December starts with a step backwards for us. Not in a negative way, though, we much rather return to the country where our journey started out. Our yet longest bus ride leads us with fridge-flair all the way across Thailand‘s south for fourteen hours, from the small village of Satun, where we become a popular photo motif within our four hour latency, back up to the metropolis Bangkok. We have been bickering for long with the decision wether to continue our journey to the south or going back north, but the prospect of a reunion with some beloved friends in the near future made the decision much easier than we thought it would be. The plan was to see the north of Thailand until New Years Eve and then head to Laos. Vague ideas as always. Since bus rides are the cheapest way in this country to work ones way through long reaches, the busses are fully booked nine times out of ten. We were unlucky because of the fact that the bus driver accommodated some further passengers in the storage space behind our seats, so that we couldn’t even tilt our seats. Moreover the noise of the air conditioner was accompanied by the deafening sound track of an action film. So we pulled an all-nighter characterised by the inconclusive search for the suitable sleeping-position. And so, we’ve been standing drowsily and planlessly in the morning at one of the biggest bus terminals in Bangkok, tickets for our onward travel hadn’t been bought yet. Fortune smiles upon the spontaneous.
The following trip to Kanchanaburi was rewarding us for our deprivations at cost of our sleep. Even though we had to book a seat only for our luggage in the minivan, we got away quite cheap and didn’t have to wait for long. In Kanchanaburi itself we found an oasis of calm in the midst of Thailand‘s fast-paced daily life which is without equal. Our first guesthouse was at the end of a back alley surrounded by such a wonderful tranquility which embraces you entirely and relaxes you, the second one was situated right next to the River Kwai with a dock from which you could observe the sun going down. It was a really good time for us, not a good one though if you are craving for adventures and exciting travelogues. Totally recovered we accomplished the first time to get our sleepy buttocks out of the warm and comfy bed bright and early. While we were standing next to the railways tracks shivering in the cold morning air at right before six AM, I recall how it was at home and the times I had to commute so many kilometres every day, I‘m even happier when my thoughts return to the present and I realise how grateful I am to be where I am today. The train takes us close to the Sai Yok Noi waterfall, a small tourist attraction in the vicinity of the border to Myanmar. A boring, artificial natural setting at the entrance to a larger national park, whoever dares to ascent is rewarded with all the nicer crystal clear well in the midst of the covert of the forest. However, the view on the seemingly endless rice fields from the Wat Tham Suae temple and the other way round from the rice fields on the temple which sits enthroned on a little raise was breathtaking. In the sinking sun Kanchanaburi gets exactly the warm and nice limelight that it deserves as a destination.
Another uneventful night-ride on the bus takes us closer to the feeling of “home“ than we’ve been for quite a long time now. In the dimness of the daybreak we lurch through the empty alleys of Chiang Mai. I‘m knackered, again I haven’t slept for a whole night. When we had arrived at the bus station we realised that our booking had been cancelled, that’s definitely all I needed at that very moment. But as disillusioning as the day started out it was not going to end: we get an extremely cheap room, are surrounded by outstanding restaurants and everything was within walking-distance. At every other corner there are colourful temples waiting to tell us their far-reaching tales of their histories. Chiang Mai was like a dream to us and so it’s hardly surprising that after a short detour to Pai and Chiang Rai we end up here again to have ourselves a merry little Christmas. It’s the first time for both of us to be apart from our families for the holidays, far away from home, without the warmth of the cozy, wonderfully decorated living rooms and the gluttony at the richly laid tables. The thought definitely preys on our minds. But when we go out and enjoy an oven-fresh pizza and an expensive beer ourselves, the sacrifice isn’t too hard to borne after all. But even the parting from Chiang Mai cannot be averted, to meet up with my brother’s girlfriend Jessica in Bangkok we have to go back south. Gullible as we are and impelled by desire for spontaneity, we want to book a sleeper-train to Bangkok only few days ahead of our journey and end up with third class tickets. Twelve hours, overnight, on damned uncomfortable seats, without air conditioner. It was our own fault. Sometimes even the spontaneous are out of luck.
Back in Bangkok the tranquility of our stays in the North is soon a thing of the past. Bangkok is rushing, as if it was permanently on the run, harried by an ever-growing number of inhabitants trying to make ends meet; chased by the other emergent Asian economic powers that will not excuse a short pause for breath. Whoever’s not able to keep up will be eaten and a world which is ravenous for consumption like today’s has to be fed. Therefore we try to keep up too in the busy days ahead of New Year’s Eve, do not want to perish in the crowd of merrymakers who clog the streets of the metropolis. However, the accustomed beer is too expensive for us, for warming and for the taste we allow ourselves two bottles of the pricey Leo beer, afterwards there’s only tacky whiskey mixed with coke left for us. It does it’s job apparently impeccably, scruples about this thought won’t get into my head before the next morning. The turn of the centuries passes us by without a trace, the streets are crowded and the people are tanked, the fireworks in a park close to the Khao San Road at midnight is unspectacular. But in the end it’s only entertainment for tourists like us, the actual turn of the year won’t take place here for another four months. We’ll be long gone by that time, with the greatest of anticipation we are looking forward to Laos. The mourning is short-lived as we are leaving Bangkok by coach.