Having arrived in Lampang from Si Satchanalai quite late I took a songthaew to reach the Hotel Kim City. It was not my first choice and a bit expensive but had a room for the night (the rest was fully booked). I checked in and had to hurry up. Hans Peter, an old friend of my sister, was waiting for me. He picked me up with his motorbike. And here I was, sitting on the back of the bike with a swiss guy who has been living in Thailand now for quite a lot of years.
We went to the restaurant of his wife Anong. She has just opened this restaurant a couple of days ago and invited me for a fab dinner. Hans Peter grew up in Basel/Switzerland, spent some years living in Canada before he moved to Thailand about 15 years ago. I am always fascinated to talk to people that have spent parts of their live abroad - not by just travelling but also earning their living somewhere. They are so much more open minded and have a different perspective of live. It was an amazing evening with great discussions about live in general, Thailand, love, religion...... I have learned a lot about the thai way of live and about buddhism. I think, I can now understand Thailand and the thais a lot better than before. The evening passed much to fast and when Hans Peter brought me back to the hotel I spontanously decided to stay 1 more day in Lampang. Originally, I had just planned a short stopover and just wanted to say "Hallo". But I felt like staying a day longer.
I was lucky to be able to change my hotel and went to the Riverside Guesthouse which is managed by the belgian-italian owner Lorenza. It has a sweeping location at the river with a huge terrasse and it is also quite centrally located. I walked around the bustling little town of Lampang and quite liked it. The market was nice and I visited a little chinese temple. For lunch I went back to Anongs restaurant and could enjoy some more great food. Hans Peter joined me, but had to hurry away as he had to organize something with his Visa. In the afternoon, I walked around town with Hans Peter. Lampang has a really good vibe with lots of old chinese trade houses.
Hans Peter also gave me a local SIM card, so it will be a bit easier for me to make hostel reservations in the future. Very nice of him! Later we sat down for a talk in a great cafe called Koffeebook (facebook.com/KoffeebooK). Wow, that was a Kiwi Smoothie! For dinner, of course, we went back to Anong. For lovers of Thai food - you really must go there: MG by Kafé, 119 Pongsanuk Road, Tamboon Wiangnuea, 5200 Amphoe Muang Lampang or just „in front of Moban Apartment“. Again it was a long night out and a short sleep. I enjoyed the next morning on the terrasse of the guesthouse and, as the internet did not work, I went to the Koffeebook again, checked my mails and enjoyed an amazing capuccino. Hans Peter came along to give me some food for my trip to Chiang Mai. How lovely is that! Amazing. I had a great time in Lampang - this time, without any tourist activities but with great discussions and lovely people. Thanks a lot Hans Peter and Anong!
And there I was, on a bus to Chiang Mai! More adventures to come....