Bangkok pt. 1 - Day 1

It's funny how the mind changes and acts differently when you're travelling. And it always begins with a simple idea. Soon enough the idea becomes a plan, and before you know it, you're booking a flight. And once you click that last button to confirm your entries, the mind starts travelling already. With every day it gets harder to concentrate on anything else. Inevitably you start researching stuff about the country, the city, the place you're visiting. 

Today I'm not gonna be arriving in Bangkok yet, but since this is where my trip begins, I'd like to include it anyway. The morning started easy. I woke up at 8:30 and the sun was shining, almost as if the day had been waiting to be filled with action. And my first act after washing up was going out to get fresh bread. I don't like the old lady clerks at Bäckerei Oebel, which is right around the corner, so more often than not I choose to walk a bit further and get my Sesambrötchen at Kamps.

After breakfast I met Tobs in front of Optik Kirchberger, and I'm always, always glad to see this guy. We drove up to Bassam and Lucci's ice cream joint. When we walked in, Bass was busy as always, serving a bunch of kids, but somehow he seemed a bit troubled today. We had coffee and ice cream and talked about this and that. And once more I thought about how great my friends are. They start doing good shit and they keep doing it, moving forward with every single day.

Back at home I finally started throwing together some stuff. I ended up with a carrier bag, a skateboard bag and a backpack. I took the 18:29 to Köln and had six minutes to get from Gleis 1 to Gleis 5. It wasn't a problem, but I did have to skip the coffee that I wanted to get for the ride. I arrived at the airport and I knew where I was. I mean, of course I knew where I was, but it didn't feel weird. I knew which way to go without looking at the signs. And I really enjoyed pretending to be a person who knew his way around airports because he traveled a lot.

I gave up my slightly overweight luggage and hesitated at the giant McDonald's sign above my head. I was sort of hungry, but I had some bakery goods in my backpack, so I walked on through the passport check and baggage control. After that I didn't have to wait long till bording time. I ate my Schweineohren, listened to an old Nina Simone album and scribbled around while watching my fellow travelers. So many people, so many destinations. And that's how my journey began.