Reasons I Like It Here Already

Tuesday 2nd February 2010, 2.35am, Happy Guest House, Chiang Mai - Thailand

- Communicating with French boys in bars via the means of Connect 4 and Jenga - universal world languages.
- Having successfully located my own position and navigated myself around a new city by map (the most satisfying feeling in the world).
- Major franchise coffee shops on every corner.
- My bathroom is on my balcony. So I can look out over the rooftops of Chiang Mai whilst brushing my teeth.
- Being the only under 40 year old and the only female in Pinte Blues Bar, which plays exclusively, you guessed it, hardcore traditional Blues, and is decorated with portraits and names - that thanks to my wonderful harmonica playing Dad - I grew up with: Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Bessie Smith, John Mayall. A great education for a parent to give a child.
- The shiny bright tattoo parlour opposite where I live. Oh no... it's calling meeeee.
- There is a Tesco Metro here. A TESCO METRO.
- Thai currency again! The easiest monetary conversion rate in South East Asia, 50 Baht = 1 quid = lemon squeezy.
- The clothes shops which sell exclusively cotton sack type things that make me look like I've been travelling for 20 years, which is incidentally the style I'm plumping for these days.
- Cafe Del Sol street bar where the staff let me pick the music and then sing along in to beer bottle microphones with me.
- The best stocked bookshop I have seen on my travels, and one with impeccable taste. They have all my favourites - Carol Shields, Will Self, Lionel Shriver, Irvine Welsh, Elizabeth Kostova, Sebastian Faulks, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Paulo Coelho; and the chick-lit shelves are where they belong - in a dark corner.
- The sign on a garage door at the corner of my street which reads 'Please do not piss here.'
- Unexpected sunshine. Everyone said Northern Thailand would be cold. It's 30 degrees. Everyone was wrong.
- Hippies, with long hair, and oversized pupils, and Bob Marley t-shirts, everywhere.
- The buxom and matronly owner of my guest house coming to my room at 1.40am with a plate of steamed rice and garlic chicken because I'd casually mentioned when stumbling through the front door 10 minutes before that I'd forgotten to eat tonight.
- The Writer's Bar where local journalists, authors and poets get together to drink beer and discuss their work. As yet undecided if I'm pretentious enough to go along and sit in the corner (but I probably am).
- The fact that Northern Thais pronounce my name 'Great'.
- That I was brave enough to set off on a pub crawl on my own tonight and that I ended it drunk, having spent 4 quid, and with the names and phone numbers of 6 new drinking buddies in my pocket.
- A distinct lack of Australians.

Things are looking good for me and Chiang Mai. Blow of leaving Luang Prabang: successfully softened.