This first day in Chiang Mai started all too bright and early due to jetlag. Having only managed to fall asleep around 2 and then waking up, wide awake at 5:30, this is not my favourite sleeping pattern However, at 8:30 I had agreed to meet my internship supervisor at the Le Meridien. As the hotel is at 100% occupancy most of which double or even triple occupancy due to the Chinese New Year celebration, breakfast was extremely busy, filled with mostly Chinese guests. I was parked at the bar and invited to eat from the breakfast buffet, which had an amazing assortment of European and Asian breakfast dishes. Calmly eating my breakfast I met a few of my future colleagues and some of the hotel's management staff. I also had the perfect opportunity to just sit and look around and observe the hotel. I love to do this as it really gives me a good feeling of the atmosphere and daily operations at the hotel. When the breakfast flow slowed down to a trickle I sat down with my supervisor for a nice chat. He told me all about the F&B department, introducing me to some more colleagues and informing me of some of the most important aspects of the Thai culture which I will need to adhere to.

After my meeting with my supervisor, I had a meeting with the trainee supervisor, she was the one that picked me up from the airport and had dinner with me. However, she was running a little late and so I met her trainee. A very nice Thai girl who unfortunately spoke very little English, but she did take me to the fitting of my uniform, which was painstakingly embarrassing. My body size in not exactly suited to Asian standards and sizes and therefore everything I tried on tended to be on the small size, regardless, we found something that just about fit. The lady in charge of the uniforms also spoke no English and so I am not sure whether the measurements she took were purely for fun or if she will be altering the uniform. I sincerely hope the later, otherwise I will be walking around for the next six months with a tad on the short side uniform

Upon finishing the fitting I was shown back to the waiting room and waited for the HR department and the trainee supervisor. The HR department still needed some documents from me to apply for a Thai Work Permit. The trainee supervisor then showed me around the behind the scenes, what I do with uniform, where I can change, etc. On Monday she will give me a bigger introduction and tour.

In the afternoon I had to be back at the HR department as I was to be taken to the hospital for a medical check-up needed for the Work Permit. I was taken by one of the HR employees and her trainee. In the car I was told that I would need to have my blood taken for a full work-up, chest x-ray and… A urine AND stool sample… This proved harder than expected The hospital was surprisingly clean and orderly. It took no time at all to get everything done and despite the staff speaking almost no English they were very nice. I have to say, it is quite an experience sitting in the doctor's office and needing an interpreter. The trainee would accompany me to every station and do the translating as her English was actually very good. The doctor, an elderly gentleman, I think did speak some English, as he would sometimes say something, and he would carefully make sure that the trainee translated everything he said, if she missed something out, he would gently tell her to translate.

In the evening I just took a stroll around the area. My hotel is located on what they call the "girlie" street. A street filled with bars which in turn are filled with middle aged to older European 'gentlemen' making use of the overly friendly Thai girls. There are also some bars with the "other" gender in Thailand, the transgender guys. This streets leads to the busiest street in town, at least at night as it then transforms into the Night Bazar.

Unfortunately I am still very much affected by jet lag, and however much I try not to, I tend to fall asleep during the day for a few hours and at night can barely get some sleep.