With over 30 000 expats living in Chiangmai, it is not hard to get a few hundred of them together for a party! Yesterday, we headed over to The River Market Restaurant for several hours of July 4 celebrations. It was close enough to our Canadian July 1 celebration to take in the festivities. Actually, who am I kidding, if we weren’t from Canada or the States, we still would have gone for the food and entertainment. For forty bucks apiece, we had an all-you-can-eat buffet including a great assortment of barbecued ribs, chicken, pizza, fresh fruit and too many other goodies to list. The price included four beers or glasses of wine, and live entertainment from 3:00pm onwards. The River Market Restaurant is located on the banks of the Ping River right next to the Iron Bridge. It’s one of the more established and popular restaurants in the city. 
Along with the great food and music, there were some great raffles with over forty prizes. I never win anything but continue to buy raffle tickets whenever I am tempted. Hey, I would have loved the new iPhone 5 that was up for grabs for the first prize or would have even settled for one of the many spa treatments or other great secondary prizes. We sat in anticipation waiting for our number to be called but, as always, went home empty-handed!
This must be our week for socializing! We actually attended the Chiangmai Expats Club meeting last weekend for the first time after being here for almost a year. The meetings take place the fourth Saturday of every month at Le Meredien Hotel. We didn’t feel so bad since we met a few couples who have been here for several years and were at their first meeting. For expats in the area, it is a great chance to meet other people from around the world and find out about upcoming events. It is also a jumping off spot for the many clubs that operate under the umbrella of the CEC. There are many groups that get together on a regular basis for a wide variety of interests from photography to hiking to bird watching. 
So the hot weather continues as we await the beginning of the monsoon season. It has been in the 30s (Celsius, that is) every day for months. We have become acclimatized to the heat and only use the AC to keep our temperature inside between 28-30C. It would cost a fortune to aim for lower temperatures than that, although I know many people do. It will be nice when the heavy rains arrive to have a little cooler air. Being on the ninth floor, we won’t have to worry about any flooding!
Wishing all our American and Canadian friends and relatives a Happy Holiday!
