Day 11 of 15On the road: Pai · massage, cookery school, last evening

From Pirna to Bangkok. And back.

Two weeks in Thailand, solo, my first time in Asia. A bit scary, honestly. I write it down here, chapter by chapter.

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Pai · massage, cookery school, last evening
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Latest chapterPai, last day

Massage at nine, three dishes cooked myself, one game of chess lost.

A massage at nine for legs, shoulders, arms and neck, then matcha latte, a monk and three hours of Thai cooking: Pad Thai, Khao Soi and a warm glass noodle salad. Two hours of sleep in the afternoon, then bars without people and chess with a stranger.

What this means for the tripAfter two hours of Muay Thai the day before, the body wanted one thing: a massage. Then matcha, a monk on the temple steps and three hours of cookery school with three dishes that all wanted eating too. The last evening in Pai: almost empty bars, good music and a game of chess that I lost.

Keep reading

The route

10 stages. One arc from Pirna to Pirna.

Top to bottom, like a timetable: where I was, how I got there and what I wrote there. The map follows as you scroll. No live tracking.

PirnaPrahaDohaBangkokChiang MaiPai

  1. Stage 0113 September

    Pirna

    Departure

    Green suitcase, the Elbe, the road. It starts by car towards Prague.

  2. Car Pirna → Prague Airport

    Stage 0215 September

    Praha

    Change in Prague

    From parking spot to gate. The last European coffee before the night flight.

  3. Flight Prague → Doha

    Stage 0316 September

    Doha

    Stopover in Doha

    A few hours of desert light between two continents.

  4. Flight Doha → Bangkok

    Stage 04–0517 – 18 September

    Bangkok

    Arrival in Bangkok · Night bus north

    Heat on the jet bridge, Skytrain above the city, the first street food.

  5. Night bus Bangkok → Chiang Mai

    Stage 0619 – 22 September

    Chiang Mai

    First old city, jungle and elephants, then a 7am-to-9pm marathon to Chiang Rai: hill-tribe villages, White Temple, Blue Temple, Black House and the Mekong at the Golden Triangle.

  6. Noon ride to Pai

    Stage 0723 – 25 SeptemberHere now

    Pai

    Three days of Pai: garden oasis and live music, Muay Thai and a loop through villages, rice fields and canyon, finally cookery school and a quiet last evening.

  7. Back to Bangkok

    Stage 08planned

    Bangkok

    Bangkok once more

    One last evening of neon, one last market, then towards the airport.

  8. Homebound Bangkok → Doha → Prague

    Stage 09planned

    Praha

    Landing in Europe

    Cool air at the gate, then the train up the Elbe.

  9. Train Prague → Pirna

    Stage 10planned

    Pirna

    Home

    Back. Same town, different head.

All chapters

Photos

The trip in pictures.

The newest images from the current chapter. Tap to open, then keep browsing calmly.

Latest images · Pai, last dayMatcha instead of Thai tea. The local classic would be cha yen, bright orange and very sweet; the colour mostly comes from food colouring in the mix.
Open all photos169 photos

A postcard to Niko

Drop me a line.

A hello, a question, a tip for the next trip. I read every postcard; the nicest ones appear here, only if you agree.

Your postcard goes only to me and is stored at Netlify, where this site is hosted. It is shown only if you agree and I pick it, then with your first name only. Your email stays private.

Thailand in brief

A few facts so the route is more than beautiful motion.

What I read up on before take-off: a few facts about the places on the route.

Bangkok

Krung Thep

Thais call their capital Krung Thep, “City of Angels”. The ceremonial full name runs to 168 letters and ranks among the longest place names in the world.

Time

+5 hours

Thailand runs on UTC+7 with no daylight saving. In September it is five hours later there than in Pirna.

History

Siam

Until 1939 the country was called Siam. It is the only state in Southeast Asia that was never a European colony.

River

Chao Phraya

Bangkok sits in the Chao Phraya delta. Express boats on the river are still part of everyday public transport.

Chiang Mai

300+ temples

Chiang Mai has more than 300 Buddhist temples. Many sit inside the old square of walls and moat.

Chiang Mai

Since 1296

King Mangrai founded Chiang Mai in 1296 as capital of the Lanna kingdom. The name means roughly “new city”.

Chiang Mai

Red pick-ups

The red songthaews are shared pick-up taxis: half bus, half taxi, half social negotiation. Yes, mathematically that is three halves.

Northern food

Khao Soi

Khao Soi is a northern Thai curry noodle soup with coconut milk and crispy noodles on top. Perfect after a night bus, a pool stop or basically any excuse.

Tiny quiz

Five questions about Thailand.

I set them for myself. Tap an answer, the reveal is instant.

  1. 01 What do Thais call Bangkok in everyday life?

  2. 02 How many hours ahead of Germany is Thailand in September?

  3. 03 What do I pay with in Thailand?

  4. 04 What still frames Chiang Mai’s old city?

  5. 05 When was Chiang Mai founded?

Editorially summarised from Wikipedia entries on Thailand, Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Behind the site

I write notes, an assistant turns them into chapters.

On the road I send tired Telegram notes. Ron, an AI assistant, separates public from private, drafts the chapter in three languages, and I say yes or no on my phone. Accommodation and live location stay private.

How this is made