Arriving in Chiang Mai

I arrived in Chiang Mai shortly past 6 am, having peeked a beautiful sunrise from the bus window.

Now, while I kinda regretted not having had a proper chance to explore Bangkok (also not really having clicked with what I had seen), my first impression of Chiang Mai is very different! Not nearly as busy, noisy, exhaust-fume heavy, crowded as Bangkok and the buildings look more welcoming (less muddy/grey, decrepid than the ones in Bangkok).
Since I wasn’t big on clocking many hours of sleep over the past 2 nights in particular, I took it decidedly easy today. I explored a bit, liking what I saw.

Then I decided to hang out at the hostel for a bit after I could finally complete the check-in at 2pm.

Hanging out in the dorm was not possible at all since the AC is only on from 5pm on until 9 am or so in the morning. Throughout the day, the rooms are very furnace-like.
It was 35°C+ in the dorm.

So, I sat in the common area to make plans.

A guy sitting close to me started smoking (not a fan) and, seeing the sign that said not to smoke around there, I asked him to kindly move away a bit. He pointed out that the beloved sign that prohibits smoking refers exclusively to weed. Not cigarettes.

Ok, I said, my mistake and looked around for a smoke-free area to sit in. I couldn’t find one and consulted with reception. The lady behind the counter was less than enthusiastic to have been disturbed (I mean, fair enough. When I play computer games, I also only wanna focus on that task…).

I laid out my desire for clean air. She told me that, well, nah, they don’t really have smoke-free areas. But on the second floor it should be fine.

Now, let’s quickly explore the layout of the building. Two floors, entirely congruous, open, facing the inner courtyard where people smoked like chimneys.

So. Where does smoke go? Yes, everywhere. It certainly rises. In fact, there’s no way around it.

I tried to explain that to the receptionist. But it just didn’t click.

She said to just go to the dorms if that’s such a problem for me. I pointed out that this is practically impossible.

She was reluctant and agreed to start the AC 2 hours earlier than planned, but that this won’t be a solution for the next few days and that I better plan my stay outside of the hostel…

Honestly, it’s not a lot to ask for a space to exist without having to passive smoke. I was very much put out.

Yearning dearly for some sleep, I wanted to go to bed early. Ha! If only. It’s another “social” hostel. Remember what that means? You can’t sleep before midnight. Bloody hell. The bass was truly offensive.

So my sleep deprivation lingered.Read more