Anna Wildman

I woke up 7:30 am, went for 6 mile run around the city. It was the longest run I’ve done in a while. I was pretty tired by the end, but not completely dead.

I got back to hostel and ate breakfast: leftover cucumber salad from dinner, leftover berry crumble, one passionfruit, and coffee. As I was eating, one guy who had just woken up started talking to the others around me. He was hungover and mentioned how he was just waiting for the clock to turn an appropriate hour so he could keep drinking. Eventually he sat down across from me and started talking to me. He essentially told me that every day he starts drinking during the day, then goes out to the bars until 3 am, naps until 6 am, then keeps drinking until 9 am. He said he’s been doing this for the past month. I wasn’t sure whether to be amazed that he was able to keep this up for so long, or sad that he was living like that. I tried not to judge but… it’s a little hard not to. I need to get better at that.

I left around 10 to go to In The City, a co-working space. I spent about 2 hours there editing the podcast, blogging, researching potential guests, etc.

On the way to lunch I stopped by Wat Chiang Man, the oldest temple in the city. By the time I was done exploring, I was STARVING. I got a banana & papaya smoothie from a stand, which was absolutely DELICIOUS. Def going back to that stand again.

I started walking toward lunch, but I was still full from the smoothie so I went into a grocery store to pick up some stuff for breakfast (muesli, rice milk, apples). After that, I finally went to lunch at Anchan and got eggplant stir fry and rice.

After lunch, I walked over to a Thai massage place where all the masseuses are female ex-prisoners. The 1-hour traditional Thai massage cost 200 baht, which is about $6. It was AMAZING. I want one again… I think I’m going to be addicted.

After the massage, I went back to the hostel to drop off my stuff and worked on the podcast a bit more. Then around 6:30 I left to get dinner at a nearby restaurant, Imm Aim. I got green curry with sweet potato naan. It was ok, not my favorite. I think other stuff on the menu is much better, because everyone in the restaurant kept saying how good their food was.

After dinner I went to 7 Eleven and got a popsicle made with coconut cream and black bean. I am OBSESSED with this popsicle company– they make various coconut cream-based popsicles with different flavors, like mango, mangosteen, black bean, coconut, etc. Every single one I’ve had has been delicious. I can’t find the brand on the internet, but I’ll take a picture next time.

I got back to the hostel and decided to give socializing a go. I got a beer from the lobby and went to the front yard area where everyone was hanging out (it’s essentially where every one hangs out in the evening before going out to the bars). I sat down next to an Aussie guy, and we had a really good conversation about meditation, travel, American culture, music, etc. Everyone left around 10 pm to go to the bars, but I stayed back and just chilled with the Aussie guy and another Irish guy. We talked for a few more hours, and then I went to bed around midnight.