Since I had not had time to go to the hairdresser prior to my departure, I decided to get it done on my first day in Bangkok. Trip Advisor suggested a hair salon in Siam Paragon mall, the home of luxury brands, so I went there. Just like normally they bleached the overgrown roots of my blonded hair. As it was being washed off, several hairdressers started talking in concerned voices while they kept putting more stuff onto my hair. Finally they gave me a mirror. I almost cried out when I saw my white and purple hair. It looked awful! In Thailand "loosing your face" in disputes between people is a serious matter, but despite that I could not let them try to fix their mistake. I thanked them and walked out without paying. I went straight to the next hair salon, where a regular Dutch customer assured me that they know how to handle Western people hair. To my relief, my hair got anti-damage treatment and new color. Five hours later I left the mall with a decent hair color and almost 200€ poorer.
Friendly local help
In order to get to my first actual destination, a rural camp North-East from Bangkok, I was supposed to take a train to a small city called Chang Khoi and from there continue on by taxi. After a three-hour-long sweaty trip in an uncomfortable 3rd class car I arrived in town. I had been walking for less than five minutes when I ran into a super helpful and talkative young man, Arni. He told there are no taxis there and he would not suggest a 20km-long motorcycle trip in the dark with two heavy backpacks. Instead he took me to a fancy resort, negotiated me a discount price there and promised to drive me to the camp the following day. So I enjoyed the evening sitting on my own deck by a pool and slept well in an air-conditioned villa. The next day Arni, his wife, son and friend offered me a delicious Thai lunch with numerous shared dishes, followed by special Vietnamese coffee. During my stay at the camp Arni visited me one day to see around and bring me supplies from a supermarket.
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