In some ways, Thai is an easy language. To emphasize the word you simply repeat it twice! It naturally comes into Thaiglish too. You want to order the soup as your neighbour: “Same same”, “What´s the price of this fruit?, and this?” “Same same”. The phrase is used so often that now it feels like essential part of “thainess”.

We’ve been nearly a month in Thailand, moving from place to place, staying somewhere a day, somewhere five. The initial surprise-culture shock phase passed. Now often a new middle sized town we end up to already seems similar to the previous one. Markets and temples. Same same. Still all the small events and details noticed by curious eyes make each of them different.

In Ayuthaya while wandering around ancient temple ruins, I was suddenly stopped by Indian looking tourist “Do you meditate?”, “Hm, no, just walking around and photographing”, “Aaa, I thought you were Buddhist”, “???”,”Your orange bag, orange T-shirt and orange scarf…” Yep, if Buddhism were only the colour we’re certainly becoming more Buddhist. I even got an orange hat now!

A small town of Lopburi is a town of monkeys. You are ready to cross the street and there is one clever one crossing the street on her four legs looking around wisely for cars and then jumping quickly across all the lanes. Nice change of view after all stray dogs everywhere.

Phitsanulok was defined for us by “Hotel London”. Yep the place certainly was a hotel, but maybe 20 years ago. Now big wooden room doors like entering a wardrobe, faces looking from “antique” pictures in the dark corridor and cute lizards in a shower make it feel like a place where you might meet some ghosts. Though, we didn’t meet any, boring.

Chiang Mai – a busy second Thai city, full of foreigners, burger places, guesthouses, huge second hand book shops (with books in whatever languages, no Lithuanian though), canals, organic cafes, bustling night markets and uniformed schoolchildren on scooters. Doesn’t look authentic Thai from first glimpse, but then you get lost for hours in these curvy small streets, half empty in hot midday and you start understanding why so many people love it.

Chiang Rai – full of French and rain, with a great art gallery – tea bar, nearly like the one I wish to have one day. Being trapped in a night market by rain, Swedish bakery, huge gold shining clocks in the roundabouts and the cosiest little guest house so far…

If there was only one thing to distinguish Thai towns it could be their Tuk tuks. The common ones having only two seats for passengers in a busy Bangkok, the elegant shaped ones looking nearly like sport cars in historical Ayuthaya, pedalled rickshaw type ones in smaller simpler places. And just big songthaews (covered pick up trucks used as a public transportation) showing more practical face of some towns.

So you don’t get bored. Even if after some time it all becomes a bit same same, it’s still different. Like the soup that you had yesterday, but it’s somehow spicier today.

I would still appreciate you giving a comment when I’m writing something silly. Or I AM a silly person doing grazy stunts sometimes, but just when it comes to misspelling. ;-) That’s how I’m learning, trough feedback. I’m native finnish.

Finnish speaking readers can check my Wanderlust in finnish