Shell programming must be the most depressive waste of time out there, and if only because things sometimes just don't work the way you'd expect from a scripting language. Take the following simple examples in bash (3):

for i in 1 2 3; do
  echo $i
  exit 1
done
echo END
==> 1
echo -e "1\n2\n3"   while read i; do
  echo $i
  exit 1
done
echo END
==> 1
==> END

WTF? The result of the first -- the whole script exits entirely after the first iteration -- is what I expect. After all, I did not call break, but exit. The result of the second is totally unexpected. I understand that for and while each execute their iterations in a subshell, but why don't these behave in the same way? The fix here is a exit $? following the done keyword. Urks! Here's another one: the task is simply to output the number of 1's in the output (yeah, I realise grep -c can do this too):

cnt=0
echo -e "2\n1\n3\n1"   while read i; do
    case $i in
      1) cnt=$((cnt + 1));;
    esac
  done
echo $cnt
==> 0

The reason? The while subshell receives a copy of the caller environment, so when it updates $cnt, it only updates a copy of the actual variable, leaving the original untouched. Similarly, a variable defined inside the subshell won't be available after the while loop is done. I cannot find a fix that's not bash specific. Of course, it works fine when I replace the while loop by a for loop:

cnt=0
for i in 2 1 3 1; do
    case $i in
      1) cnt=$((cnt + 1));;
    esac
  done
echo $cnt
==> 2

Great, isn't it? And I am not surprised that zsh gets it right. Why would anyone actually want to use bash? Update: here's Joey's explanation for the behaviour, and Clint's account for why zsh does it right. I still can't figure out how to count the 1's. Update ^2: Axel Liljencrantz sent in this message. Update ^3: Alexander Sieck showed me that process substitution ("<(command)") instead of the pipe does work (for both cases):

while read i; do
  echo $i
  exit 1
done < <(echo -e "1\n2\n3")
echo END

Of course that's nowhere near POSIX compliance... Update ^4: my solution, which allows for spaces in the lines:

IFSOLD=$ IFS:- 
IFS='
' # yes, a newline
for i in $(the_command): do
  IFS=$IFSOLD
  ...
done

What a hack!

I spent my last evening in Yangon at "Sandy's Myanmar Cuisine", a wonderful restaurant (albeit a little pricey, I paid $10 for appetiser, main dish, and two beers) overlooking the Kandawgyi lake, attached to the Yangon Kandawgyi Palace hotel; dinner was duck eggs filled with minced prawns, followed by boiled snake-head fish, wrapped in moringa leaves. Quite delicious, although I would have really liked to try their pig ear salad, but they rightfully alerted me that their pig ears weren't fresh. Afterwards, I treated myself to perhaps the second-best back massage I've ever received (the first one was delivered by a massage therapist from Berkeley, whom I had met on the boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang last year. Before the airport the next morning, I made a stop at the Yangon MICT, specifically the Myanmar Info-Tech company, to meet William, the Myanmar Linux Guru #1. Unfortunately, he was busy at the 5th Myanmar ICT week, so I sat in one of the talks instead and was very pleased to learn that there is an active (but small) group of people working hard on localisation of Pango to the Burmese and Pali languages (the latter being the ancient Buddhist language, and the acceptance of the Burmese character set into Unicode 4.0. I exchanged email addresses with a few of the folks involved, who were well familiar with Debian and Ubuntu, and rather interested in teaming up. I'll forward their addresses to the localisation people as soon as I get back. With still some time left before check-in, I enjoyed my last Myanmar-style breakfast -- Mohinga -- which is a spicey fish soup with noodles, and definitely the best way to start the day; I'll miss it. At the airport, I was getting mildly annoyed once again at their security procedures, which in part required everyone to surrender their gas lighters. Of course, I had four of those on me and in my hand luggage, but when I refused to give them all of them, pointing to the smoker's lounge on the far side of the security check, they held their heads low and gave in. I bet they do this primarily to sell the lighters for some cash on the side, given that nowhere else in Myanmar, or flying to Myanmar, I was asked to do the same. My chaotic self managed to also leave the info brochure from the Info-Tech company, as well as the slides from the talks at the immigration counter, which promptly got me into a questioning by the military as to what kind of documents these were (they cannot speak English in general). With the help of a local, I told them all about localisation and they seemed impressed, but when I finally got on the plane, I guess I felt somewhat of a relief to be outside this tightly-controlled country again. I landed in Bangkok and took a taxi to the hotel, only to discover that thanks to a power outage and the crappy Internet connection back in Mandalay, I had managed to book the wrong one. Instead of central Sukhumvit, I am now staying at Soi 57, which is 4 km further outside of the city. That wouldn't be a problem, for the sky train station is right in front of the hotel, but the staff have not had a lesson in friendliness and generally barked back rather than answering my requests. Plus, since my flight tomorrow is only at 23:30 and I requested to take a shower at 20:00 before taking off (having otherwise checked out and cleared my room), they simply shoved a sign into my face which stated that check-out after 16:00 hours would cost a full day's room rate, and that they did not have any showers available otherwise. Screw that. I'll make sure to let asiarooms.com know in the form of a review. Having settled, and with a bunch of Thai Baht left to spend, I headed for the center, bought myself another Murakami book ("Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World"; I seriously love this author), and then proceeded to spend money as fast as I could -- and I am not good at that. I got another massage, bought some bamboo plates and one of those gravity-defying wine bottle holders, a bunch of DVDs, had dinner, and then didn't feel like anything more, so I went back home. As usual, coming back to Bangkok is quite a disappointment (while arriving at Bangkok at the beginning of a trip is a thrill). The city is busy, dirty, and noisy, it's all comparatively expensive (even if you bargain hard), and people are so much more into making money that it's not really possible to get in touch with locals. Then again, I cannot figure out whether my disappointment stems from the shopping mode (into which I was put by several requests to bring back stuff), this being the end of my vacation, or just being back in a metropole after so many rural days. Almost no plans for tomorrow. I might have to make my way to the dreadful Khaosan Road to pick up some student IDs for friends, I would like to (finally) see the snake farm, and I have a lunch appointment with the retail manager of Jim Thompson (the famous silk exporter), who happens to be a friend of Adam, the guy I met in Mandalay, and who introduced me to her -- no worries, I am not getting into the silk business, nor will I spend money there, but the lady is supposed to be quite a character and fun to talk to. Why not? If I wake up, it'll be Tai Chi in Lumpini Park at around 5:30, and if there's time in the afternoon, I'll make my way up north to the biggest market of Bangkok (don't have the name handy). In general, not such an exciting day, waiting to return to Europe. Sigh.

I am scheduled to leave Inle today for Yangon; that is to say, I was scheduled to leave to Yangon on a noon-time flight, and despite confirmation yesterday, this morning the flight was cancelled. Fortunately, I managed to get one in the late afternoon, but instead of a direct flight, I have to go via Mandalay, Bagan, and then Yangon instead. Fun fun fun. This also means my stay here at Inle Lake is almost over, and I have not even seen the lake. That was a conscious decision, simply the weather is quite bad, rain in the morning, and a drizzle most of the afternoon, and without a view of the surrounding mountains, there really was little incentive to subject yourself to tourist treatment on a loud boat, while unable to move and getting soaked. Despite the weather, I did pass a rather pleasant day yesterday. I joined the crowd at my hotel on a trip to Taunggyi, from where they continued to Kalak; I didn't have much interest in seeing this place, so I was to stay in Taunggyi and catch a bus back. Before we got there, though, we stopped over at a vineyard run by a German, which serves three "okay" wines made from French Shiraz and Italian Musquat grapes, which they grow here in Myanmar. After a wine tasting at 8:00 o'clock in the morning, we continued to Taunggyi, where is was raining unpleasantly, so I had only a short stroll across the huge market, then set off to find the cheroot factory (cheroots are a local type of cigarettes; see below), as well as the Shan museum and library. Unfortunately, all three were closed for the day, it being Saturday and market day and all. If it hadn't been for a short encounter with the military, I would have to admit that my trip to Taunggyi was pointless. I have yet to find out what actually went on in Taunggyi, but it seems that some important government people got together, while the police and military secured the area around it. My bus was about to leave, so I insisted to go the direct route and found myself accompanied by five armed soldiers, walking in a pentagonal shape around me. As we passed the Pagoda with the convention, I dared to take a peek but was immediately commanded to keep my head straight and not look. I caught the bus in time and enjoyed a one and a half hour ride back to Nyaungshwe, the town in which I am staying, perched on a rather small pickup truck with 31 other passengers. I guess you have to see it to believe it, but this sort of mass transport is common in most Asian parts, especially India. I got back in time to run some errands (like post a little present to Eddy back in Pyin Oo Lwin) and met a canoe driver around 15:30 for a three hour ride among the canals running virtually everywhere in the town and through the rice fields. The first stop was another cheroot factory, where I was introduced to the art of rolling these local cigarettes. They use some rather coarse tobacco, roll it up in a bamboo leave, which is glued in place with glutinous rice. As filter, thin bamboo wood is rolled up tight and rolled together with the tobacco. It takes the women working at the factory around 15 seconds to make one cheroot; it took me almost 15 minutes to make one. :) We continued, and my driver was all too keen about showing off the peculiar rowing style developed by the Intha people (those who inhabit the lake and surroundings) to decrease the strain on their arms: they stand on one leg, hold the padel in the arm on the other side, wrap the other leg around it, and then kick the padel in and through the water, while keeping a good balance. I wanted to try, but the driver would not let me, and it's probably better that way or else I would have most likely gotten really wet. Returning from three hours of canoeing, my arms and back ached, and I was dreaming of a shower and a massage when I ran into the Portuguese globetrotter from Bagan by chance and we decided to have dinner instead. Ending a lengthy discussion with whiskey at around midnight, I struggled to find my way back home, the streets being completely unlit (we've been without power for a while), my torch back in the hotel, and the whiskey skewing my sense of direction. I did eventually find the hotel, must have passed it several times looking for the sign, and was all too ashamed to wake the owner to let me in. My plan for this morning was simply to sleep in, eat breakfast, then go to the airport, but the couple next door to my room forgot to take the snooze function off their alarm clock before going to breakfast at 6:00, and with bamboo walls, the sound carried perfectly well. But I considered it no biggie, got up, ate, headed for a massage, and then was lucky to have some time to make arrangements for my next flight, after discovering the one I was supposed to take had been cancelled. So now, with four hours to eat, I am happy to sample another serving of Shan delicacies, undecided between rice noodles with a semi-sweet seasoning of green tea leaves and peanuts, or a pumpkin curry with ginger. Tonight, I'll be in Yangon, and I am looking forward to this city, having heard many great stories, and with some good references in my pocket. As always, stay tuned.

I passed the remainder of yesterday essentially doing nothing, not even reading (I am trying to make Murakami's book, my last one, last as long as possible -- it's really good and has me thoroughly in its grip). So instead, I roamed the streets and observed people, tried talking to one or the other, but unfortunately did not get very far. What makes it all a little different is that the Burmese always say "ja" and shake their head, whether they've understood or not; effectively, this means paying attention that e.g. the motorcycle driver is going the right direction and aborting the trip as soon as you sense a misunderstanding (despite the convincing and assertive "ja"). Following breakfast (Bamar-style Mohinga, a noodle soup with seafood and unidentifiable cracker-thingies I'll just call corn flakes for now, vegetables or whatever else the cook decided to put in -- I've developed a strong liking to this dish in the morning), I took a taxi to the airport to board my flight to Heho, from where I would continue to Inle Lake. I still travel on a budget, so you may be surprised that I am hopping around the country with planes, but the $22 I had to pay for this trip (incl. taxes) and the 10 hours I saved compared to the $8 bus ride were well worth it to me. After all, I only had a few days in this country and tried to maximise the exposure I experienced. One thing is for sure: I will come back. Pwin Oo Lwin was nice, but I did not manage to go further east; A day in Mandalay is surely not enough. Bagan didn't do much for me, so I don't think I'll return there, but Inle, as well as the countless regions I skipped, including the pictoresque and untouched beaches, really make me want to plan my next trip now already. Arriving in Inle, it was raining, and the rains intensified towards noon. I am here to stay for two days, and the weather is unlikely to change, so after confirming that I could not take the next flight a day earlier, I bit the bullet, put on my rain jacket and sandals, rented a bike, and went off to visit the cultural museum, also known as the "Museum of Shan Chiefs" -- which was kind of disappointing. Set in a beautiful house (the sight of which was worth most of the $2 entrance fee), the items on display were scarce and almost exclusively labeled in Burmese. None of the folks working there seemed to be inclined to show me around, so after 20 minutes I left into the pouring rain, stopped by at a kitchen for a Burmese-style beef curry with jack fruit soup, and eventually returned to my hotel. I am staying at the Aquarius Inn, a cute place with simple and clean rooms, a cozy porch, and a little garden out front. The staff, a girl maybe a little younger than me, is very attentive and speaks good English, studies geography at university, and took a particular liking to making me feel good for the two hours I decided to flip pages in Murakami's book on the front, bringing me tea, fruits, and little snacks on a continuous basis, always with a huge smile on her face, and eager to help organising whatever I would want to do during my stay in Inle. But with the rain coming down non-stop, I am somewhat puzzled as to what I should do. The compulsory thing here is at least a day on a boat out on the lake, visiting floating villages, as well as the peculiar rowing style the people from this area developed -- using one arm and one foot instead of two arms --, hoping from floating market to floating market, and enjoying the scenery of the Shan hills surrounding the river. The Lonely Planet describes the places as a mirage. But with clouds and fod and water from above, it loses all its charm, and that's not because I fear getting wet. Not that I am bored or afraid of being bored, I'll just have to make sure to find some alternative programme, which could include spending the morning watching the market, reading, and talking to some fellow travellers who are in a similar situation as myself, but readily indulge in elaborate discussions on scientific topics, it seems. This much as an update. Internet access here is even more difficult than in Bagan, so all the other thoughts I meant to push out to this blog have to wait until Yangon, Bangkok, or Zurich. Thanks for reading along. PS: I don't think I'll travel with Lonely Planet again, it's just too inaccurate, and I disagree with their approach to research (e.g. not reconfirming facts researched a year before printing before the book goes to print), and happened upon too many errors this time around. Plus, I have sent them elaborate updates on four previous trips and have never heard a single word from them, no acknowledgement, thanks, nothing. Maybe I am spoiled by Open Source development. I have been recommended the Rough Guides, so I'll give those a shot for the trip to Debconf in Mexico.

I guess you could say I am now on the verge of tears, or at least have been for a while (and it's wearing off) -- since I came back from a little expedition on a horse cart around Bagan, visiting some of the poorest villages in the area to drop off a good share of the presents I still have with me (like marbles, balloons (latex ones, so biodegradable), soap bubbles, hair pins, fake jewellery, balls, and pens and paper), as well as a bunch of tubes of toothpaste, bars of soap, and bottles of shampoo, which I had picked up on the way just before. My sadness comes from two aspects of this experience. The first, which is minor because I had expected it, was simply to (once again) witness the conditions under which the poorest of the poor live: in bamboo houses together with their cattle and pigs (everyone here seems well aware of bird flu and have taken the appropriate precautions; the government apparently did a good job in educating its people), with trash and feces all over the place, kids with almost no clothing and the elderly obviously sick from a distance. But I've actually seen worse in Laos and expected it, so that wasn't the main source of my tristesse. What almost made my eyes water was rather the fact that in the first village of the two I managed today, my arrival and obvious wish to give out gifts resulted in fights among the kids, and in dishonest behaviour by some, while the mob was almost ready to run me over as everyone (including grownups) was stretching out the hand and grabbing at whatever I pulled out of my bag. Call me naive, but that part I did not expect. It's understandable, as for these people, anything makes a difference, sometime and existential one, but they are Bhuddist after all, and among the teachings of the Bhudda you can find such lines as "do not be dishonest", and its philosophy (which carries throughout many non-Bhuddist Asian countries) includes the rule to never lose one's face, which covers shouting or fighting. On my first trip to Southeast Asia -- Vietnam -- I reached some remote villages in the Tonkinese Alps in the country's north -- villages which where equally poor, but which were also quite detached from civilisation as found around larger cities. While money still served as the main means of exchange, it appears to have a much lesser meaning to the people, who are mostly self-sufficient to a point of independence from the government as far as you can get (I guess). In these villages, I also passed out presents, but never had an experience such as the one today (nor did we experience something of this sort in some of the villages in Laos, equally removed from the main lines of infrastructure). Rather than fighting for the gifts, the kids would share them. Rather than tears, the gifts brought smiles. It thus seems that civilisation as we know it causes the competition even among kids, and that's the part that fills me with sadness at the same time as it disillusions me quite a bit, because that kind of civilisation will inevitably spread. Going off on a tangent (without the intention to return), I have been thinking a lot about my "mission" in Myanmar, which was to bring clothing and medication, as well as gifts to the poor. While one could interpret this mission -- carrying more than 15 kg of "stuff" through the stifling heat -- as an altruistic act, I also cannot deny the selfish component, because I take great joy in helping people. If you recall, dropping off the clothing I had brought in a village a couple of miles outside of Pyin Oo Lwin didn't fill me with the satisfaction I had hoped to gain, mainly because I was obviously misinformed about Myanmar (btw: I am calling it Myanmar again, which is actually what locals use, unless they speak with tourists). Fortunately, however, I quite easily managed to accept that the mission was still a success for the people undoubtedly were helped quite a lot. If there is one thing I have learnt for sure this time around, then it's that I will return, sooner rather than later, and hopefully with a lot more goods than this time around. This trip has been self-funded, which is why I am also (trying to) spend most time on vacation. I could well imagine that the next time might see me just running the goods there and fly back after only a couple of days. Of course, there are no details, but keep this in the back of your heads (and pass it on), just in case you'd be willing to donate funds to finance the trip. This brings me to another, somewhat related topic, which I have been pondering ever since I arrived in Myanmar, and especially so after I met and talked to a Portuguese globetrotter, last night: the topics of beggars and how to support these countries in effective ways. Let me address those in turn, the second one first as it's more closely related to my braindump you just read (thanks for that), and because I am nowhere near a resolution and can thus sum it up in three sentences: even though individual aid trips, like the one I am on, are helping, I would guess their effectiveness to be quite low, and raising this effectiveness certainly requires a lot of effort and infrastructure. Thus, it may be more beneficial if I were to donate my will to help to an existing organisation already established and connected in the Southeast Asian countries. I am not talking Unicef and other, similar large organisations (some of which I do support already, and if only financially), but rather much smaller endeavours that concentrate on this area only -- surely the need for help exists in all developing countries, but I am most interested in helping Southeast Asia, for the people here have taught me so many valuable things that have changed my life. On the first topic -- beggars -- let me say this much: if you've been to developing countries, you know what I am talking about. If you have not, just imagine all sorts of people (but mostly poor-looking) coming up to you with their hand stretched out, saying "money, money" repeatedly and not respecting a "no" in any way. Any guide book advises you not to give any money, because it will increase the "nuisance" these beggars are to future tourists. But at one point during my time here, I was as far as giving a small amount to everyone who came up (unless there were more around, at which point it would just get out of control too fast) by reason that it doesn't hurt me a bit, and that despite the syndicates and other arguments against it, if you are actually helping one out of ten beggars, that's one more than zero. Since then, however, I've found some more compelling arguments, and the one that's been the most persuasive so far is that a beggar's success attracts more beggars, and while the guide books call that a "nuisance", the real problem is that these people come from villages to cities, from places where they are self-sufficient (at least in Myanmar with its vast resources) to places where they'll end up sleeping on the streets. Enough of that for now, you can be sure there will be more another time; on to something completely different: This is the first time I am travelling Southeast Asia while blogging, and I have very mixed feelings about it. First of all, Myanmar isn't the place for easy Internet access, so it's been quite painful to keep publishing (which was only possible thanks to the help of Hanspeter back at home; thanks), nor is it the place where you'd be inclined to spend a couple of pensive hours in front of the screen while serialising your thoughts into writing -- the power keeps coming and going every couple of minutes, and frequently the battery-backed power supplies most people have cannot bridge the downtime. But that's not the reason why I am not really too satisfied with my blog entries so far. I have found it difficult to write even in Thailand, where Internet access was excellent, and I guess it's mainly due to two reasons: first, there is too much going on outside and the fear of losing a minute of "street action" to these godaweful computers just keeps me from taking the time to think before writing. The second reason is related: impressions need time to settle, and I guess in some ways I do prefer very much to just "be", rather than experiencing with the objective to blog about it in the back of your head at all times (I am a geek after all, don't forget that). I guess I'll try it another time since having Aline along for the first part, and then being subjected to Myanmar's suboptimal information infrastructure, may be factors of larger value than I see them right now. By the way: this blog does not contain all of my writings while I am here, for obvious reasons, so there is more to come if you are interested, but not via this channel. I'll let you know. Now, on the boring side: I returned to the temples in the late afternoon yesterday and saw another three or four, before sprawling out on top of another in aspiration of the sunset to be Obscured By Clouds (which is when I talked to the aforementioned globetrotter for an hour or so). I did find that after all, Bagan didn't have much in store for me, having seen some of the temples at Angkor. The scenery is breathtaking, and some temples are really astonishing views, but as soon as you get on the inside, they are mostly walls and Bhuddas, one similar to the others, and thus quite unlike to what I'd seen in Angkor last year. Since I am also not the type of guy to go off meditating for a day in a remote location, or take my book far away to read in peace, I think that this one day between the temples was enough for me. Maybe the temperature did play a role too, but there was no question for me: I was to do something else the next day (which is today), rather than go out again on that horse cart. I thus joined up with some Australian travellers on their overland way to their new home, London, and hired a taxi to Mount Popa, home of the 37 Nats (spirits) which are closely knit into the Burmese culture. After a 25 minute climb up steep stairs, I found myself again disappointed by a somewhat dirty and absolutely non-pretty stupa on the top of the hill. The view (and temperature) was great though, so no hard feelings, but also no time lost to head back to the hotel, to get on with the village hopping I had planned for the afternoon. Tomorrow morning I am leaving for Hohe and Inle Lake, where it'll be much cooler (or so they say). Stay tuned. PS: And of course, Murakami's novel is not called "Kafka at the Beach", as I wrote in yesterday's entry, but "Kafka on the Shore". I guess it must have been yesterday's intense heat causing that Freudian slip. Anyway, the book is truly captivating and I am afraid I'll zoom through those 600 pages faster than I'd like, given that it's the last of the books I brought. Hopefully I'll find something to pick up on the way that's not Agatha Christie, Dan Brown, Jane Austen, or the other wonderful writers of entertainment fiction, which I'd rather not read even if you paid me for it.

After three days of intensive city soaking, it was little surprise that Saturday and Sunday nights brought cats and dogs down from the sky, almost as if St. Peter up there also wanted to play along at the Songkhran festival, but came late. Preceeded by strong winds, the rain on Saturday caused everyone to hurredly pack up their booths, leaving the wonderful markets deserted that night. Fortunately, Sunday's rain wasn't so strong, and the famous Sunday night market in Chiang Mai did take place after all -- when the first showers had settled, almost all merchants came back out onto the road and the shopping could continue. I witnessed a funny moment on the market in the afternoon: the speakers, which are installed on almost all lamp post and sometimes blast horrid music onto the streets, started playing the national anthem. In response, everyone stood up and still for its duration, almost as if time had been frozen. When the last chord stroke, the the people continued at what they were doing and the familiar buzz was quickly restored. We spent yesterday in cooking school, the same one I had been to a year before: the "Thai Chocolate Cookery Centre", which I can recommend to anyone. I chose this place again because I did not want to run the risk of ending up at one of the tourist ripoff places, but next time I shall try a different one; apparently there's a cooking school outside the city on a farm, where yuo get to harvest all herbs and fruits yourself prior to the cooking, instead of the market tour commonly done in the beginning of the day. On our way home, stuffed after 8 dishes of Thai food spread throughout the whole day, we stoped by our guesthouse from last year: the "Chiang Mai Garden Guesthouse", to say hello to the owner, Pissamorn. I was happy to find her remembering me, and all the more happy when she honestly advised us not to try "just any bamboo rafting" -- I had been spoiled by the trek she organised for us last year, which involved a morning of bamboo rafting down a river from the middle of the jungle, which you cannot reach by car. I have no problem believing her that the other travel agencies which organise rafting trips dump you just somewhere along a road on slower rivers with a far less beautiful scenery. Unfortunately, neither time nor the heat really allow us to go on the three day trip through the jungle, so we postponed the rafting to our next trip. Nevertheless, I feel very good about having Pissamorn as a reliable contact in Chiang Mai, for future trips, and in case of any problems! She also referred us to a Thai silk factory and told the owner to treat us with respect, so today (Monday), we let them pick us up and placed an order for a bunch of comfy trousers, and some silk button-down shirts; Aline got herself a nice blouse and a wonderful dress. We now have two and a half days left in Chiang Mai and have no real plans. A 1-2 day trip to Pai still seems like an option, but it's supposed to be unbearably hot up there. We'll see. A keep having recurring thoughts about my dream to move to Southeast Asia (Hanoi, to be exact) to start a computer school, and even though there are no concrete plans yet, I feel like my motivation to finish the Ph.D. rather sooner than later is on a steep incline. I could imagine tearing down my "tents" in Switzerland and to go to Vietnam for half a year or a year of language school, then see whether I manage to meet the right people to allow me to set up an existence. Alongside the computer school, my dream includes visions of a nice and comfy guesthouse where you get what you pay for, concentrating on quality rather than quantity, which by the way is what the Chiang Mai Garden Guesthouse seems to be doing. For me, that's the only way to go about anything if you want success and satisfaction, be it consulting, teaching, or a guesthouse in Asia. Again, thanks for reading along.