And just like that, I'm back in Bangkok. A place that will forever be filled with memories of love, shabby hostel rooms, lots of everything everywhere: people, shops, street food, colours and those specific smells only this city carries. A delicious mix of spices, pollution and sweat. As soon as I got off the bus, I took a deep breath: welcome home!
Bumping into two dear friends as I arrived at the airport was a much needed cherry on top of a very long flight with hardly any sleep. All day siestas and poolside chilling, catching up over pad Thai and massages. Giving in to that slap of jetlag in our faces, waking up in the middle of the night counting the hours till breakfast.
Secretly, I love this jetlag blur I get whenever I arrive somewhere. My body is totally confused, I just want to eat and nap the entire time, wide awake at night, falling asleep in the most awkward places. Not too sure when I'm dreaming or living in reality. Sad to wake up to a dream of Tom Holland being my baby daddy. That's what you get when you watch Spider Man on the plane and are constantly in and out of sleep. My brain feels like it's on the drunk train.
Realising this is just the start, the beginning of something bigger. A new chapter, a weeklong stopover before the real adventure commences. Bangkok is always there for 'in between travels'. Three years ago, Bangkok was a rest stop in between Australia and Canada, this time it's a place to escape Belgian winter on my way to New Zealand.
After one night in a beautiful hotel with rooftop swimming pool and breakfast buffet with friends, I'm excited to indulge again in my favourite cheap shabby guesthouse, getting lost at night markets, diving into this crazy city, Thai massages every day and maybe even a pair of ugly elephant hippie pants to blend in.