Should I Buy a Gun?

We are in Chiang Mai and things are starting to get a little crazy as Songkran, Thailand's New Year festival is only a few days away. We have been warned by the locals to be very careful. Alcohol is forbidden for Thai people during the April 13-15 period as the authorities attempt to calm things down since the celebrations have been getting out of hand in the last few years. We have been advised to purchase a gun for our own protection since most everyone else will be packing, and they seem readily available for purchase on the street. Having never owned a gun before it is a tough decision......will the presence of a gun deter others from attacking us or will it encourage more violence? The recommended weapon of choice is apparently the Super Soaker XL because of the abundant ammunition (OK....water) it can carry. Today I was wounded twice (OK....water-gunned) while walking down the street and the festival is still days away. I will hold off my decision until we get to our next destination, Sukhothai, later tomorrow in the hope that life will be a little calmer there, but we are keeping our rain ponchos handy just in case.

We have been having a lot of fun in Chiang Mai. We are staying in the Old City, a former walled city surrounded by a moat. It is easy to walk around and there are Wats (temples) everywhere. We have been to two different Night Markets (week-end and regular), and both were extremely busy and entertaining, inviting a few more purchases. Yesterday, Rhonda went to an all-day cooking class (soup, curry pastes, pad thai, jasmine & sticky rice) bringing home some leftover food for her dear husband. I went off on a Doi Suthep mountain hike (3 hours uphill) followed by a 15 km mountain-bike ride down to the base of the mountain. I got drenched during a brief thunderstorm but fortunately it was near the end of the hike and not on the treacherous part of the trail.

Today we hired a tuk tuk driver to take us 15 km's south of the city to the Baan Tawai village where we helped support their local economy by purchasing some special trip momentos for our house. Apparently, according to the Head of Purchasing, we are close enough to the end of our trip that the extra load won't be much of a bother. Up until now we have been walking up to a kilometre from our guest houses to and from bus stations with our backpacks........those days are now over.