Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? Everyone loves strength, but do you love me for my weakness? That is the real test. – Alain de Botton

There are numerous lies and truths of backpackers that are found to be both humorous and absolutes–typically these statements have every intention of being nothing short of the truth, but it seems that as soon as they are uttered verbally it is almost a guarantee that you will be participating in the opposite actions of these statements. I know there are hundreds but these are just a few that come to mind.

Being woken up from a deep sleep, we arrive in Chang Mai just after 5:30am. Groggy and in a haze, we somehow manage to grab a taxi and make it to our hostel, MD House in the center of the city. We are pleasantly surprised to notice that this hostel has not one, but two swimming pools and includes a free proper breakfast with our stay. Since the lantern festival has caused the cities population to swell, we feel very fortunate to have been able to book a place in the city limit and with such great amenities. After checking in to our luxurious 3-bed private room with ensuite, cable television, and even a refrigerator, we are famished and head back past the small lobby and order some breakfast. Stuffing our faces like a fat kid in a donut shop, the speedy onset of exhaustion begins to creep in and we are down for the count for late-morning naps.
When I wake up, I notice I have a message from our Swiss friend Adrian who will be arriving early tomorrow morning and inquires if he can stay with us. It often amazes me how things continue to work out, not only for myself at times, but also for the other great friends I’ve made along the way. I tell him that because we hesitated in making a reservation for this festival that we were forced to book a 3-bedroom room and so we have plenty of space to welcome him.
