All chapters
All chapters.
Newest first. One chapter a day, when the day allows it.
- 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.
- Muay Thai at eight, mango for breakfast, a loop around Pai.Two hours of sweat on the mats, then sticky rice with mango, then a loop around Pai until sunset: Chinese village, waterfall, café, bamboo bridge, rice field, wooden temple, canyon.
- Arrival in Pai: garden oasis, ginger-lime soda and four stages in one night.Around 5pm Pai arrives: a small garden house, laundry dropped off, mountains all around and a centre that compresses everything at night — street food, massage signs, jazz, open mic, acoustic music, psychedelic trance and a very responsible drinking programme made of ginger-lime soda.
- 7am pick-up, three colours of temples and the Mekong at three borders.A long northern Thailand day all the way to the Golden Triangle: hill village with Kayan/Long Neck women, two days of work for one scarf, cannabis like houseplants, a local spirit setup, White Temple, Blue Temple, Black House and finally a Mekong boat ride between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.
- Elephants, monsoon water and an evening without a map.After heavy night rain, the last trekking day starts almost boringly ordinary: coffee, breakfast, cards. Then come elephants, cancelled bamboo rafting, Chiang Mai, a shave with face massage and an evening by the Mae Ping between market lights, shaved ice with warm toast and roasted worms.
- 16 kilometres of jungle, rain and a wooden-house night.One hour out of Chiang Mai, somewhere near an elephant sanctuary: tropical humidity, rice fields, corn, bananas, spiders, butterflies, waterfalls, and at the end a storm over a wooden house.
- Chiang Mai starts with a glasses rescue mission.The night bus arrives at 6:30. Five minutes later it is clear: the glasses are still hanging in the bus curtain. So: tuk-tuk, city edge, depot, success. Only then is Chiang Mai allowed to begin slowly.
- Bangkok ends in the blue light of a night bus.A slow day with a full-body massage, constant small hunger and then the turn north: luggage stored, bus terminal, premium seat and 750 kilometres of night to Chiang Mai.
- No plan, and that became the whole day.Caramel macchiato, a tuk-tuk loop, a history teacher with an umbrella, temple rules, food at a family table and finally a travel plan reaching to the 27th.
- Bangkok does not say hello quietly.33 degrees, clouds, wet streets, cables overhead and the decision not to use the first day efficiently, but to actually notice it.
- Three hours in Doha: luxury, jungle and an A380.Qatar Airways was a very nice surprise: good service, tech in the seat, good food. Then Hamad Airport, where even the garden looks expensive.
- At the airport the trip finally becomes real.The Elbe, Prague muscle memory, free parking and the small pause before planning turns into travel.
- Two days before take-off I am calmer than I should be.First time in Asia, solo, with a suitcase you can spot from a helicopter. What goes on in my head before departure.
