Uh oh. Just joining in time for the bagel and the GOP-induced pacemaker. Healing wishes to Carol.

Bob and Karen - Curious about your overall take on CM -- it's become a sought-after hipster and retirement destination.

Carol-Sending good thoughts your way. Hope you have a speedy and uneventful recovery.

We could see outside of the old city they are building apt/ condo units all over the place. Some high rise, some individual units. I have warmed a bit to CM. As a tourist with all the elephant, hill tribe, hiking, zip line, zoo, night market I can see why it is so popular. The pollution is worse I think than BKK...and it is not burning season yet. Transportation is not easy nor cheap. I am sure once you got established in a neighborhood you would find great places to eat, and shop for daily needs.

I think Bob lets the tourist market scene could his vision of the city. After all the trips we have made here, we are not interested in elephant tee shirts,silk scarfs etc. He did comment he missed the cutting edge archeticture of BKK and othe big Asian cities. Having said the that, the old wood houses of CM are very interesting. I read in one of the airplane magazines , there is a movement on to restore the old shop houses..de clutter them so you can see the old.

Cc...shoot me if I even think of a retirement here, or for that matter another visit...as mr wonderful says on shark tank: "you (it) is dead to me"...

Read laurel kahn' s report from last year--dreadful..

Also not sure of any symphony situations here, but music is always needed in the bars.

I did not hate CM, I just saw no redeeming value to it, except decent shopping

BTW, the le meridien is best comparable to a decent holiday inn in the USA. Lobby is attractive but worn, food ok, but not quality... Very nice pool however. Lobby staff exceptional and accommodating. Centrally located.

Quiet day Thursday. Huge rain storm mid-afternoon, cloudy and humid thereafter.

Drinks in the general restaurant (Italian) tonight (Marriott perk 6-7), followed by a simple dinner.

Lazy, lazy.

Thinking about Carol all day.

Glad you have finally "started" to relax, after the intense pressure of so much shopping in BKK.....

Chicken, avocado on a bagel? Heck, we made that for dinner here last night. Was delicious, though it ain't a good yellow crab curry.

Carol: wishing you all the best.

Hi Bob and Karen. Enjoying your trip report. Love living vicariously through you. Keep the details coming!
Karen

My pacemaker is implanted and I'm feeling great!! Look out world...I'm back!

Carol .. Sitting in the shaded corner of "your " deck with my second cup of coffee. Water is marvelous and so glad to hear all is right with you for the moment. Time to think about breakfast. So sad about Paris. Our travel world is changing , and not for the better......thoughts and prayers to the city of lights.

Tengohombre... Hope you got out of Paris today... I can't think of a worse to be than CDG! Ever...

A lazy day for us--same... Beach for K, room for me...lunch at swim up pool bar--split a club sandwich.. Nice swim in lagoon. Dinner at Olives.. American tv shows.

Forgot to report that yesterday I booked flights from JFK to Milan on Emerites-- a special $1090. for two..

My report from last year is right here. No idea why rhkkmk said it was awful. I had a good enough time to return for another extended stay.

Here is the link to last year's blogs:

http://altecockertravels.weebly.com/...uary-2015.html

Here is the link to the blog I just began a few minutes ago as I arrived in Chiang Mai for another extended stay:

http://altecockertravels.weebly.com/...2015-2016.html

Some people always have to disparage others as they seek to establish themselves as the only acceptable experts on a subject on message boards. I will say it again: If a bunch of people visit a destination, stay at a hotel, eat at a restaurant, etc., they will all have different opinions and all opinions will be equally valid. So, the answer is to read for yourself--as much as you can before deciding where you want to travel.

Chiang Mai is a much nicer place to visit Thailand in my opinion than Bangkok is, but it is a matter of what you want. I am not into upscale shopping and expensive restaurants--which is really the allure of Bangkok. I like a little more laid back. I did notice a lot of condo development as the plane landed at the Chiang Mai airport today. I will say this: I like visiting CM and SE Asia is just a fascinating area, but I personally have no desire to move here. With all of the US' political problems, I don't see leaving the US and settling somewhere else that also has political problems as a "solution" to my life. I like to visit a lot of places because travel is, above all, educational.

Now have a nice day and, if you are in CM while I am here, I'd be glad to visit with any polite fodorites.

Lauren:
Keep the posts coming I get kick out of reading them.

So sorry to hear about the pacemaker, Carol - best wishes for a swift recovery. (Try watching the Democrats instead, at least they sounded adult.)

Bob and Karen - if you're headed to Milan consider Turin as well - I had a nice time there on my last trip.

Lauren, I did not mean to imply that your TR was bad, just that bad things happened to you. You also seemed to degrade how many expats spend their time in CM..

Sorry

Bangkok rules...

Thursday...thanks. I'm back home and doing fine...packing for Switzerland and Germany trip which starts later on this week. Doc is ok with it...�� My upgrade to business class is most welcome.

Rhk, what search engine do you use to find your special fares?That's an amazing deal you got.

Glad to hear that, Carol. Have a great trip and enjoy the upgrade! Don't know what site Bob is using, but I found some excellent fares using itasoftware recently.

What goes around comes around it is said ....

What a storm here last night. Started at 6:30 ish and lasted well after we went to bed. Lots of lightening. Seems to be the pattern. Beautiful mornings, clouds up around 1pm, but the beach is sunny and the back of the property is cloudy. Then the rain starts around dinner time. Plays havoc with their outdoor dinner venues.

Glad to be here in New England where it is sunny most of the time, with periodic rain, but getting colder than it has been. We'll be ready to escape to summer in South Africa in February, but missing Asia right now and all of the friends we have met over the years...