Thanks All Around

Okay, I know what I said about this good-luck-and-protection game. But, I do believe in the power of thank-you.


With great humility for our very good fortune these past few years in Chiang Mai, the Wee Family today offered its thanks in the traditional Thai way. We carefully arranged our nine types of fruits (a lucky number) and offered them up to Dr. Shivaka, the Father of Thai massage, with sincere thanks for a very successful run at teaching massage and spreading the good work (through nearly 300 students) to 38 countries in the world.


And, we gave nine more beautiful fruits to the spirits who dwell in the little spirit house just inside the front gate. Without their kind protection, our luck in family and business might have been quite different (and given that the lights here sometimes switch on and off without our intervention, thanks are a very good idea).


Of course, we could not leave this ancient city which is the heart of the original Lanna Kingdom without offering our sincere thanks to the Three Kings, who in their lifetimes unified a group of city-states into the Kingdom that we know today. As you may recall, the Three Kings have listened closely to Amnat's prayers for good luck on a couple of important days (like the day before Little was born and the day before the big visa interview). He wanted to be sure to show his gratitude. How, you ask? We made them lunch!


Sure, nine fruits, but also a chicken and some Mirinda (freakishly bright fizzy stuff the likes of which the Kings surely never experienced in corporeal form). We placed our thank-you picnic at the feet of the Kings in the local square then waited a decent interval (while they ate) before leaving our flower garlands behind and taking the little lunch back down the street. We gave the (lucky) chicken to our friend Jomsi, who chopped it up nicely, and we've been snacking on fruit all afternoon (oh, and the prison guards got some too).


So, having made the rounds with gratitude and thanks, tomorrow we head to the airport for a week in Khlong Lodt village and a monk's ordination ceremony (more on that later, for sure) before we take the big flight off to L.A.

Good-bye, Thailand. Hello, USA!