Today is checkout day. I ended up waking up at 11 a.m. and taking a shower. This week at this Airbnb really flew by.
Backpack — still a smell problem
My backpack still smells terrible. A puke-like smell lingered in the side pocket. I thought I had washed it with detergent yesterday. The culprit was an expired chocolate-flavored protein drink. It had burst and leaked, and I’d left it without noticing.
Because it was so smelly, I scrubbed it by hand with the detergent I’d bought at the laundromat and rinsed it off. Maybe because the backpack is waterproof, water trapped in the pocket didn’t come out easily. I turned it inside out, rinsed it, let it sit for a while, and when I smelled it again it was much better.
The uncle and the keychain talk
I packed up and checked out. I handed the key to the uncle. Then he said, 'You can pick any keychain you like from here,' and gave me a handmade keychain as a keepsake. I thought he was really kind. On the phone he had been like, 'Wait until 9 tomorrow, sorry,' and he’d gotten really angry with a Filipino guest, but in person he was genuinely calm and gentle.
He wasn’t like a typical Thai person — his style felt like a Japanese person from around the 1970s. I thanked him for the keychain. He apologized for the breaker tripping, so I realized it had been out of consideration. It was no problem for me, so I said, 'It’s okay.'
Of course, because the breaker had tripped there was no toilet, no running water, and no air conditioning, so I slept sweating all night, but it meant I got to experience a lifestyle like it was the 1800s, and that was interesting in its own way.
Chiang Mai's slow life and replying to friends
After that, I sat outside and finally listened to and replied to a bunch of friends’ voice messages. When you’re traveling, it’s pretty hard to find time to reply.
So I replied to them all at once today. Even so, Chiang Mai is so peaceful and slow-paced that I feel myself getting lazy. Is that good or bad? I also think being too mentally relaxed isn’t necessarily good. When I went down the stairs the uncle was talking with a guest. We said goodbye with smiles.
Things I noticed at the usual restaurant
After that I headed to the usual restaurant. The girl was there today too. Because I had my heavy backpack she asked, 'You leave today?' and I answered, 'Just changing hostels.' She seems to have a lot of friends and was chatting with Western customers who come in. She looked like she was having a lot of fun.
I wonder why I am like this — if the other person opens up I can open up easily, but I realized I’m not good at being the first to do it. I wish I could be the one to open up more, but I just can’t seem to do it.
I feel like I haven’t changed since first going to Georgia. I want to take a step forward soon.
So I ordered pineapple fried rice and cheese balls today. They were really delicious. After eating I started thinking about future plans — which country to go to after returning to Japan and getting my license, whether I could visit Indonesia or Brunei before going back to Japan. I thought about a lot of those things.
The joy of 'Can I pay?' 'No'
So it came time to pay. When I asked, 'Can I pay?' she jokingly said, 'No.' I realized that if you come enough times people gradually become friendlier like this. I was really happy. We said 'See you tomorrow' and said goodbye. I responded with a smile.
Because the other person opened up so much, I think I naturally opened up too. Still, I want to be the one to do that first. I want to be the one to greet people with a big smile. It carries risks, but I want to be able to do it first. No, I will. I’ll keep challenging myself and keep trying.
Carrying 20 kg to the next hostel
So I decided to walk to the hostel. Carrying a 20 kg backpack was really tough, but I managed to arrive. It still smelled while I was walking, so after check-in I wiped it with detergent. I hoped that would get rid of the smell. I took my things out of the backpack and put them on the bed. This time it was the top bunk. Well, that’s fine.
And then, somehow I ended up sleeping for about two hours. My body was really tired. I had planned to go to the gym today, but it ended up being 6 p.m. I don’t really know why I was so sleepy. Maybe because I walked so much with the backpack? But why would that alone make me this tired. I guess the fatigue just hasn’t gone away. Well, it can’t be helped.
Work and journaling at Starbucks Reserve
So I walked to Starbucks. There’s a Reserve store nearby, so I decided to work there.
I finished one project today — nice! After that it was a day of writing in my journal and reading books. I’m planning a trip to Uzbekistan with a friend. I’m really starting to look forward to it!
