Getting more and more north

19. 12. Whoosh, and we're already in Chiang Mai... From Uttaradit, we took the train to Lampang - a divine backdrop! It seemed to me as if we were driving right through the jungle mountains. In between, there were many cute little train stations and we stopped at each one. I would have loved to get off at some of them! When we arrived in Lampang, I was a little disappointed. It looked just like any other city, nothing of the beautiful nature anymore. After the rather long journey, we were all a bit irritable and we didn't feel very comfortable in our accommodation. So it almost had to happen that we wandered around outside and stumbled upon the fair. That was an experience in itself! A bit crazy (it reminded me of Asterix, 'the monsters, they...:'), a bit exotic, a bit exaggerated, very exciting, many impressions, and endlessly tempting...

The next day, I wanted to visit a wat in the mountains. Whoever I asked (there were many people at the fair that I could ask), everyone gave me a different answer. I simply pretended to know exactly how we would get there and... lo and behold, it happened! We had no idea how long in which vehicle, on foot, and in general, but everything worked out perfectly. I didn't have to check the time all day because everything just fell into place. The Wat Phutthabat Sutthawat was very impressive, 'foresightful', and beautiful! I'm thrilled that from a picture given to me by another hotel guest, it turned into a wonderful outing for us.

Today, we moved to Chaing Mai. For the first time, I realized that our arrivals are almost always accompanied by arguments - yes, I was slow to catch on. Despite their curiosity for new things, the kids seem to miss the familiar, even if they only knew it for a few days. Fortunately, we booked here for a week and then 10 days in the same resort. Let's see how we will navigate this very touristy city, especially since we are exposed to many offers whose meaningfulness I dare to question. While the kids fed the cat at the pet store today, I watched a young couple pick out several small dog jackets. Of course, I don't know the animal, but I'm glad I don't have to watch it be dressed... By the way, the dwarf rabbits that were offered for sale at the fair were wearing almost the same little dresses (with lots of frills). Here, I have so many opportunities to observe how tourists behave, that it became very clear to me that we are also 'interesting' to watch from time to time... For those who don't have this opportunity, here are a few impressions from behind the scenes: