Summary
This post is important to me because it reminds me that the true value of my travels is not in the places, but in the people. The words spoken, the attention, the kindness, a conversation with a stranger. This day was about that, and it was good to experience it.
I really like days like today. When I don’t plan to write, but while experiencing the daily experiences, the desire automatically arises in my head and the lines start to form.
This day in particular brought many small(?) experiences that are worth writing down and sharing.
Why did I move?
My room that I have occupied to this day was excellent.
It gave me much more than I need. Next to the double bed, I had a sofa. Next to my very important desk, I also had a coffee table and a dining table. Three tables! Three chairs, a refrigerator, a bathroom, a balcony. Plus, what I missed in Bali: I had a kitchen.
Nothing made me leave this great place. But I came here with the intention of trying out the idea of not living in one place, not in one part of the city, but in several.
That’s why I didn’t even book my room, only for 13 days.
So this morning I repeated my practice of packing up all my belongings as soon as possible. I sent a message to the owner saying thank you for everything and leaving.
Just words…
I saw the host once, the room is set up in such a way that a personal meeting is not necessary. But he came up to me in the middle of the week and brought me some supplies. Just like that. Out of kindness. The package contained 2 mineral waters, 3 soft drinks and 2 chips. I couldn’t really find the words to respond to this kindness.
All he wanted was to know how I was and to be nice.
In my morning message, I naturally referred to this kindness. “Thank you for the beautiful room and accommodation. I really loved living here, I am so grateful for the kindness I receive from you here. Best regards, István”
His response filled my heart with warmth:
Thank you very much for the reservation and the kindness. I am very lucky to have you as my guest.
These are just words! – so many people have told me. You don’t have to take them seriously, because they are just practiced polite expressions. They don’t mean anything.
I am now at a point in my life where I no longer consider myself naive, because these words sound good and I can sincerely be happy with them.
Because now I know for sure that these are not just words!
Saying these words is a decision. The host decided to write these words because he wants to show respect and/or make you happy.
It doesn’t matter why he decided to do so. I’m sure there’s a lot of Asian respect, friendship, making you happy, and many other things behind the decision.
He decided to write them, and I decided to be grateful and happy with that.
Update:
I just wrote a few lines from the following paragraph when I received my host’s review. Let these be a reminder of the words spoken and their power:
Very polite, respectful, kind, and always responds. The room is in perfect condition. The best guest ever.
Fully equipped on the roads of Chiang Mai
In conversations over the past two weeks, I’ve told several people that here in the northern part of Thailand, it’s starting to feel a bit like early autumn. The air is a bit chilly, and for example, I’m using a blanket at night for the first time in months.
Night!
Because it would be a shame to deny that it is still very hot during the day. And I am not writing this to hurt the hearts of those who are currently living in minus temperatures in Hungary.
So I sweated profusely with my two backpacks on me while walking to the next accommodation. Because I decided to walk the 6 km distance. Let the fat burn. This decision of mine was definitely supported by the scorching sun.
I arrived at the housing estate at the scheduled time.
My room was in house number 25.
I recommend you take a close look at the picture above! Find the first number that is missing from the floor plan.
Yes! That’s it!
Of course, this picture is not only for the desperate and hopeless, but it was definitely the end of a futile search.
I saw it at the entrance of the apartment complex. I showed the address to the doorman where I wanted to go, but strangely, not only did he not know a word of English, but he also didn’t talk to me. After I realized that he had no intention of interrupting the conversation he was having to help me, I had to look for another solution.
The most delicious Khao Soi of my life
There was a cafe about 100 meters from the entrance, I thought I would ask for help there.
The problem this time, as always, was with the address and the convenience. I’ll show you the address that I got from the host:
The fact that I can’t manage this little thing is of course not his fault. I entered the address in my calendar (I always do this, it’s always at hand there) and clicked on the navigation.
The result of this was that I arrived at a place that was 30 kilometers away from my current accommodation.
It’s true that I only had to walk 6 kilometers, but unfortunately I didn’t arrive there. LOL.
The owner of the cafe is a very nice person. They were sitting on the terrace with an English girl and he immediately came to my aid.
We cleared up the misunderstanding, they helped me figure out the exact address and we started talking. I ordered an iced long coffee, but in the meantime I quickly decided with my better judgment that I wouldn’t walk the remaining 30 kilometers. Well, anyway!
I ordered a taxi, I had two options to choose from. I order it right away and it comes when it comes, or I schedule the order. I decided to schedule it because I wanted to drink that coffee in peace. The earliest I could order was 80 minutes later, so I decided to take advantage of that opportunity, so I would have time to eat lunch.
It was an extremely good decision!
The flow brought me the most delicious dish of my life called Khao Soi, which – I note quietly – I still believe in and live my everyday life. And the soul just leads me.
Briefly about this dish: Northern Thailand’s specialty, the iconic food of Chiang Mai. Yellow egg noodles, boiled and separately fried noodles on top, pieces of chicken, coconut milk curry sauce, lime obligatory on the side and pickled vegetables with fresh coriander.
The sauce was super delicious, and the pickled vegetables are doubly super delicious. My article tomorrow will be about the food, so for now I will just note that the taste of the pickled vegetables really took me to another dimension. It was indescribably delicious.
So I don’t even struggle with trying this.
The owner prepared and served the dish to me, with whom we talked a lot.
It was a strange experience when he started telling me my own thoughts. He spoke seriously about how there was nothing wrong with me getting lost (again). It was just an opportunity for new experiences and experiences.
How right he is. And how I have been living my life this way for quite some time. I am grateful that this way of thinking is now mine!
Before I left, I decided that I wanted to live here too, so we exchanged contact information and said goodbye to each other with a goodbye.
By taxi through the big city
The taxi arrived at the requested time.
It was driven by a lady. We spent 45-50 minutes together and had a wonderful conversation.
Despite the fact that she barely spoke English. So Google Translate came into play, which – considering that she was driving – made communication a strange experience.
Sometimes she understood what I said, sometimes not, and sometimes I understood what she was asking, sometimes not. Still, so much was discussed.
I learned that they actually use 44 letters. Just like us. He taught me how to pronounce words correctly. We talked about religion. He asked a lot of questions, he was curious.
He said what always guides me in these conversations. How much we can learn from each other if we listen and are curious.
He couldn’t believe that I would soon be 50, but he expressed it in a way that was very pleasant even in this common experience. The icing on the cake was that he admitted that he thought I was handsome and strong. LOL.
He asked if he was tiring me with all these questions. I assured him that he wasn’t at all. When I told him why I liked the mentality of Asian people, he thanked me with great respect. I did the same when he said that he thought my thinking was exceptionally great.
At the beginning of the trip, he gave me his phone so I could choose music. Suddenly it occurred to me that the hits of the eighties would surely be good for both of us. I was right. I was looking at this big city from the car. It has so many faces, it showed me so much on the road. In the meantime, Tina Turner was singing.
And I was thinking about how simply perfect this day was. I smiled a lot.
At home
I finally arrived at my current room.
The host’s mother was already waiting. She sat me down in the hallway, we talked for a bit.
I put my backpacks down in my room. This room is more modest. About 3×4 meters. A bed, a wardrobe, a small coffee table and a huge mobile air conditioner.
I even made myself a desk out of the coffee table and an unnecessary bar stool. You can see it in the featured image of the post.
The bed is like a hospital bed. I wonder what it will be like to sleep on it. By the way, this was not a surprise, I knew it would be like this.
A modest little house, with 3 rooms, two of which are for rent, and one is lived in by the owner or his mother. The owner will arrive on Tuesday.
My mother asked if I wanted to see the area, to which I of course said yes right away. I thought we would take a nice walk.
He took me by car to the wellness center of the residential area. This means outdoor and indoor pools, a sauna and a moderately equipped gym. Unfortunately, you have to pay extra to visit them, but I will definitely visit them.
This room is my home until February 10th.
It absolutely suits the minimalist life.
The area looks magical, I will start exploring next week.
Buy me a coffee?
If you enjoyed this story, you can buy me a coffee. You don’t have to – but it means a lot and I always turn it into a new adventure.
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Short introduction