Summer paradise to winter holiday

The last week in Thailand, spent on Lonely Beach on Koh Chang island was spectacular. No, I did not snorkel or scuba dive, or go hiking, or do anything for that matter. It was perfect. I did absolutely nothing. There really is an art form to doing a full week's worth of nothing. I did read a lot however. Life of Pi, Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, The Mermaid Chair, Dragonfly in Amber.

Anouk and I did not join the party life of the beach until my last night, when they celebrated their annual beach party. We stayed out until 4am. Not the wisest decision on my part knowing that I had to wake up at 7:30 to take the ferry, but it wasn't too bad. I got a few hours on the bus ride back to Bangkok. And I got to go to sleep early when I was back in Bangkok. My last afternoon/evening in Thailand, I amused myself by walking around touristy Kho San Road, snacking on the street food and people watching. The next morning I began my long journey to London. 11.5 hour flight to Berlin, then I had to fly to Dusseldorf. By the time I got there is was about 3 or 4 in the morning in my head coming from Thailand time. Only about 9:30pm Germany time. I went to sleep at a lovely little hotel in a very nice room. The woman who owned it did not speak any English, but it was fine. I understood amost everything she said. She was very nice. In the morning, after having a ton of coffee and a nice breakfast downstairs, the taxi came to take me to the airport where I flew on a very small plane (it had propellers) to Stansted outside of London. A 45 minute train to the Liverpool St Station, and then I had made it! Jeni came to meet me there and we took the tube back to her place.

After a 3 hour nap in the afternoon once I'd settled in to her empty new pad, we made pasta for dinner and then went to a nearby bar for a glass of wine before bed. After she went to work this morning, I got up and did what I could to finish painting her hallway. This week, I'll have to work on finding warmer clothes, because it is freezing here!

But its nice to be settled somewhere for a bit of time again.