Chiang Mai, day 8

lunch 330 (incl 20 tip)
tuktuk 110 (incl 10 tip)
afternoon tuk tuk 50
dinner 120
snacks 60
drinks (coke, water, yogurt) 38
tarot reading 200 baht

euro 18
overall total 735 Euro in 13 days (56 Euro per day including flights and all - 26 euro excluding those)

Weekend... we can spend a bit more money...

A wonderfully relaxing day...

Got up at 8:30, checked my emails and some comments on Facebook. Published my blog for yesterday. Breakfast around 9:30, 30 minutes break to let the French toast settle down and treadmill for 5 kms, more or less 3 minutes, cold shower with meditation and cooling exercising before getting splash in the pool. 20 minutes, shower and another 30 minutes break before going to The Plaza!

The Plaza! A computer and electronic 3 or 4 storey shopping mall. All sort of hardware, software and cameras available. Western stuff is more expensive than in Europe but all imitations and pirated stuff is much much cheaper. (I didn't include in the overall costs of my break the 880 baht spent for 3 software)

I walked there and I got soaked but it was worth it.

Great 330 baht lunch with some greens, chicken curry, boiled rice and fried tofu. 2 bottles of water and a diet coke. 6 Euro.

On the way back it was far too hot to walk again so I took a tuk tuk driven by a lady. she took me to the wrong hotel but I could not possibly get upset with such an angel so I paid her 50 baht and asked her to take me to my hotel. She was really shaft (not in the sexual way!). Back to my little paradise, the Imm Eco hotel... I just love being here!

In the afternoon after a 2 hours nap I decided to go back to The Plaza to return my faulty software. I will have to go back tomorrow to get them again... Anyway... I had a nice long walk and I saw a candle lit on the pavement. By it there was this dark figure, a man that could have been anything between 40 and 140 years old. He was a tarot reader. He has created, around him, an aura of holiness and mystery and it was impossible, for me, not to stop to talk to him. He offered to read his cards and the palm. I could see that he was mocking but I found him so nice and I decided to sit with him, on the pavement and listen to what he had to say. Around him some astrological charts photocopied from some magazines, a folder with all inscriptions in a strange language, not Thai, some few holy icons around him and a brown "carpet" where he would have turned his cards.

After telling me to shuffle the cards 10 times he asked me to take out 7 cards, for the first round.

the first card was a heart with a few arrows in it. He said... "No Good! No Good! You got no money!" Then after this card other cards seemed more like the advice that any mother or father should give to the children. 1. no drink, no good for liver 2. no smoke, no good for heart 3. no motorbike, walk or take tuk tuk 4. you have been married more than 10 years, don't marry again 5. you run, be careful with knees and another one I cannot remember.

He asked me how old I was and I told him "42" he was happy to hear that and with a big smile showing all his 4 teeth, looking more like hippo ones than humans, said: "I am 62, nearly same". Well, as I mentioned he could have been of any age and, I guess between 42 and 62 is only 20 years and 50% of the digits are the same...

Shuffle 10 times again and cut the deck... 5 cards... I don't remember them all but, this time, it was concerning the future.
"October, November, December: no money. January, February and so on, a lot of money. Very rich". Second advice: "do not go on the river. Avoid it. It is not good the river for you". Third revelation: "How many kids you have? one? then another child for you will make you very happy". Revelation number 4: "you will live 89 years".

He then looked at my palm and confirmed that I will have a long and happy life. That I will be moving to live in Thailand but not in Bangkok, in Chiang Mai, where I will be very happy but I will never marry again.

"How much is it?" "500 baht!" Me: "Ok, this is 200 and these are coins. Thank you". He could not stop thanking me! I am sure that he will eat for a few days now and i will be in his prayers. He was so funny looking and so sweet. I stopped for that reason. His smile penetrated my soul and I felt I did something good tonight.

A lovely dinner and some snacks ended my evening. I fancied some Baozi and some Dim Sums and I had them with the usual grilled coconut cakes and some rice drink. I ate a lot but I feel good and not very very full. funny enough, since I have been in Thailand I have never had any stomach bugs or problems. It must be that my body prefers the dirt to the European healthy food? Perhaps...

Tomorrow I might go out of town, we shall see...

Be good!