Sometimes - not too often, because life is short - you feel like you have to do something crazy. Something dangerous. Something for old age when all that remains is the past and a few crazy experiences. And sometimes you don't even know beforehand that it could be dangerous. It happens every now and then...
How can you get so much joy from an ancient, broken-down bus? The young girl from South Korea really wants a selfie with the old Swiss man, why is beyond me, we are sitting in the same songthaw (a shared taxi that is common here, consisting of a covered loading bridge and two benches attached lengthwise; you sit together with other passengers to some extent...
So now the beginning again. The slow approach to a new environment, to sun and warmth, a different culture, a different language, different faces. Smiling, friendly, round Thai faces that are so hard to read. A new beginning in Chiang Mai In front of me is the river, the Ping River, dirty-brown, calm, calmly flowing, from...
A minibus, crammed with numerous other travelers, sets off north at 10.00 a.m. sharp. The destination for the day is Chiang Khong, located on the Mekong. There we will switch to the Laotian side before the boat takes us towards Luang Prabang. Almost 300 kilometers to the northeast, through the plains of northern Thailand. How …