After 21 hours of travel, I’m finally safe and sound in Chiang Mai. It’s funny how flying through the air in a giant metal tube can mess with your sense of time. I left Houston on January 18 at 11:40 p.m. and landed on the other side of the world on January 20 at 10:50 a.m. It really felt like the time I spent in the air never actually happened. I’m not exactly sure what I did for the first 16 hour flight – I didn’t sleep much, but the time just seemed to pass by.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t even tired when I got to my AirBnB. I wasn’t sure what to do, but it was liberating to know that I didn’t HAVE to do anything. I was on my own and had absolutely no obligations to anyone or anything but myself. So far, I’ve been totally okay with the idea of being completely alone on the other side of the Earth. I guess I’m still waiting for the realization that I am in fact alone, on the other side of the Earth, to kick in.
It’s now almost 7 p.m. in Chiang Mai. I spent most of the hot afternoon in my AirBnb, taking stock of my belongings and figuring out what I needed to take care of to begin my life here. Once it got a little cooler, I walked across the street to a Thai massage parlor, spent $10 on an hour long massage, and then wandered around my new neighborhood. The heat was gone and what was left was a cool, dry air that invited everyone to walk the streets. I paid $2 for dinner, stumbled upon a dog cafe, and wandered some more.
I’m sure I’ll soon add another post that includes a detailed rambling of what I saw today. For now, I just wanted to let you know that I’m safe, I’m happy, and I’m home.
Alex Goes Abroad 