4/27 – Since moving across town to the Pai Do See resort, our days have fallen into a comfortable pattern. The morning temperatures are in the 70s, sunny every day, with highs in the upper 90s by mid afternoon.  Birdsong and gecko calls are our constant companions.  The flowering trees are a daily delight.

We eat breakfast at the resort restaurant (two eggs any style, toast with margarine and strawberry jam, two franks that they call sausage, sliced tomato and cucumber, Tang and coffee). We take a walk; some days into town, some days into the mountains to explore.

We’ve found the market where the locals shop, and stock up on fresh bananas, mango, and pineapple every few days. The market ladies know us and anticipate what we want.

Bananas are little here, just the size of a finger, but very sweet.

Jim prepares lunch in our room by boiling water for instant noodles or rice, adding meat or shrimp dumplings and pineapple, followed by fruit salad. We eat on our shady terrace, and swim in the pool every afternoon. Some days we have the pool to ourselves; other days we have met travelers from Portugal, Taiwan, Israel, China and the U.S.

At 5pm we hike up to the big Buddha statue at the Wat Phra That Mae Yen – 400 steps up to the best place in town to see the sunset.

This temple is still under construction.

As 6pm approaches, we are joined by backpackers and bikers from around the world. We’ve had some great conversations as we sit on the steps waiting for the sun to drop behind the mountain – a different event every evening!

One evening we met Jessica, a nurse from Queens, NY, who had just taken a spill off her moped, and Sander, a businessman from the Netherlands. We talked the sun down, exchanging travel stories, then shared supper at the Sunset View restaurant. A lovely evening!

The big Buddha on the hill, still under construction.

After the sunset, we go out for supper, either choosing a restaurant near our resort, or walking back to town. Plenty of cuisine choices, or we just purchase food from the food sellers that line the walking street – cold noodle salad, barbecued chicken or sausage, spring rolls, and fruit shakes. We’ve made friends at two restaurants, where the proprietors know us and offer us their best. Life is good.