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17/10/2008 - ROYAL RANDCHIANGMAIWICK Publié le Vendredi 17 Octobre 2008 à 09:17:00Just back from the races which truly warrants a note.....'Royal Randchaiangmaiwick' is a 1600m sand track, the nags run in the Melbourne direction. 30 cents to use the bike park & 70 cents to get on course (almost broke by the time you're there!) The public area is the go, though there's a "members" of sorts where you pay $3 to have some airconditioning & (better) seating near the finish.Betting is all TAB; all on-course. Heaps of little set-ups selling food, drinks & so on. Its possible to wander about wherever one wants - jockey's room, horse stalls, etc - without any problem. The 'horses' are quite unbelievable! No punter looks at them before the race - here, they bet on names, numbers, buddha..... Half the field have significant bone distortions following injury, some can't even walk freely - they usually start favourite! Its not too hard to slim those likely to win down to one or two horses; BUT, there are no effective stewards in place & anything goes!!!!Races start up to 40 minutes late each time as the start is dependant on there sufficient funds bet or, more likely, to be sure the 'right' bets are on!. There's usually a horse at around 10/1 on in the field (& wins if the jockey even half tries).In the first race there was a horse that was "meant to win" (ie 10/1 on). The gates opened & they flew out - all except the bloody favourite! Unbeknown to the other jockeys, they all lobbed around waiting for the "winner" to make his move. The horse in front was 9990/1 & no-one bothered to pass him, as all were waiting on the favourite. He ended up winning at 9990!!!!!We headed for a beer & met this pommy - he was moving the dud watches from here into England in the 80s & then the cheap soccer jumpers. He's now retired up here, married to a local, speaks the lingo...... What a laugh - within minutes he'd explained how I can 'break' the TV scanners to get free access to all the rugby, the cricket, the AFL, etc. He had me in stitches as he explained the form guide: 'this is the name the horse is racing under today, & this is the name when it races in Bangkok!"We moved to back one in the next whose name translated to 'Sea Biscuit'. Sea Biscuit won by maybe 30 lengths with every other runner being strangled to death; one jockey almost jumped the outside rail to lose. We had to be confident - they race started immediately we saw Sea Biscuit firm from 4/1 to 10/1 on!With absolutely no way of being able to apply any logic to our betting we went out to check out the nags before the next started; at least that way we could eliminate the cripples (half the field)! We picked 3, backed them & won the trifecta! It sounds like winners were easy o find...its not really that difficult - simply follow the money, but with such a small pool & winners usually at 10/1 on you'll never be wealthy!We decided not to have a bet in the last as it was clear that it would be run in total darkness! You may well be laughing but this as despite my pommie mate translating from the official form guide for one runner as follows: 'no idea how it raced last start, as the race was run in the dark'! I can go on forever - the form has no hesitation in telling you how often a given horse is 'hooked' - eg 'has a great chance of winning if you can pick the day it's trying....' So we left the course & headed over to the nearby/adjoining floating rafts - restaurants & bars overlooking the lake, the Tribal Museum, sunset & the mountains......We love it, as you know, & it blew Marc away! 'We're coming back here', he kept saying - what ambiance this place has!A GREAT day! There's a big meeting set down for 8/12 & we'll definitely be there!Ecrire un commentaire - Permalien -
29/09/2008 - SETTLING IN TO CHIANG MAI Publié le Lundi 29 Septembre 2008 à 09:22:00Settling in to Chiang Mai the most noticeable thing is surely the Thai smile for which the country is famous.We've been driving around town, visiting points of interest, trying the restaurants & so on. Been down to Lampung - huge pottery outlets, wonderful temple, etc. Great trip down with a friend Myriama has established, an interesting fellow (called Egg!!!!) with fingers in many pies - an architect who builds, has a pottery operation, a gallery, furniture shops, spas.......I was telling him of all the bugs we'd seen to eat &, yes, he ripped us into this great local market along the way, filled with all things Thai including the bugs. I can recommend the bamboo worms, silk worms & large grasshoppers! Big avo yesterday at a local pub - different - you buy a whole bottle of spirits or bring your own along; so many 'theme girls' serving each table full-on.....We are staying at a place recommended by a friend in Sydney....I was reading something yesterday about CM's "love hotels" only to see that where we are staying was once "the market leader"! Had all the "theme rooms" before converting to the current operation. Had to laugh!Moved to a new house - best thing is the noise of horses hooves (not horses hoofs!!!) as the horses from the nearby racetrack are walked past each morning. We awaken to the noise before heading off to swim each morning - cant tell you how good it is to have your "own" 50m pool each morning; getting fit & about to buy a couple of bikes to add the cycling to the daily work-out!Its so funny here but everyone thinks Myriama is Thai! All the locals speak to her in Thai without realising......We eventually made it to the (famous) Walking Market last Sunday. HUGE. Put in a half-hour foot massagew along the way before hitting the Rooftop bar - what a buzz/what a view!!!!Myriama - the frog, not the Thai - craving for cheese. I grabbed some local (highly recommended) 'Decheeso' - cheddar, some goat, some blue, some parmasson.....but they all tasted exactly the same!!!!Had lunch at the Greeen Lake as its nearby, then splashed out at the 4 Seasons before heading to Proud Phu Fah - a great little spot! Lots of motorbiking way up in the mountains surrounding CM - quite cool up there!Rushed....30/06/2008 - 'Wherever you go, go with all your heart' - Confucius Publié le Lundi 30 Juin 2008 à 05:20:00Depuis des mois, nous nous préparons au grand périple, désireux de prendre les précautions utiles pour nous adapter à notre nouvelle vie.
Pas facile de quitter notre Fenua, notre famille et nos amis, mais peu à peu l'idée à fait son chemin.
Une nouvelle tranche de vie s'annonce. Plus beaucoup de temps pour nous organiser, car il reste tant et tant à faire.
Mais nous avons décidé de relever le défi.La vie nous réserve bien des surprises et pas des plus agréables, le papa de Rod est décédé, son départ est précipité. Il part donc avant moi, je le rejoindrai plus tard, car tout n'est pas terminé, il reste encore à régler certains points.
Pia restera à mes côtés et nous passerons mes derniers instants ensemble. Paradoxal, agréable et dur à la fois, nous allons nous manquer c'est certain.Ce soir nous restons tard ensemble, nous profitons des derniers instants, c'est si précieux d'être amies. Nous avons conscience que nous ne reverrons pas avant longtemps. Fini nos appels quasi quotidiens, nos moments de confidence et de complicité.
Oui, nous resterons l'une et l'autre dans le cœur de l'autre, c'est certain, nous rappelons tous les instants de partage, de débats, de franche rigolade, de tristesse aussi parfois, mais bien sûr, tous ceux d'entraide réciproque.Plus que 2 jours, oh la la........5h00 du matin, à l'aéroport pour prendre mon envol et rejoindre Rod an Australie avant de partir ensemble sur Chang Maï.
Plus beaucoup de temps et me voilà embarquant, prenant mon courage à deux mains, moi qui déteste l'avion.
Les grandes embrassades et hop, la salle d'embarquement !
Une nouvelle vie commence pour moi, pour nous devrai-je dire.
