As we always planned, many of our days are not focused on “tourist activities”.

Today (Saturday), we walked 2 miles in very hot weather (for the exercise) to a vegetarian restaurant for lunch; and in the process,  stumbled upon a very striking temple, Wat Suan Dok.  It is an open temple with a larger “cemetery” than we have ever seen (Buddhists are cremated so that we have never seen these type of monuments).   At lunch at Pun Pun, Lesley had her most spicy meal ever!   David’s vegetarian dish was more subdued.  The lunch was a whooping $3.84!  With the exception of a few gourmet Thai meals at the hotel, we have tried to search out authentic local Thai restaurants.

The afternoon was spent having a two hour kind of “painful” massage for Lesley & haircut (cheaper than Patsy in Kamas) for David.   Our dinner, in a  charming street café, was very good and included excellent South African red wine.

As we have watched a limited amount of TV (CNN International, BBC) during our travels, the interesting sport has been rugby, as the World Cup is ongoing.  It has been very exciting and I wish the US had a greater interest in the sport.  It is tough, very challenging and actually, more physical than US football.

Another insight (not new) that has come out at our small (45 room) fabulous boutique hotel in Chiang Mai is the importance of employees.  Substantially all of the employees know us (name & room #) and are very positive and friendly.  In discussions with them, they love their work.  They have 2 days off weekly (vs. local hotel standard of 1 day a week), are provided good benefits and free  meals.  Most employees  are long-term employees (some for 20+ years) and rave about the owner who also has a beautiful hotel in Krabi named Rayavadee which is a Leading Hotel and has earned many awards.    The environment, because of the employee attitude, is incredibly pleasant and has made our stay outstanding.  The importance of treating employees well is something we sometimes forget.

On Sunday, we have a relaxed day by the pool before flying to Krabi, Thailand for 4 days of beach living.