a dedication....

So my 3 month journey has come to an end and I am back here in Honolulu reminiscing on my amazing journey. It is a bit surreal coming back to a world where I must drive and face traffic and see large tall skycrapers in my daily viewing distance but I am also so blessed that I still have ocean and palm trees and warm waters beckoning me in a not so distance realm - a funny but very real dichotomy that has really hit me since I have been back.

When looking back at all my pictures, I so much want to share with you all the wonderful people that I have met along the way- those who have been with me through tough times and those who have made me laugh in the most joyous and memorable of times.... but then I stop and ponder the importance of all this to you...for I know you would be happy for me in the fact that I met wonderful people; however, these are people who made a significant impact on me and would probably just feel like "nice happy faces" to you.....so, in light of this desire to not "bore you with "more faces", I decided to just dedicate this last entry to an all important item that has been with me these past few months.

This all important, "sole-saving friend" has been : my shoes...my "slippers" as we would call it here in Hawaii..."flip flops" as they call them in Thailand.

These are by far the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned. They have been on my feet daily for the past 2 and half years...on this trip alone, they have walked literally dozens of miles, up vast, green hills to austere temples and mountaintops. They have walked down lonesome streets filled with the occasional monk at dawn and have wrestled through the most bustling of markets in downtown Bangkok and Chiang Mai. And of course, they have been in my arms as I walked down many a long stretch of white sandy beach as I pondered for the "umpteenth time" the meaning of life and my place in it.

But perhaps most importantly, I dedicate my last entry to my shoes because these shoes once belonged to my mother. She wore these shoes every day while she was living here in Hawaii for the past ten years before she departed to other brighther , more spectacular realms. She was with me every day, in every adventure that I undertook in this journey. For this, I am forever grateful as I always felt safe in these shoes, knowing she was always near, smiling her ever-so-toothy smile, enjoying vicariously, every beautiful sunset I watched. For you see, I am a gypsy at heart because of my Mom and I feel like by wearing these shoes, I will continue to always be one; for I have truly realized from this adventure that home is truly where the heart is and as long as you carry those you love in you, you are never alone, wherever you are on this great big beautiful planet that we live on.

So thanks, Mom, for coming on this adventure with me....and thanks to all of you, who have supported me this whole way. I am forever grateful for your love and support.


Until we meet again......

melina

Lanta luminescence....

fire dancers set the night aflame at Koh Lanta annual's cultural festival. (koh lanta lost 1,000 of its own just a little over a year ago from the tsunami. There are only 7,000 people on the island. These people truly know how to perservere and continue to live life with love and the remembrance of their lost friends in their hearts.)

through the eyes of children come the reminders of the joy of life....

and through the eyes of the elderly comes only wisdom....

the view from my bungalow....

my little bungalow in the sun....I am very happy here.

it is wonderful to see a sunset every night....a reminder of the inevitability that time passes, things change, and a new day always begins...

Lanta lullabies...

Hello again..I am here on the island of Koh Lanta, a 2 hour ferry ride from Koh Phi Phi. I have been welcomed by amazingly freindly people where I am staying at...this, of all places in Thailand, truly feels like home for me.I wish I could explain to you all how wonderful it is here....Most of the island is populated by Muslims and northern European tourists...this makes for a wonderfully colorful combination of people....everyone smiles and waves to me everywhere I go...it is amazing....I have never felt as happy and relaxed (and safe !) as I do here.

The other night I went to a local festival where I swear the entire island had come to ( all 7,000 people....) and every single person who walked by me that night (including very young children ) gave me a big smile and/or hello.....the warmth of the local people just really permeates the air here. So much of our news is filled with such terrible commments about a few extremists from the Muslim world . I so wish more people could understand that the majority of these people are truly kind and peaceful. I have been blown away by the love they have shown me.

I am staying in a wonderful bungalow (for 10$/nite) a few meters from the ocean. I have bought my own hammock and have it on my balcony, where I spend much of my afternoons reading, doing work, and just watching the ocean. There is a small outdoor private shower and toilet and I am blessed with air conditioning as well- a true luxury here as the average temperatures are in the mid to high 90's.....I jump into the ocean often throughout the day......another great luxury.

The Swedes rule here, it seems...There is a large group of Swedish students, teachers, and families staying where I am. They are all going to a nearby school this semester as a cultural exchange program. I have been befriended already by one very special Swedish family here- we are already discussing plans on where we will meet next !. They even met me at the ferry boat when I first arrived on the island(based on a phone call from another travelling friend) and took me to the hotel - they didn't even know who I was but just out of the kindess of their hearts, they rode 20 minutes on their motorbikes to come get me, with luggage and all......Once again, I feel so blessed to have made such good friends so quickly.

Downloading pictures is slow, tedious, and a bit more expensive here so I will try to send photos when I find a quick connection. I really want to try and share with you the beauty of where I am staying....I think a few pictures will help.

p.s. I read on Yahoo (!!) today that Thailand was preparing for evacuations yesterday because of an earthquake 500 km from where I am....I didnt even know about this until today ! I guess the evacuation plans were eventually called off. Just wanted to let you know I am okay, in case you did read this in the news. I know how sometimes "news" gets a bit blown out of proportion in other parts of the world.

I am really happy here and already know it is going to be very hard to leave here. I feel like I have a wonderful village where I am safe and supported by everyone around me. It is a wonderful feeling. I think I may just stay here for the remainder of my time in Thailand. I feel at peace here and dont have the desire to move much anymore.

I hope you are well.

hugs from the south of Thailand.

more Phi Phi Pics...

My hostesses at my bungalow.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

The reconstruction begins.....

Yellow ribbons are everywhere....a sign of hope for all.

An elephant's view...

Enjoying a jungle safari with my freind Andrew...

Approaching Phi Phi Bay......

"Phi Phi perseverance"

(pronounced "Pee Pee")......so I am back in the south of Thailand again near the beautiful warm waters that I have not seen for over a month. It has been wonderful to be greeted by such balmy peaceful waters- again, I am reminded how much happier I am when I am near/in ocean water. Must be the Greek/Brazilian spirit in me..

Today I took a 2 hour ferry ride to Phi Phi Island. Many of you probably saw this island over and over again in the news last year during the tsunami as it was one of the hardest hit areas- mainly, because it has such a high tourist population and the island is so thin and unprotected from big waves.

I felt I needed to return here to see for myself what Mother Nature truly did to this island. I think one never gets the "real" picture from TV and news. As I approached the bay, there was a mixture of tears and joy as I approach. Tears for the fact that the devastation was obvious. Rows of bungalows that I remembered seeing 5 years ago were just completely gone. GONE. Nothing there but a few sparse trees with yellow ribbons tied around them.

But I have mostly felt joy being here as the perserverance of these peoples' spirit really prevails the island. I laughed today as I swam and heard a loud drill and some hammering in the background. Normally, (as many of you know), I would have become a bit irritated (okay, a lot irritated) that these man-made sounds were interrupting my afternoon swim. But wonderfully enough, I smiled for quite a long time, as I knew those sounds to be representative of "going on"- a sound of people not giving up and rebuilding, both their spirits and the homes/hotels around them.

I also found the waters to be amazingly welcoming here. I was a bit afraid that I would feel frightened or affected by being in the same waters that took so many lives away. However,wonbderfully enough, I just felt very calm and at peace when I went in. It was actually very difficult for me to get out of the ocean here, as I felt I was being cradled in a warm bath by a very loving spirit.

I have also been visited by my freind Andrew from Miami. He has been working in New Orleans with the reconstruction of THE hurricane. He has been operating a roofing company there and hadn't had a day off for 8 months so I suggested he come out for a week to get some rest. It has been interesting to hear his perspective of the reconstruction here after having spent so much time in New Orleans. And yes, he is getting rest at last. We even enjoyed a nice elephant ride yesterday in Phuket- always a fun experience and a reminder of how mighty yet graceful these creatures are.

I am off tomorrow to Aonang/Railay Beach, another spectacularly beautiful place that I visited 5 years ago. It felt like a dream when I was last there so I am very excited to have a chance to return to this magical place for a few days. I will, of course, send pics as soon as I can !

I hope this message finds you well. My journey here ends in about a month. It is hard to believe the end is already near. Yet I feel there is much more adventure ahead of me. I do look forward to getting home to my own bed again, kissing my cat and having her wait for me when I get home, hugging my Dad, talking to freinds and family and seeing them in person, playing the piano, eating a good Greek meal again, shopping at my favorite health food store, and just not having to live out of a small suitcase and zip loc bags for awhile.

I will see you soon.

just a few more pics....

Hawaii comes to Chiang Mai ! John, Roz, me, and the rest of the Hawaii "Ohana" enjoy a night of song and dance at the Chiang Mai Culture Center. John stole the show by showing us all how Thai dancing is really done !

Back in Bangkok at the famous temple of Wat Po. A stone carving greets us as we enter.

Yet another magnificent Buddha (in Wat Po). One can see from the massiveness and ornateness of this statue that the Thai people truly love their Buddha.

The lake in Chiang Mai where I practiced Chi Gong every morning at 8am. No doubt, one can see why I was so at peace doing my exercises here. Incredibly beautiful and peaceful.

"You know you have been in Thailand a long time when..."

.....the first words out of your mouth when you see a local is "Sawasdee Ka" and not hello.

....you walk down the left side of a stairway instead of the right (and inevitably walk into Western tourists who havent adjusted yet)

...you automatically throw your toilet paper in the bin NEXT to the toliet, not in the toilet, as doing so could cause the next great flood in Thailand.

...you get a bit stressed when you pay more than 2 dollars for a meal, and 4 dollars for an hour massage.

...you refuse to step into a Starbucks, even when craving a Tall Iced Chai with Soymilk.

...a local person tells you that you have a "very good Thai accent." (this was pretty special.)

...you just dont care anymore that you are twice as tall and twice as dark as 99.99% of the population around you.

...you feel a bit out of sorts if you haven't seen a Buddha or a 7-Eleven in your day's journey.

...you are always calm as you cross a incredibly busy street as thre are no pedestrians crossways in most towns. The key is to just keep consistent with your walking speed and the cars and bikes adjust accordingly. I always try to walk near a monk as I feel safer this way. :)

....you can walk through a massive night bazaar/marketplace and not be tempted to but one thing.

.... you walk into a shop, cafe, or internet shop and the local people know you by your first name. You are no longer a "farang" (foreigner) but just a local person going about her daily business....this really makes me feel at home.

...and finally, you know you have been in Thailand a long time when you do not even flinch at the sight of a man walking by you trying to sell you deep-fried cockroaches ("crisps) from his well-lit cart on wheels.


that's all for now...

"Khop Khon Ka" for listening...:)

ALOHA Chiang Mai....

Having a delicious Italian meal with my freinds Sai, Nok, and her Swiss boyfreind Tommy. The owner, Georgio, comes from the Italian town of Vincenza and was kind enough to serve us wine from his home city !
Molto bene !!!






Some beautiful traditional Thai dancers and the Chiang Mai Cultural Center. Those are gold finger attachments that they put on the ends of their fingers to give the appearance of length in their dance.












The Pool where I swim every day ..gym is inside..what a view !



Well it has been two weeks since I last wrote..my apologies for not keeping better contact but I have been quite busy with classes and teaching and spending time with freinds. I guess I just needed to detach from the computer for awhile.

I am leaving Chiang Mai tonight, at last.After 6 weeks full of wonderful experiences, new freinds made, and a time for much personal reflection, it is time for me to go. I am saddened to leave my freinds and this wonderful city but I know deep in my heart, that I will back soon. I am especially thankful for the many people I have met here that have really become such good freinds to me. I have had some rough moments at times here and it seems like there has always been someone close by that could lend me an ear. Friendships like this are priceless, especially when one is so far from home.

I am also very thankful for the Chi Gong class that I have been taking for the past week. For those of you unfamiliar with this form of exercise, it is an very ancient form of martial arts and tai chi, all in one....This is a very broad way of describing it but I must say it has been one of the best forms of exercise I have done in my life. I truly feel like my body, mind, and spirit has gone through a major balancing act and I feel so much more calm and focused in my dialy activities. I hope to continue this practice when I return to Hawaii. The fellow students in this class were wonderful as well as our enthusiastice teacher who got us motivated every morning at 8am. WE practiced for 2 hours every day by a most beautiful lake near Chiang Mai University. I felt like I was somewhere in the alps. It was beautiful.

I was also blessed last week with the visit of my good freinds Roz and John from Hawaii. They brought a wonderful Hawaiian "ohana" with them as well and we all enjoyed each others company for a couple of days. They are now sailing their own boat in Phuket for 10 days. It was so wonderful to have them around. They were a reminder of how blessed I am to have such beautiful people in my life.

I am off to Bangkok tonight and then will head south again to Phuket again on Thursday to explore a few more islands. I am looking forward to see the ocean again. I am also looking forward to explore some pretty unihabited islands and enjoy some peace. I will have friends visiting with me as well so I will not be all alone the whole time. Having good company while travelling really is a comforting thing. It is nice to share thoughts and sights with other kindred spirits around you.

I will say good bye to you all for now....I will make one more attempt right now to enter more pictures....IT really is so hard to share everything I am going through here with just a few pictures and words but I hope you do get the feeling that I have had some very powerful and wonderful experiences.

I pray you are well. Thank you for your thoughts. I am touched that you are following my journey here. Makes my adventures feel more "purposeful", in a way.

take good care.

Beauty Queens, Blossoms, and Burma...

teenagers advertising Nescafe coffee on a main thoroughfare during morning rush hour traffic....

I am still here in Chiang Mai, enjoying my time assimulating with the local people, and enjoying a nice schedule of work, rest, and sight-seeing to the border of Burma....Instead of lots of words, however, I will share you my week in pictures.....hope you are all well...

A Buddhist monk doing his daily stroll...

sunset on the way home from the Burmese border

a Thai woman keeping the steps of a sacred temple ("doi") clean...

a flower float in Chiang Mai's annual flower festival....comparable to the U.S.' Rose Bowl Parade.

It was HUGE and every float was made entirely of flowers- beautiful to see up close.

Buddha on the Burmese Border....

Beauty Queens of Chiang Mai...

my rooftop companion....

Happy Birthday, Mom.....

Today is my Mom's 71st birthday. Though she is no longer
here to celebrate with us in person, I want her to know that she is still so remembered and loved. Happy Birthday, Mom. I will be wearing purple today for you.

Christmas. 2003

Brazil, 1988

Overcoming fears.....

So I always believed that part of life is about getting over one's fears. And certainly we all have had our share of scary moments or thoughts that we wish we could get rid of. Well, for me, one of my greatest fears in life was travelling on a motorcycle at ANY speed, let alone a very fast speed. Well today, thanks to a kind a gentle friend I met today from Australia, my fear is now gone. There I was, on the back of a motorcycle for a good 2 1/2 hours traveling at speeds of up to 75 mph , winding through curvy mountain roads, and just taking in breathtaking scenery (yes, I wore a helmut !!). This experience was all about trust and I really felt very safe the entire time. I even burnt my leg on the tailpipe ( a new lsson now learned; a tailpipe is ALWAYS hot , even when the bike is off !!) yet felt very little pain as I was just so happy to have overcome this seemingly ridiculous fear. The moral of this story, is that it is NEVER too late to overcome anything. I feel so happy that I can now check this fear off my list !!!

I also felt it was time to show some pictures of a few more friends that I have met since being here in Chiang Mai. I have been befreinded by a wonderful group of Swiss and Thai people here. Some of them live here (one is the owner of the guesthouse I am staying in- he is the Val Kilmer look alike in the group picture and his girlfreind Sai is a local Thai woman; the others are from the same Swiss hometown outside of Zurich and were here to have a reunion all together. Needless to say, I have never seen such an animated and party loving group of people in all my life (I think they would give the Greeks and Brazilians a good run for their money !)!! They welcomed me like family and we ended up traveling all together up to the moutainside town of Pai last weekend. I am thankful to have met such a fun loving group of people. They are all now in the south celebrating together on the island of Koh Chang. I am here now helping Sai, one of the beautiful Thai women in the group shot ( see pic below), open up a new massage salon and coffee shop next to our guest houese. She asked me to help with writing out their promotional brochures - great fun for me to be able to help out in this way ! The shop opens tomorrow and should be quite a success in this neighborhood.

Some of you have also been asking what my daily routine is like. Well, right now I have two things I start my day with. First, I go to a nearby temple (picture to come soon) and meditate for about a half hour or so . The temple is filled with one very large beautiful gold buddha with many gold-adorned relics around. It is very peaceful here as I have this Buddha all to myself. I swear he smiles directly at me every morning as if we are old freinds. I am usually here alone for the entire time- I feel blessed to have this peace for myself.. After this, I walk to my gym about a mile away and work out for about an hour or so and then sit by the pool and read, sun, and swim for a bit. I will send photos of this pool as well because it is quite beautiful where it sits. I have a view of the whole city when I swim.

My evenings are usually spent getting to an internet cafe and doing some school work and catching up with friends and family and then I usually take a walk to visit my Greek freinds at Zorbas for a drink,meal and/or conversation. Often I have a nice quiet massage if and when I need one. I am determined to help heal my herniated discs in my neck (old injury) and want to take advantage of the very cheap and very efficient massage here. On average, a one hour massage here costs about 4 dollars.

So yes, my life has been lived in a pretty healthy way so far. I even stepped on a scale for the first time in a very long while and realized I have already lost 10 lbs. in a month ! I usually wouldnt share such a fact (and I do share this with great modesty) but in this case I wanted to share this as a testimony to how great it is to lead a relatively stress free (and sugar/caffeine free!) life ! And , of course, I walk everywhere I go-this definitely helps ...it will be strange to jump back into a car when I return to the states.

Okay, I have babbled enough for now.....I just needed to share with you all that I am doing just fine. It was a rough week but I believe I am "over the hump" ......life is short and I want to make sure I embrace as much as I can from this overseas experience.

SAWASDEE KA !!

Hello from Doi Inthanon National Park !

My Swiss freinds taking off for the South (inside a "songthauw",

the local transport/taxi around Thailand.

Taking a rest stop on the way to Pai

Family transport in much of Thailand....

Photos at last.....

So I am back in Chaing Mai again, after a couple of lovely peaceful days in the hillsides of Pai. I will be in Chiang Mai for awhile and get settled into a nice daily routine of gym, swimming, yoga, going to classes, and working on my HPU course which is turning out to be more of a challenge than I thought. I have made many new freinds here and am slowly feeling more at home, though at times, I still get waves of homesickness, usually when I am looking at a picture of a family member or freind...nothing too serious- it is a good kind of missing....

I just found out that the night I had my purse stolen, two men were arrested by police here for robbing some other foreigners...I am hoping perhaps this is the same 2 guys that robbed me.....it is good to know the police are doing their job here. Unfortunately, we are still living in a world of "have's and have nots.."

I will make short trips to neary villages and towns this week..nothing too tourist...I like the idea of going to very small villages and just haning out with the local people.....their smiles seem more relaxed in parts like this.

I am excited that my two good freinds John And Roz will be here in Chaing Mai in a couple of weeks. It will be fun to be their guide for a few days...

OKay, off to the Night Bazaar for some "window shopping"....

hope you are all well.....





the Phuket beach I walked every morning.....

Sunset in Phuket.........

yet another beautiful face......

a rare photo opportunity of a smiling police officer

the view from my bungalow in Pai.....moooooooo.....

back in the swing of things...

Still in Chiang Mai....I plan now on being here till the end of February. I like the idea of staying in one place right now and making myself fit in more with the local community.

I am recovering from the shock of my little "incident" from a couple of days ago....I think the shock really hit me yesterday as I found myself staring down every motorcycle that rode past me - I don't like this feeling but it probably is a very normal one to have after being hurt by one..However, after a great night of laughter and live music with freinds here last night, I am feeling much better (and safer.) I am so lucky to already have a wonderfully supportive group of friends here.

I am going to take a 4 hour ride to the north of Thailand tomorrow to a very idyllic mountainside town called Pai. It is quite the adventurous ride up there (curvy roads for 4 hours !!) and plan on taking a few Dramamine with me. :)

I just found out my good friends Roz and John from Hawaii will be visiting here in Chaing Mai in a few weeks....this has made me very happy as I have been feeling a bit homesick these past few days...I think having my pursed snatched from me the other night just sent me into this sort of sad feeling for a bit...but like I said, I am better today...going to go join a local gym, start taking Qi Jong and Yoga classes and continue with my HPU teaching as well....

I have a new cell number !! from US: 011-66-1-029-7677
It would be great if someone could make a quick call to say hi or even send a text message as I still dont know if my phone works yet !!

Okay, I am off to get a massage as my body was a bit traumatized from my fall the other night....thank goodness, I am in the land of "massage on every corner"....

p.s. I went to go get a USB cord for my camera today and just found out they sold me the wrong one ! urgh....it will be a couple more days for pics....so sorry....

Sawatdee Ka !!

momentary lapse of reason....

Hello everyone...back safe and sound in Chiang Mai again...nice to see familiar faces and "old friends".....

I just wanted to let you know that I will be putting this "blog" on hold for a few days as I had my first (and hopefully last !) "motorcycle mugging" last night. I am fine, a bit shook up, and a few cuts and scrapes...but I did lose some money but more importantly, my camera to computer cable was also stolen ! Soooo...it may be a few days before I can share photos again...

Also, I am starting to teach my HPU course this week so I will be quite busy just doing so good ol plain hard work ! I am already feeling a bit more "out of the tourist" mode now as I settle down here for a few weeks and make myself a home here. And of course, getting pushed to the ground and having my purse stolen last night was a bit of a wake-up call as well. My attitutde with all this is that I hope the person who stole my purse/money enjoys eating well "on me" for a few good weeks !!

Hopefully, I will still have wonderful stories to share but for now, it is just putting my "nose to the grindstone" for a bit and licking my wounds for the next few days....

hope you are all well....

warm aloha...

still in Phuket...

Hello from sunny and very warm Phuket, in the south of Thailand..I am just finishing up a week here of serious rest and relaxation- just what the doctor ordered- I cant remember the last time I have rested so much. It is amazing what this kind of calm does for ones body, spirit, and mind. I have been having wonderful dreams as well, including one of my mother, talking very calmly to me- very beautiful.

I have been trying to upload pictures for a few days now but have been consistently having problems- not sure if it a local connection problem or not.....but keeping it all in perspective, I am amazed this little town(completely devastated a year ago) even has a computer that I can use to connect to the rest of the world.

I am off to Chaing Mai again tomorrow and will update with more photos soon....

Hope all is well with you.....

sending you warm, calm thoughts...

remains of the day.....

PHUKET, one year later.....

I am back here in Phuket after not being here for 5 years. I needed to return here to really see for myself what devastations had occured here. I returned to the same bungalows I stayed before though the specific room I requested was completely destroyed. I have also found out that this bay (Bangtao) was one of the hardest hit in the tsunami though I am amazed how everything seems to have gone on "as normal" here. The only remains I see here are bits and pieces of scattered cement, tiles, brush, a few broken trees...there seems to be a lot of rebuilding around me yet it seems all so quiet.

I am surrounded by butterflies here. And for any of you who knows my association with butterflies, you will know I feel quiet peaceful and happy here. A huge butterfly even greeted me on the doorknob of my room when I first arrived. It just sat there as I turned the knob and then gently flew away.

The waters are so amazingly warm here- I am trying to think of a way to describe how perfect it feels....it almost has no feeling at all when you enter it..it is like the perfect temperature of a bath that has been cooled for a minute or two...so gentle....and it is wonderfully quiet here. I sense all children of school age are back in their classrooms....I am happy for this silence. Many of you know I have also been craving this quiet for a long time. I am sleeping very well and very long here. Even the "calls to worship" from the local mosque sounds very soothing here and is a reminder how people of all religions seem to get along so well here.

I will stay in Phuket a few more days and then head back up to Chiang Mai this weekend. It seems much more expensive here compared to where I just was ; though paying 35 dollars a night for a bungalow here (see pic) probably still seems like an incredible bargain to most. I may return here to Phuket when it become low season in March...we'll see.....I need to be in an area where I have cheap internet access as I start teaching my HPU online course next week. It will be fun to share my cultural perspectives to my students back in Hawaii- hard to believe I can teach, being so faraway ! Technology truly is an amazing thing at times.

Friday the 13th.....

Okay, it's Friday the 13th here and I woke up feeling the need to take good measures to "protect" myself...So I decided to put on a black top (something new and different) and wear a Greek evil eye necklace around my neck....

I also woke up missing my cat today.....(cat lovers will understand this pining)...and lo and behold when I opened the door of my guesthouse this morning, there was this very peaceful looking cat (not black) just outside my door looking at me....

thought it was a pretty good sign for what will hopefully be a wonderful day....

now I have to just watch out for those darn ladders.

Happy Friday the 13th (and Full Moon ) !

"It's Greek to me.."

Okay, so here I am , thousands of miles away from Athens , Greece, yet , as luck would have it, I have met half the Greek population here in Chiang Mai ! (5 out of 10 aint bad on my first try !).

I am always amazed how no matter where I travel in the world, I find Greeks...and with them always comes a great Greek restaurant. No exception in this case as I had a great meal at Zorbas last night in Chiang Mai with my new found Greek freinds Yannis, Maria, Costas, Costas, and Nikos ...They welcomed me with open arms and I felt like family at the end of the night.

OPA !!!!!