An American Expat in China

The Guangzhou hash celebrated its anniversary on May 18th and the Shekou hashers joined in for the fun.  The hash was hosted in astounding mountains of Yingde.  It was an overnight trip and involved a long bus ride so the Shekou H3 gathered at the Snake Pit at 9:20am on Saturday and departed promptly at 9:30. Because we stopped for a pee break on the way we arrived a bit late and there was nobody to greet us.  So we set off on our own to follow the trail. The trail was good but it was not laid well.  Some sections were a bit confusing and many of the Shekou hashers got turned around and missed the second beer stop.  This was disappointing because the second beer stop had a swimming hole.  We were all drenched from the rain already but it would have been nice to have enjoyed that.  The circle took place at a campsite where some of the hashers were staying the night.  I don't envy them as they ended up sleeping on a hard floor under a pavilion since...

Chiang Mai was enjoyable the first time we visited in November 2023.  So, we decided to visit again for the May holiday.  While Chiang Mai is fun, the little town of Pai is the peak of relaxation.  Pai is 3hrs from Chiang Mai via a winding mountainous road.  On May 1st we took the ferry to HKIA and departed at close to 1pm after some minor delays due to weather and air traffic congestion.  After a short layover in Bangkok we flew to Chiang Mai where we arrived shortly after 7pm.  I had arranged an airport transfer and this time it all went smoothly.  We checked into the Empress Premier, which is the same hotel we stayed in last time.  Faye took some time to freshen up after our full day of travel and I went to get some herb.  I made a toad friend on the walk back.  We ordered room service and went to bed right away since we were both exhausted from the day of travel. The next morning we woke up and checked out before our ride came to tak...