Restaurant

There's another small restaurant a few yards up the street from our place named Som Tam Udon. We can walk there in minutes. (N18.80542, E98.98321) Their specialty is som tam (ส้มตำ), the green papaya salad that IMHO is justifiably famous all over Thailand. They also serve grilled chicken, fish and pork ribs and of course, tom sap.

Som tam with seafood (ส้มตำ ทะเล)

Tom sap (ต้มแซ่บ)

Another spot we love when we want to eat western-style food is The Duke's on the Chiangmai-Lamphun Road near the Iron Bridge. (N18.78516 E99.00501)

Duke's is more expensive than most of the Thai restaurants around but the service is great and the food fantastic yet cheap by stateside standards. (Here is Duke's Facebook page.) They have great looking burgers and steaks (I've not had any as yet), BBQ ribs to die for, a good if not perfect Caesar salad, along with other western dishes: we've had scrumptious carrot cake, excellent pizza, very hard to find in Thailand, and a favorite of mine, chili con carne ($3 bowl). The ribs are as good as Sean up at the Fritz Creek Store turns out. The meal below cost less than $15 USD for two.

Chile con carne, foccacia, pork steak in pepper sauce, warm spinach salad

Nut almost always has pork steak in pepper sauce at Duke's. I tell her to try some other things but she loves these little steaks and always gives the fried onion rings to me. Duke's pizza is the best I've had in Thailand by far. Most Thai pizza is unimaginative to the point that the tomato sauce used is a closer relative to catsup than the fine topping I'm used to from Finn's and Fat Rack in Homer. Nut likes Hawaiian-style pizza so that's what's shown here although many other kinds are available. This one, a medium size, cost about $10. As I said, Duke's ain't cheap but a similar pizza would cost at least three times that amount in Homer, Alaska.

Duke's medium pizza, warm spinach salad, shrimp cocktail

Another top spot for us is Hua Pla Mo Phi (หัวปลาหม้อไฟ) over in the Mee Chok neighborhood. They used to be in Chiang Mai Land but moved this December (2015) to a new and bigger place right on Rte 1001 near the Mee Chok Shopping Mall. The new location is at N18.82186° E99.01212°. Hua Pla means fish head and that's the specialty of this place, fish head soup. Everything we've had there has been excellent. I should add here that if not for Nut most of the places we frequent would probably never have discovered if I were operating alone. Her knowledge of Thai food is extensive and her taste impeccable. She read about this place in a magazine article. We've been eating there regularly ever since. (Note: Originally I had the name translated as Hua Pla Mor Phi but learned it is actually Hua Pla Mo Phi. If you are searching for it online, try both spellings as well as the Thai version.)

Dinner for two at Hua Pla Mo Phi

The dinner shown above, spicy fish head soup, crab cakes, stir fried morning glory with crispy pork, and a side of rice cost about $12. Another of their items that I almost always order is the fruit salad basket. Apples, melon, and grapes in a sweet dressing, topped with deep fried shrimp in an edible taro basket. Yummers!

Mixed fruit salad - Hua Pla Mo Phi

No discussion of favorite Chiang Mai restaurants would be complete without including Silomjoy. This is yet another family owned and operated restaurant serving breakfast and lunch right in front of the Tha Phae Gate on Rachadamnoen Road. Many farangs eat there because they serve an excellent western style breakfast but there's a full menu of Thai dishes as well. And one of the owners, Waou (แวว), creates the coolest latte art I've seen anywhere. Even on warm days when I would ordinarily prefer an iced coffee or latte, I'll order a latte from Waou just to see what she will come up with as decoration.

With Waou at Silomjoy restaurant

There are a few more places we like but I guess I can save them for another day. We're off to lunch.

Trip to Nan and Lake Phayao

We made our first of the season multi-day motorcycle trip last week. We drove over to Nan from Chiang Mai on a cloudy, cool and sometimes rainy day. The rain is lasting longer than I expected although of course I did arrive Thailand earlier than I ever have before. But as I keep pointing out, the rain is warm and while they're intense the squalls are generally brief so one can simply get the rain jackets on and drive through it. After a few miles the rain will stop and before long the roads and our lower bodies are dry again. It's a gorgeous ride over and back: Routes 118 north and 120 east out of Chiang Mai to Phayao and then Routes 1251 and 1091 from Phayao to Nan are all smooth, twisty, and for the most part lightly traveled roads that are great fun on a bike. The 180 mile (290 km) trip took us about 6-7 hours including several stops for coffee and lunch.

Along Route 4024 on the way to Nan (N19.09715, E99.97474)

Green hills near Nan

Wat Phra That Chaa Hang (N18.758189, E100.791580)

Next day we visited a famous ancient temple near Nan, the Wat Phra That Chaa Hang (วัดพระธาตุแช่แห้ง) built in 1353, which is a Year of the Rabbit (Bpii Tao ~ ปีเถาะ). Nut wanted to visit and make a small offering because she was  born during the Year of the Rabbit as well (1963).
I never buy souvenirs but I couldn't resist getting this little golden rabbit for Nut to put with her other collectibles of a religious nature. Buddhists have some interesting customs and beliefs but trying to get others to believe as they do isn't one of them. Ya gotta love that!

We spent two nights in Nan and then rather than going directly back home decided to split the return trip in half with a stopover at Phayao and its famous lake, Kwan Phayao. The reason to come to Nan is for the motorcycling — there's not much else going on — but being as it's still rainy we decided to make it a short visit. I always enjoy riding around the lake and that was another part of the motivation to visit.

Kwan Phayao, west shore (N19.18832, E99.85599)

Fisherman, Lake Phayao west shore

Just after sunset, Lake Phayao

The ride back to Chiang Mai was uneventful and was again punctuated by rain squalls. The CBR250 turned in 90 mpg overall, pretty good gas mileage considering it was all 2-up riding and involved many hills. We ride slow, rarely exceeding 50 mph, but that seems plenty fast on these curvy highways in our area.

On the road to Phayao

Riding around Chiang Mai

As it turns out I'm writing this on the day after my birthday. It's still my birthday back in the states but here we've gone ahead to the 25th. I'm moved that so many friends have, through the "magic" of Facebook and the Internet, wished me well. Say what you will about the pervasiveness of the Internet— it does offer an easier alternative at birthdays to actually putting something in the mail. Thanks to all.

---

Nut and I took a short ride to the north of Chiang Mai the other day. We were planning to do the Samoeng Loop,  a favorite ride of ours that I've written about previously but rain at the high point of the trip where the road rises to cross a ridge of Doi Suthep turned us around. We skirted the showers by going north to a little coffee shop we know instead. The area around Chiang Mai is dotted with small gardens and large, rice paddies, flower farms, tea and coffee plantations and rubber tree farms. And at this time of year the rice paddies are so green it almost hurts the eyes.The day was cloudy, making for a pleasant ride and as a bonus, offering relief from the heat. It also added something nice to the lighting in photos below. (Click them for a full size view.)

Along Route 3009 north of Chiang Mai

The little shop, Pankret Coffee, is on the road to Pai. (N19.11530, E98.78496). It's situated in a cool spot and the owners have put a lot of effort into making it a perfect setting for an iced latte and a little something to nibble on.

Nut & I at Pankret Coffee

---

We've been riding in the area of Nan for the past couple of days and will head over to Payao after breakfast. From there we'll go back to Chiang Mai. The ride here was wonderful even though it was punctuated with rain several times. The nice thing about the rain in Thailand as I've often observed, is that it doesn't hurt you. We simply don our cheapo rain jackets and ride for a few miles until it stops. The rain storms up north are usually brief. Many folks just find a nice big tree overhanging the shoulder and wait it out. Yes, our feet and legs get wet but almost as soon as the rain stops, drying begins. And it's warm outside. Even the rain is warm so it's no biggie to drive on through. Besides, Nut hates to wait. She's always saying, let's go, let's go.

Now she's bugging me to go for breakfast. "Okay", I say, "let's go." ;-D

Nut, the object of my affections

We visit the DirtFish Rally School

I'm back in Chiang Mai and it feels good to be here. Yesterday evening I was sitting on our little balcony looking out as the clouds swirled around in the falling light and thinking about how comfortable I feel in Thailand. Of course, I realize that a lot of that comfort is because of Nut. She is not only a fantastic girlfriend but my interface to this wonderful country.

I guess being here sort of reminds me of how there used to be actual neighborhoods in the U.S. when I was a boy. In my neighborhood there were mom and pop stores on practically every corner. I can count from memory at least a dozen such stores in Sloan, the small Buffalo suburb (1 sq mile) where I went to high school. Sadly, all that has been changed forever with the advent of shopping malls and big box stores. Thailand still has that small neighborhood feel even in a city as big as Chiang Mai.

I got here early this year and the rainy season is still exerting its effects on the weather. Today is bright and sunny but it's been quite cloudy and rainy for the past week. Nut and I rode the bike to a popular viewpoint above Chiang Mai the other day where I snapped this view of the city below.

View of Chiang Mai from Route 1004 lookout

---

I had wanted to write this entry about the time I spent with Tuli and Harper but didn't get around to it when I was still in the states. Earlier in the summer Tuli found a good deal on a short, introductory course in rally driving and had signed up for it. He asked if I would be interested in coming along to hang with Harper and I said, yes, I love a road trip, so on the 29th of last month he and Harper and I set off for Snoqualmie, Washington where the DirtFish Rally School is located. (N47.53774 W121.81143)

Everyone we talked with at the school is a car enthusiast, as you might expect, and it was a fun experience. The full length courses are pricey and beyond the reach of most normal folks and I learned that maintaining the fleet of Subaru Impreza WRX STi rally cars is very expensive as well. If I recall correctly, Tuli got his one-afternoon short course for about $300 making it a relatively affordable adventure. However a full 3-day course will set you back about three grand. Another student, car-enthusiast we talked with said he thought being close to Microsoft is the reason a school like this one can turn a profit.

Following are some scenes from the school and the course. Some of the cars are rare, one of a kind rally cars — one we looked at is worth upwards of $300 thousand dollars — and are there on loan from their owners.

All Wheel Drive Subarus are justifiably popular on Alaska's icy winter roads but I was surprised to learn just how popular the Impreza is with the rally crowd. Apparently when Subaru introduced the turbocharged AWD Impreza WRX back in the early 90s it took the rally world by storm and revolutionized the sport. These cars start out as stock vehicles but are worked over extensively inside and out before they can be safely and competitively raced. The 2.0 liter engine in this one, WRC99, built for driver John Burns, puts out 300 hp and 480 ft-lb of torque. The interiors are stripped and rebuilt with carbon-fiber panels, roll cages, electronics, fire protection equipment, and more.

Subaru Impreza World Rally Car WRC99

Cockpit of WRC99

Here is a Ford Focus custom built for driver Colin McRae. Its specs are similar to the Impreza above: it sports a turbo-charged 300 hp, 2.0 liter engine and AWD and a ton of customizations.

Ford Focus World Rally Car

The cars at the school, while not as highly modified as these, nevertheless are powerful racing machines putting out 300 hp like the ones above. When I was in high school the Pontiac GTO was a popular muscle car — we used to say GTO stood for Gas Tires and Oil. These cars are like that: they go through motor oil and special soft-tread dirt track tires rather quickly. They use a brand of tire I never heard of, dMack Grippas,  that cost about $150 apiece. The Impreza's turbocharger is oil-cooled which we were told makes frequent oil changes a requirement. Tuli's instructor told us the tires last about 3 days and the oil gets changed at about the same interval. They use multi-viscosity Mobil-1 5W-50 synthetic oil exclusively in all their vehicles. The gravel plays havoc with disk brake rotors as well. There is a full scale auto shop on the premises to handle repairs, modifications and maintenance.

Tuli with the instructor on the "skid pad"

Students start out learning how to handle the cars during a turn on the "skid pad". Driving an AWD car through sliding turns on dirt is very different from what Tuli is used to. He's done some sport driving in his rear-wheel drive 1995 BMW 325i but that was on pavement. The techniques needed to run an AWD automobile at speed through turns on loose gravel are introduced in this first phase of the course. In all cases, an instructor takes the car and student through the course a few times explaining the techniques of left-foot braking and weight transfer, hand brake turns, etc. Then he turns the car over to the student for several runs through the same turns using those skills.

Tuli driving the slalom course

Special dirt track "Grippa" tires

Later they drive on a slalom course and then finally a small race track, the "Boneyard", with quick turns that included a couple of tight hairpins. The idea is to take what you've learned in the early lessons and put it into practice during a simulated racing experience. I think it's fair to say Tuli enjoyed the course immensely. And Harper loved the microphone equipped helmet his dad got to use.

Two handsome boys

We took the opportunity to visit some old friends while we were in Washington. We stopped for a night at Dody's, an old friend from Homer, and at Peggy and Dan's, folks I know from the years I lived in Boston back in the 70s.

By the time we got back to Eugene three days later we had driven over 1,000 miles. Harper had been good as gold on the long trip and we had had our fair share of road trip snacks and Starbucks coffee. The DirtFish school has a website at www.dirtfish.com if you want to check it out. Oh yeah, and you might find it fun to take a look at this YouTube video of a crazy guy named Ken Block putting some of these same driving techniques to practice in San Francisco.

Summer's end

My time in Homer has ended for this year. I wanted to post a few photos to show how things slow down as they get ready to pull back for the long winter to come. Alaska's growing season is fast and furious — plants have to grow fast to catch enough sun to flower and seed in the few short weeks of summer. Then almost as quickly they begin to fade away.

Alder leaf

Pushkii

Elderberry

I'm in Eugene now, where it is still summer I might add, and don't know exactly when I'll be able to return to Homer. I simply don't know how long it will take to recover from this huge surgery that feels far away at the moment but is in reality very close. For the time being I'll enjoy being here with my son Tuli and his son, Harper. And in a few short days I'll be back in Thailand with Nut.

Tanker on Kachemak Bay

Kachemak Bay panorama

In my last post I said the result of the angiogram felt like a reprieve. It still does. Even though I need heart surgery, I'm less concerned about having a sudden heart attack now that I know those pipes around my heart aren't clogged with cholesterol. Consequently, I've been happy as a clam and have very much enjoyed my last few weeks in Alaska. Working with my old friends at Alaska Boats & Permits all summer was really cool too as we completed a few big projects that should benefit the business greatly in the months and years to come. All things considered, I'm glad to say it's been a good summer.

Kirk's sauna — my quiet sylvan resort for the past 2 months

A matter of the heart

No, this isn't about a love affair. Nut and I are doing quite well, thank you. It is about a heart though, my heart.

I went to my doctor a few weeks ago for my annual physical before returning to Thailand. I like and trust my Homer docs, Randy and Bill, and we have a great relationship. Everything checked out fine and Randy and I exchanged the usual jokes about my heart murmur we've been tracking for the past eight or ten years, jokes about "valve jobs" and that maybe it's getting to be time for an overhaul. A heart murmur is a sound a doctor can hear with a stethoscope that is indicative of a malfunctioning heart valve. The heart has valves that open and close with the contractions of the heart muscle to force blood to go forward but not back, sort of like a one-way switch. When one of those valves isn't closing properly or is allowing a significant fraction of the blood that's supposed to be moving forward to leak back, it makes a characteristic sound we call a murmur.

Towards the end of the exam Randy suggested I go to South Peninsula Hospital to get an echo-cardiogram just to see if anything new or significant had developed in my heart valves. An echo-cardiogram provides a completely non invasive way to obtain an image of the heart using sound waves, sort of like a sonar depth finder on a fishing boat. But the technology has advanced to the point that measurements of flow rate (called ejection fraction), leak back (called regurgitation), valve diameters, and many other heart and blood flow characteristics can be not only visualized but accurately measured through the use of a 3D Echo-Cardiograph machine, a very cool and ultra high-tech device.

As I watched the pretty pictures on the computer screen I kept up a steady banter with the gal doing the examination. But when she started inspecting my aortic valve she got quiet. She said, hmmmm, that's not opening like it should, not exactly the words I wanted to hear at that time. Soon after that we finished up and I left the hospital. Later when I was at the tennis courts I got a call from my doctor. Deep down I had almost expected the call, just not so soon. He told me I should go to Anchorage as soon as possible to have my heart checked out by a specialist. Your aortic valve has severe stenosis and is only opening about one-third as much as it should, he told me. All of a sudden I realized why I've been avoiding those big bike rides of late. They tire me more than they used to — I had marked it up to the natural and inevitable decline in endurance as I approach 70 years of age. Now, it turns out, there is a more significant reason for my lack of stamina when climbing hills. I'm being shortchanged by a reduced flow of oxygenated blood to my body through this important valve at the top of my heart.

They don't know for sure what causes stenosis. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with high cholesterol or diet, exercise or lack of it. It might be because I had rheumatic fever as a child. Who knows? The problem is I have it and there is no cure nor is there any medication that can correct it. Aortic valve replacement surgery is the only option. This is no small thing, especially for one who has never had any surgery other than a tonsillectomy many years ago. It is open heart surgery, an operation during which they will stop my heart and put me on a heart-lung machine to keep me alive while the surgeon cuts out the old valve and sews in a new one. That's a tough remedy.

Naturally, I was alarmed. I was pretty sure the specialists would recommend immediate surgery. And hell's bells there I was, ready to return to Thailand in less than a month. I called Nut on Skype to explain the situation to her and told her I would be probably be coming to Thailand late, a month, maybe two, would have to pass before I would be well enough to travel. She was bummed but encouraged me to get it taken care of. She said, "I can wait. No problem. Take care of yourself, then come Thailand."

I began doing research on the Internet. There are several types of open heart surgery in use these days. The "gold standard" is the one where they split the sternum down the middle and pry it open to give the surgeon easy access to the heart. But there are less invasive types too. One requires a much smaller opening, only a couple of inches, near the top of the sternum. There are also several kinds of replacement valves available: ones made from human tissue, others that use pig tissue, or that from a cow or a horse. There are also purely artificial, mechanical valves on the market. These have the benefit of a long service life but because they tend to cause blood clots anyone receiving such a valve must use blood thinners like Wayfarin for the rest of their lives. All but the mechanical valves will last for about fifteen years while the horse tissue valve may last twenty. After that they must be replaced again. Depending on a person's age and condition, one type of valve or another may be recommended. A youngster will likely get a mechanical valve so that she doesn't face repeated valve surgeries as she ages. An older person would likely get a tissue valve. The implications of that are all too obvious.

Anyway, last Sunday I set off for Anchorage and the Alaska Heart Institute.  The ride to Anchorage from Homer is world class. The scenery is beautiful and regardless of the fact that the reason for my travel was quite serious, I always look forward to it. I include these photos to brighten up this gloomy post.....

Watson Lake - Sterling Highway

20 Mile River near Portage - Seward Highway

A sunken forest - trees killed in the '64 Earthquake - Seward Highway

Bottenintnin Lake - Skilak Lake Road

At the Alaska Heart Institute I underwent a procedure known as a heart catheterization or angiogram. During it the doctor inserts a narrow tube with a small attached probe, called a catheter, into the femoral artery in the area of my groin and with the aid of x-ray imaging guides it through the twists and turns of the artery until it's near the heart. Once in place a small quantity of iodine solution (about 8 cc) is injected into the bloodstream. Iodine is opaque to x-rays and thus shows up the arteries well. The images one obtains are as good a picture of the arteries supplying blood to the heart as can be had.

The main reason for this test was to determine whether any other part of my heart was compromised before embarking on a valve replacement. Seeing as they're eventually going to go inside my chest they wanted to know if I would need a coronary artery bypass at the same time. No sense in going through all that trauma twice. During our initial interview my cardiologist told me that in consideration of the fact that I have no symptoms of heart stress other than the stenosis it might be fine for me to travel to Thailand as planned but that if  the test showed I had significant blockage of any of those coronary arteries he would recommend immediate surgery. Consequently, it was with great apprehension that I found myself looking up from my gurney at Providence Hospital's million dollar, multi-armed, multi-screened, computer controlled heart cath x-ray machine last Wednesday.

The nurse prepped me with some Versed (could I have a bit more of that, please?) to get me relaxed. My doc came in and began the procedure. I swear I could feel a faint flutter inside as he guided the catheter toward my heart. When he started the dye injection I literally hung on his every comment.
"They look pretty good," he said.
After a few moments he said, "No serious occlusions."
And then, "A couple of the smaller arteries have maybe a 20-30% occlusion but all in all, not too bad."

My relief in  hearing those words was enormous. I've been concerned for years that my high cholesterol would eventually block one of those arteries and cause a heart attack. The angiogram has all but removed those worries.  It felt like a huge reprieve even if only a temporary one. I decided right then and there that I was going to Thailand on schedule and would defer the surgery until next spring.

Part of that decision was because my readings in various forums on the Internet and a few helpful library books, told me that recovery from open heart surgery can take from 3 weeks to 3 months, maybe longer. I knew that if I had the surgery I'd be chafing at the bit to get back to Thailand and my sweetheart and might be tempted to do that prematurely. And then if I did experience  any complications I'd be forced to deal with them with entirely unknown doctors and hospitals. Thailand has some excellent medical care available — indeed many people come to Thailand for medical procedures that they cannot afford in the U.S. — but I have Medicare and, until the Republicans have their way and somehow eliminate it, I can get my operation paid for in the U.S.

Plus, in my research I discovered that the best cardiac hospital in the U.S. happens to be in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Clinic is top rated, surpassing Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic and the Harvard teaching hospitals in Boston, and has been ranked #1 for the past few years. Why? For starters, the overall mortality rate for these operations, some 250,000 per year, is about 2.5%. At the Cleveland Clinic it is 0%.

If that's not enough, my lovely sister Sandy lives only four hours away in Buffalo. She is willing to  accompany me to the clinic and help me through recovery. She might not be so available if I did it now as she's scheduled for hip replacement next week.

Then yesterday my cardiologist telephoned to discuss more fully the implications of my decision to postpone. I had asked to have a conversation because we hadn't had time to talk after the exam. I was half expecting him to cautiously advise me that were I to proceed I would be risking serious problems. Instead he said he didn't see any reason for immediate surgery. And that I should be just fine waiting until spring. Needless to say, I was overjoyed to have him enthusiastically sanction my plans.

So it appears that I'll be able to go to Thailand to rejoin my darling girlfriend in Chiang Mai. I'll plan my surgery and look at options from there. When I return I'll go to Cleveland and get a "valve job" at the Cleveland Clinic.

That's the plan, Stan. Wish me luck....

I'm living in a sauna

It's been a different kind of summer.

There were a few weeks back in June when everything seemed a struggle. Yet, many friends have extended help, and with that help my problems have been solved. The twin predicaments of no car and no place to live have worked out well.

The house-sitting gig I had found and talked about here had some requirements that were never fully discussed. It was, in the end, not the best situation for a  person who, if push came to shove, could not be described as a dog lover. I don't hate dogs, but when the time came to live with two old St. Bernards and their shedding hair, I just couldn't do it. To make a long story short, I asked my old friend Kirk if I could hang out at his place for the rest of the summer. His house is small but he does have a sauna and the sauna has a small attached changing room with a bunk. I've stayed there before and it's been swell. It's tiny and has no electricity or TV but it's quiet and incredibly lush with Alaskan summer greenery. I'm reading a lot more than I would if I had the twin distractions of TV and Internet. I'm actually enjoying being offline for a change because I love reading and it seems as though I have more time to just enjoy the soft summer evenings. And when I want to Skype with Nut or check my email the Far Out Cafe isn't far away. I'm calling it my Summer Sauna Retreat.

Kirk's sauna

View from the window - June 2012

Late evening - chair with 8 foot tall pushkii (mid July 2012)

The car issue has been put to rest too. Friends lent me cars to use during the time I was searching for something to replace my Camry. Mako lent me his vintage 1984 Volvo and Doug his Toyota 4Runner. I never felt pressure to find a car immediately. Then Bill, one of my tennis buddies, recalled that a mutual friend had an old Ford Explorer that had been sitting around in his garden for several years. He thought maybe Mike wanted to dispose of it. I immediately called Mike and he said, "Come and get it. My wife has been bugging me to get rid of it for years."

The car was running when they parked it in the alder patch six years ago but it wouldn't start for us and the tires were flat. We aired up the tires and towed it over to Mike's mechanic who got it going next day. My first ride was a bit disappointing: the steering wheel wobbled violently at speeds above 45 mph, the front brake shoes were worn down to metal on metal, the rear ones didn't work at all due to a broken hydraulic line, and the transmission leaked profusely. I began to think about gift horses and how one shouldn't look at them too closely. I started talking to myself. You'd never buy an Explorer in a million years, I said. How much is it going to cost to fix it? How much gas will this thing use? Do I even want a Ford Explorer?

Not to worry — after a three day visit to my mechanic's and a repair bill of $550 it came back in good working order. The transmission leak was minor and easily fixed. New front pads and a new rear hydraulic line fixed the brakes . The tires needed to be replaced as they were dry rotted and perhaps broken inside from sitting flat in freezing mud and water for six years. Replacing the tires eliminated the wobble, the engine sounds good. Total cost to me: 1000 bucks, including the four nice used 235 75R15 tires I bought from my old traveling buddy Albert.

Me with my "new" 1993 Ford Explorer 4x4

The Homer weather this summer has left a lot to be desired as you can tell from the dark cloudy skies in my photos but I haven't let that dampen my spirits.  As I see it, the fact that my summer turned out so well is because I have many excellent friends here. Friends offered places to stay, friends provided good work, friends lent me cars, friends in fact gave me a car, and I'm presently staying with an old friend. Because those many Homer folks reached out to me in a time of need it's helped to resolve my perennial question of where I'll be staying next year. Homer is a wonderful place to be — that fact was proven again during this visit. There's no need to look for a different place. This will do nicely.

View of Grewingk Glacier from Kirk's

Folks fishing at Land's End - Homer Spit