Do you ever have moments where you stop and think to yourself 'This would make a great opening scene in a murder movie, starring myself as the victim?'

Thirty minutes after touching down at Chiang Mai, that was my exact mindset. So many of my laidback Aussie friends and fellow travelers told me not to overplan my trip to Thailand, despite the fact I was traveling alone and I'm a massive scaredy cat. I listened to them and didn't book a flight or hotel until the day before I arrived in Bangkok. Then, I attempted to book via my newly acquired iPod Touch. Bad idea. My mother had insisted I book a hotel and not a hostel, and who was I to deny my lovely mother? Sure it was $30 a night versus $10, but didn't I deserve to at least spend my first night in a nice place?

I cross referenced my lonely planet with Agoda, a discount hotel website, and found a four star place in old city. When I was satisfied with my decision I searched for 'Imperial' and booked the first one on the list. Here's a tip for you: if you are traveling in Asia, don't assume there's only one place in a city that begins with Imperial. I immediately noticed not only that mistake, but also saw that the dates were for three nights rather than the one I had intended. Freaking iPod. Things only worsened when I read the guidebook on my way to Chiang Mai and saw that 'resort' means 'not in an urban area' in Thailand.

It took me 45 minutes to get to my hotel from the airport. I passed downtown in the first five minutes. Let me tell you, there's little more alarming than driving through a foreign place in the middle of the night and being lead into the middle of a Northern Thai forest by a small man who barely speaks English. I gripped my cell phone close and then realized... I had nobody to even call if I got kidnapped. What is 911 in this country? Why did I not research this before? Why did I think it would be so exciting to travel alone? Interrupting my thoughts was the driver: 'You are SO far from town. Far, far away.' Not helping, thanks little man. Finally, we turned onto a gravel-paved road, driving for another 15 minutes with the lovely comment 'the hotel even far from main road! too far.'

When I walked up to check in, a small animal tail scurried under a stack of papers at the reception desk. I asked the receptionist when the free shuttle they advertised would go into the city the next day, and she said 'Well if only one guest, whenever you want.' I'm sorry, what? I hoped it was a language barrier that had me thinking she just said I was the only guest in this massive place. If I hadn't been on the verge of hysterical tears, I knew I would have found my situation funny. The security man lead me to my room, which was not as close to the main house as I would have liked. This was becoming a theme. I broke down as soon as I walked in the door and then comforted myself by going to the restaurant where there is food, wifi, and hopefully, other guests. (No such luck on the latter). Unfortunately it is an outdoor restaurant, and I was in the middle of the forest. Mosquitoes have never been my friends, but they were even less welcome since three people I know caught dengue fever in the land of Thai. I weighed the importance of internet with 'bone break fever' and opted for Facebook and Gmail. Obvi.

Everything is scarier at night, especially for someone who slept with the light on until she went to college. Okay, okay, if I'm alone in a new place I still do it. The next morning, with a clearer head, I realized I was a victim of white girl problems. Poor little Lorena, stuck in a beautiful Thailand forest in a three star hotel with a queen bed, a balcony, and a full staff of the nicest and smiliest staff in the world. Wah, wah, wah. Don't get me wrong, I still left the hotel as soon as I could (ps there were other guests that had been hiding as a cruel joke against me) and am now at a friend of a friend's house equipped with bug spray and a moto-bike chauffeur to get me anywhere in the city. (Thanks Chris). So Mother Dearest, don't worry, I have new travel buddies and won't get kidnapped in Thailand or Laos. Can't make any promises for Cambodia though.

(Sidenote: I will write about Ireland and my family adventures there, but it deserves accompanying photographs as Ireland is beyond gorgeous and cannot be explained in just words. I will upload photos when I am bored and have heaps of time with a computer and internet. Which hopefully won't be until August 7, since I will be too busy whining about traveling from one paradise to another)