31st December we arrive at Chiang Mai International Airport, right on time and as we usually do we have no idea what Chiang Mai looks like.
Along our Italian road trip we’ve understood at our expense how bad it is to travel somewhere new with high expectations, so we try our best to get to a new place with very little info about it.. just those needed to be safe! 😅
We grab a GRAB 🚖 and in no time we are already dropped off next to our Airbnb, which for only $23 a night is properly a steal! It’s dinner time and we choose one of the many vegan restaurants of the city. When we get there we are welcomed by some very good live music and a cool atmosphere. We order fried spring rolls, a spicy tempeh and khao soi noodles soup.. I cannot describe how tasty those were. SO GOOD 🫠
Okay now with a full (very full, still full) belly we start wandering around the city trying to find the best spot to enjoy the New Year’s Countdown.. very tricky. Everywhere we turn there are street markets and food markets, pubs, bars and people! There’s a lot of people. But everybody (I don’t know how) is moving harmoniously like one. I do not know where to watch cause everything is eye capturing from the “strange” thai signs, to a man modelling glass, to a band playing local music, to massage shops everywhere.. but it’s not chaotic, it’s just festive.
There are so many other queers like us and obviously I was not expecting that.. Our previous stops have been UEA, The Maldives and Malaysia.. and in all of these countries, we’ve been illegal. The harsh reality. So now seeing some gay people dancing gets my heart racing and I kiss Angie to a new year together.
Exploring a new place on New Year’s Eve is kind of controversial, though. You see a place new with lights and crowds cheering, but at the same time there may be people vomiting from the alcohol or police sirens playing out loud.
And that’s normal.. everywhere on this night is the same.. but what’s different here is everything else. How people speak, how people drive, how people eat. Everything is just different and I cannot get over this.
Our surroundings are constantly changing on this journey, and we hope we will change as well. That’s my main ambition for the upcoming year. I hope what we’ll see and experience will make me a better human being.
with love,