So here in Mae Hong Son, we are staying in a Guest House right on the lake. This lake had the park the Small World Festival was in and is surrounded by streets that fill each evening with food stalls and craft booths.
I have my own little house...
...with everything I need...
...including a western toilet and a gloriously hot shower!
I love these instant hot water shower machines. This one is powered by gas...the one in Chiang Mai by electricity.
Outside of my little house is a "water feature" with a few noisy frogs.
This is the library/guest lounge...
...with this view out the front sliding glass doors, which are open most of the time. I'm sitting in the library just now writing this and watching the "world go by--lots of motorbikes and folks walking--both obvious tourists and the locals.
The first evening, we wandered through a few streets...
...I thought Phil would appreciate the pitch of this roof!
There were some paintings on the wall of one street that Martha could conveniently pop into. : )
We stopped into the ever present 7-11 and Indira was quite pleased to see these on the shelf! Go Blue Diamond! Just think, it could have been almonds from the Tyson Hill Farm trees in those packages. 30baht--little less than $1/bag...felt like a couple of ounces.
Christmas morning found this sweet treat (filled with chocolates) on the door knob of each guest house. Very touching. I had seen our hostess and her two teen children working on them...just didn't know what for.
Coffee, the guest house dog also had a festive touch.
The Christmas tree display in the library had this paper forest underneath.
We've come here for breakfast most days...just have to be sprayed up with misquote spray...they seem to like to eat there, too.
"Set" breakfast...very much an English full breakfast: bacon, toast, butter, jam, tomatoes on lettuce, fresh squeezed orange juice, eggs and coffee or tea.
And this cheese, tomatoes and basil on toast was really good...too much...had to share with Tee!
By late afternoon the sellers are setting up their stalls and by evening the streets are full. It's quite enchanting.
All the lights of the temples across the water...
...the lights of the market stalls...
...people wandering and buying and eating. Really a nice atmosphere.
Notice the sky lantern at the top edge of this photo? While there are specific times of Sky-Lantern Festivals where they release thousands of lanterns with a specific purpose or thought in mind, these large paper lanterns (sent aloft by flammable candlestick power) are considered a symbol of hope and a way to symbolically release your worries and burdens, as well as a way of sending your good wishes to those who are in heaven.
You hold the lanterns as someone gets the flame lit...
...And it fills with the warm air and starts to rise...
...and off it goes!
Here are a couple way up in the sky.
And another bright one in this photo below of the guardian lion...which I have since learned is more historically Chinese, but has extended into Thailand and Buddhist culture. I really like them...thought they were kind of wolf-dragon type creatures, but they definitely have a "cat" tail.
One evening, I had a supper of chocolate milk and a grilled ham/cheese panini from 7-11, plus this spiraled deep fried potato on a bamboo stick from a street stall. A perfect supper!
We have done some exploring around Mae Hong Son which I'll tell about next.
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