House blessing Still no idea when Karl was going to get here. At this point I didn't care because it was weekend. K was off work and invited me to join him and his family on a trip to his sister’s house blessing ceremony in Chon Buri. Yesterday I had to check out at noon and since I was only going to meet K in the evening, I spent the afternoon on the bench in front of my back packer and tried to read. I have to mention that it was really really hot and therefore extremely hard to concentrate. At some point an Australian girl joined me and we started a conversation. It was good to talk to another traveller and exchange experiences. K and I met in the city. It's incredible how much I ... read more

Going to the cinema The day was about as exciting as yesterday. Somehow I managed to go out to seven eleven and buy water but the rest was much the same. In the afternoon I remembered that the movie "Step Up 2" which I wanted to see should be shown now. I called K to find out if he wanted to join but he had Japanese class. I really wanted to see the movie and after nearly two days mainly spent in my room I realized that I had to overcome my fear of getting lost and get out. Therefore I asked for instructions and was on my way. Just before I left, Fabian called and we arranged to meet for lunch tomorrow. Things were getting better. I felt quite insecure but found the cinema without ... read more

Flight of the Gibbon I love Chiang Mai and it's a great place to be. The only thing I can't deal with are the mosquitos. I must have been bitten a thousand times by now and K just laughed and said "look, I got ONE too". So far I've had rather bad nights being itchy on every inch of my skin. I actually had a mosquito repellent with me (the best on the market, according to my uncle Felix) but it didn't seem to do the trick. Yesterday I've finally come up with the idea of buying a different one - quick thinking Fabienne! ;) - and this morning I woke up all relaxed for the first time since we got up here. Today, I was to experience an adventure I wanted to do for a ... read more

Wedding It has been a short night. When we arrived in Lampang I was given a sheet and asked to spread it on the wooden floor of the house and sleep. Lying there I tried to remember when I had last slept on the floor and I had come to the conclusion that this is most likely a first. It took me ages to fall asleep. Not because of the lack of comfort I'm used to but because of K and his friends laughing outside and all the impressions I've gained since travelling seemed to occupy my mind endlessly. Furthermore it was really hot and all the mosquitoes in town seemed to have spread the news of the arrival of a foreigner. I was bitten again and again and I had no means to defend myself. ... read more

A night out the local way Today K and I joined another tour to Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangel north east of Chiang Mai. We spent most of the day in the bus for we had to drive three hours each way. We looked at yet another temple, had lunch and then went to the golden triangle which is the boarder between Thailand, Laos and Burma. Everyone was impressed by the view and they were excited about being able to see three countries at once. Because I live near a boarder triangle myself (Switzerland, Germany, France) I didn't think it was that thrilling, but it was still a nice area to spend time. Later on we looked at some temple designed by a Thai artist (apparently one of the most famous artists in Thailand and ... read more