Chiang Mai Part 2

Mosquitoes, I hate them. I would like to donate a liter of blood once a year and invite all the mosquitoes to ensure good karma. Elderly, sick and children first. The night from Tuesday to Wednesday (5.12) was a pure disaster, I woke up twice from the itching of fresh bites. As a last resort, I had to take my blanket out of the sheet and slide into the bedsheet. These bugs here are so small and inconspicuous that I can neither hear nor see them. I also had the fear of bed bugs at night. But the bites are clear. The result of my bedsheet action was a swollen eyelid in the morning. Fuck it. What can you do.

After the last 2 days of yoga, today was massage day again. At 10:30 after breakfast, I went for a coconut oil massage. The massage was very good, but here too, there were 4 new bites. I intentionally did not apply Autan, a mistake. What can you do.

The next item on the agenda was my second meditation session. After a short introduction, we went into the first of two twenty-minute meditations. However, I had a lot of trouble staying focused on myself due to the rush in the morning. The mosquitoes and their leftovers in my body were still very tangible in my thoughts. Bam, another bite. What can you do.

The two sessions are interrupted by a short conversation about how you feel and what is going on in your mind. After that, the second twenty minutes were much better and more fulfilling.

Lunch consisted of a tofu, jackfruit mixture with rice-vegetable balls, vegetables and rice. I now have a certain routine when eating and enjoy conscious meat-freedom.

When I returned to the hostel after lunch, plans from the previous evening caught up with me. I had discussed a trip with a Catalan to watch the sunset at xxx, a monastery on the mountain. He had mobilized 11 people who came along during the day and we started in 20 minutes. Uff...

First, we took the red taxi truck for 30 baht to the zoo, where a hiking trail leads to an intermediate station Wat Pha Lat. The path was not easy. We misinterpreted a fork, so we got lost in the jungle for about half an hour and had to go back completely the slope we had climbed. Ants made our life difficult. Of course, I also had something for the mosquitoes. This temple in the jungle on the mountain has something magical and was the actual highlight for me. I will come back one morning. The sunset on the grounds of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was worth seeing with the fantastic view over Chiang Mai. The group was very colorful and interesting. We went to dinner together with half of the group.

A very eventful day. Enjoy Chiang Mai.

The next day, I went to the temple in the jungle again with Yemmy, a Belgian guy I met at yoga. This time, without getting lost, it was simply wonderful to enjoy the place for 2 hours. An incredible place for me, only 30 minutes by taxi from downtown. Then 1 hour walk to the temple. Silence, view, temple, and waterfall. After returning to the hostel, I could take a nap before my 5th yoga class.

I find it very difficult to notice progress. But I will just keep going and try to be patient with myself. Which is often very difficult for me when it comes to my body. It's not bad, though. And I try to write down one or two exercises from each class to try them out on my bike tour.

In the evening, I went to the "Fake-Corean BBQ" with Pablo, an older university professor from Spain, and Jungsoo, a bassist from South Korea. Pablo is a real entertainer with very human views. Jungsoo suggested going to the North Gate Jazz Club, so we spent the evening with live music. The two will continue traveling today.

Rebekka is not so lucky with the weather in the south. The islands on both sides are currently being heavily rained on. I can only be very grateful that the weather and the hostel here fit very well with what I need.