I joked with a couple of friends when getting ready for this trip that something, at some point, was bound to go wrong. Little did I imagine that the challenges would kick in so quickly, but hopefully my quota of bad luck is full for the time being. (I’m also currently surrounded by wood, in a house made from teak, so I have no trouble finding something suitable to tap when needed!)

Having left my home and cats in the safe hands of my housesitter, I set off to Heathrow only to be delayed at security for 15 minutes while BA staff debated whether or not I needed a visa for China. I was relieved when they reached the same conclusion as me: that most travellers in transit don’t need a visa.

I had a lovely champagne breakfast while waiting for my flight, but almost as soon as I got on board, the rib injury that I’ve had for the last month flared up and became very painful. The BA staff were amazing and did everything they could, including bringing me hot water bottles and painkillers. I didn’t have much of an appetite, so sadly had to miss my main course of lamb, but enjoyed the other dishes of lobster and ice cream as much as possible while trussed up in my seat like a bird with a broken wing. I watched the film ‘Priscilla’, about Elvis and his wife, but couldn’t really concentrate on it. Needless to say, collecting my two suitcases (one too many! will I ever learn?!) when I finally reached Shanghai was not pleasant, but I managed it somehow.

The airport was decorated with dragons and red lanterns in preparation for Chinese New Year. It was easy to find the shuttle bus to my hotel, ‘Joyful Yard’, near the airport. I arrived to find that they’d only charged me for the second night but provided early check-in for free. A lot of hotels elsewhere in the world could learn from some of the customer service that I encountered in China! The hotel was nothing fancy but was clean and modern; ideal given that I spent most of the day resting. I unfortunately had to miss the Shanghai food tour that I’d booked for the evening and ended up having KFC nearby, as it was the easiest menu to navigate and the weather was freezing.

I had a very early start the next day, Tuesday morning, for my flight to Chiang Mai. I’m glad I didn’t know beforehand the security nightmare that awaited me. My bags were scanned first of all when entering the terminal (twice, as I went to the wrong terminal the first time, which was entirely my fault). I then had to pay nearly £100 to check in my two suitcases, which was expected but still annoying. I’ll spare you the gruesome details of the bag checks that followed, except to say that my larger suitcase and my hand luggage were both unpacked, searched thoroughly and repacked twice each. The individual security guards were helpful enough but the whole system was a frustrating, dystopian nightmare. I ended up having to run for the flight and only just made it, promising myself never to attempt transitting through China again.

Things began to look up when I arrived in a much warmer Thailand and was met by our lovely host, Craig. I came back to the amazing teak house on the banks of the River Ping to drop off my things and catch up with my family, before Craig took me to the hospital to get my rib injury looked at at long last. The whole experience at the hospital was outstanding and put the NHS to shame. I saw a doctor almost immediately, had a chest X-ray and was prescribed medication, all for the grand total of less than £40. It’s early days but I’m already starting to feel better.

I had a lovely relaxing day yesterday, settling into life in Chiang Mai. The house has two wooden platforms, with a great view of the river and the occasional fisherman fishing from the shore or a long, narrow boat. I brought some watercolour paints (and a small cross-stitch project) with me and spent some time yesterday sketching and then beginning to paint the view. I’m not happy with it yet but hopefully will be by the time I’ve finished it.

I went to central Chiang Mai in the afternoon with my family and we had a lovely late lunch/snack and walk around the city centre. We briefly visited a beautiful temple with plenty of dragons, but had to leave when the monks closed it for the day at sunset. We found a restaurant for dinner via a couple of drinks in the Sky Bar and a visit to one of the many shops selling cannabis, which is now legal here. The location for dinner was a little lacklustre, as we missed out on the rooftop terrace, but the food was surprisingly good. We had mostly Thai dishes including delicious grilled chicken, prawns served in a variety of ways, and two large bowls of edamame beans.

That’s nearly all for now! I just wanted to add that I’m aiming in this blog to focus on the most interesting things, rather than giving you an hour-by-hour breakdown of everything I do – but if I’ve missed anything important, please leave a comment and let me know!

Current cross-stitch progress