Winter is coming

Hello dear ones!
Wow, I haven't heard from me for over 2 weeks. So much for the topic: I will write more regularly again. Huiuiui, I don't really know where to start. Probably best at the beginning, right?
So....
After spending three days in Bangkok just to arrive back in Thailand, I directly booked an overnight bus to Chiang Mai. So I basically started straight to the north without detours by taking a night bus. Thanks to the night bus, I had the pleasure of admiring my ceiling for the first 4 days in Chiang Mai since I got really sick. Therefore, I really only lay in bed with a fever and dozed off in order to get healthy as soon as possible - and it worked (I'm fit as a fiddle again). After feeling somewhat better again, I explored the old town a bit and simply strolled along the canal, which was so peaceful. Eventually, I even met Pedro (the Brazilian backpacker) again, and we decided to watch the sunrise from the "Wat Phra Doi Sutep" (temple). So we drove up to the temple in the national park by scooter around 6 o'clock in the morning, because from there you had a wonderful view over Chiang Mai. And this already epic moment became even more precious when I read the message exactly there that I'm now a double aunt. Wow, that was a really beautiful moment. A little sweet Noemi is now waiting at home and enchanting everyone around her (including me, even though I'm so far away). Accordingly, the next days were a bit harder and I would honestly have liked to book a flight home because I wanted to hold the little mouse in my arms and say "hello" and still want to. But before I prematurely end my journey, I thought that maybe a change of location might distract me a bit from the thoughts of homesickness. So I simply spontaneously booked a bus to Pai, which is a beautiful small town in the middle of the mountains. The ride there was just fantastic, as you have a road with 762 curves ahead of you. I sat right at the front of the bus and really had fun (and grinned like a Cheshire cat), while the others were sometimes panically clinging to the seat with every curve. That actually made it even more fun for me. Pai is really cozy and a city to feel good in. But also freezing in the evening. It gets really cold in the mountains in the evening. At night it gets as low as 15 degrees and during the day it's still 30 degrees. Yes, I know, the 15 degrees are not cold at all for you right now. But my body has already gotten used to the pleasant 30 degrees, so I feel like winter has arrived. So I was really forced to buy a cardigan because I (unprepared as I was) went to the night market in shorts and a tank top and after an hour of walking I had a permanent goosebumps. But since there are so many nice alternative shops here in Pai, it wasn't a big deal. And since it gets relatively cold at night, there are incredibly fluffy blankets (similar to a down comforter) and I really didn't know that a thick warm cozy blanket could affect my sleep quality like this. But it's so nice to snuggle up and just let your nose stick out, similar to being at home in winter. Yes, I haven't slept that well and deeply in a long time. What a blanket can do. :)
Even after a day-long hike to the waterfall, I slept like a baby. I hiked for about 7 hours, and on the way back I had to walk quite quickly because I didn't want to be in the jungle in the dark. In the evening, I was quite exhausted and fell asleep within 2 minutes, although I only wanted to "rest my feet for a moment". The next day, the universe apparently wanted to give me a little sign. Because funny enough, I met a girl in a small café who is named Noemi. I was so surprised and really thought that couldn't be. But yes, it is. Maybe the little Noemi indirectly gave me a sign by that (or it was just a really amazing coincidence). In any case, I spent the next few days with Noemi and two other girls (Pia and Michelle). With the three of them, we even took a day tour together. In the morning, we visited the "Hot Springs", which was simply a dream. Because even if the sun has already risen, it can still be chilly around 10 o'clock. So the hot springs were just right. Like a huge bathtub in nature. Wonderful! After about an hour, we were all completely shriveled like prunes and maybe the tour guide also didn't feel like seeing us splash around in the water anymore, so we continued to the famous "Bamboo Bridge". That was also just beautiful, as you could walk along a very very long bamboo bridge surrounded by mountains. Then we visited a waterfall (which wasn't too spectacular), the Memorial Bridge, and the Pai Canyon. The Pai Canyon was our last stop, so we watched the sunset there. That was really impressive. In the evening, we walked through the night market and I can really say that it was the best night market so far. Because there is such good, crazy, cheap street food (which, by the way, doesn't make you sick, in case you're thinking that now), so we stuffed ourselves with all sorts of things. Because everything is usually sold in mini-portions so that you can really try everything. However, I felt like I was about to burst, but it was worth it because the food is just awesome. So later we all fell happily and stuffed into bed with a little stomach ache. The next few days I spent relatively calmly together with Noemi. We picked out special places every now and then and otherwise just lived into the day. So we rented bikes for a day and wanted to ride to a very famous café, without realizing that Pai is hilly. Yes, we really had to push ourselves, but the encouragement from strangers gave us strength and so we really deserved the iced coffee in the end. The way back was even better because it went downhill for us in a relaxed way. And yes, I'm actually already a whole week in Pai, but it doesn't feel that long at all. I now understand what all the backpackers mean when they told me that you can stay in Pai forever. Because I haven't experienced this atmosphere anywhere else. In itself, Pai is a small town, but there is still so much to see. There are so many cute alternative shops or cafés, so that you would like to have another iced coffee every 10 meters to enjoy this beautiful atmosphere. However, for the time being, I'm leaving Pai and returning to Chiang Mai because I want to try to extend my visa by 7 days there. Because officially I have to leave on February 1st. But I would prefer to spend Chinese New Year here in Chiang Mai, which takes place on February 5th. So I try to get an extension at the embassy in Chiang Mai. Let's see how that works. Because to be honest, I have no idea about it. I really like the north here in Thailand and I can absolutely understand why it is recommended by everyone. Let's see what I do in the next few days. It's crazy, but almost half of it is already over. I've been away for almost 3 months now and it really doesn't feel that way at all.

Warmest greetings from the Thai mountains and feel properly embraced and kissed on the cold nose. :)