Bangkok – our first stop

This huge city is where we started our adventure in Thailand. It all started very smooth. We arrived at the airport after our 26 hours journey from Wolfsburg to Frankfurt (Main) by train, then by plane with a turnover somewhere in China where we got our passports stamped and another change of planes in Guangzhou (close to Hong Kong). We were happy to arrive somewhere and took a cab (with meter which is something quite special in Bangkok) to our hotel in the middle of Bangkok’s party district. Nevertheless it was quite quiet, so we didn’t have problems with sleeping at all. One of the nice benefits of this hotel was the roof top pool which I loved for morning swimming.

Our flight route

Roof top pool

We stayed in Bangkok for three nights and einjoyed the spirit of the city with all its markets (food, clothes, …), the river, the nice temples. But after three days and enough people asking us whether we would like to have a taxi, a tuk tuk (small motorbike carriages) or whatever we were quiet happy to get out of the loud and busy atmosphere. This big city with it seemed like no traffic rules and people everywhere was quite stressing.

Der liegende Buddha

Wat Pho

Buddha-Figuren

Here are some impressions of what we did:

One day, we met a friend of mine who I am studying with in Flensborg. She has just did her semester abroad on Bali and was by then travelling more of Asia together with her boyfriend. It was really fun to meet known faces so far away from home.

Friend meeting

One adventure I really want to share with you is our adventurous trip with one of the tuk tuks. You can read in every travel guide that Thai people usually don’t talk with tourists on their own initiative and if they do, they want to sell you something even if it’s not obvious. Well, we tried earlier to hire a tuk tuk for the pick up of our train tickets that we have booked in advance but no tuk tuk driver wanted to drive us there for a fair price which is why we took a cab. Anyways, on this day we wanted to go and see the big temple area. As it wasn’t far away from us we walked there. On the way there an old Thai, who said about himself that he was a professor at the university, talked with us. He asked us how long we have been in Bangkok and seemed to have a good knowledge about the sightseeing sights which we appreciated (while not thinking about the warnings in the travel guides). He told us that if we would like to he could call us a tuk tuk driver and tell him what we want to see, so that he could drive us there for a really fair price of 50 Baht/1,50$US per person (which should have alarmed us). We thought shortly about it and accepted the offer. Here the real adventure began. We went to see the kings temple, a really beautiful one, and the tuk tuk driver was waiting for us. When we returned to the tuk tuk he said that he would need to go to the toilet but we could wait there. Now a new player came into the game. A door of the car next to our tuk tuk was opened and the nice Thai who was also talking with us was asking us where we are going. He recommended to go to a very secret Silk shop where the producing factory of Armani suits was having an extra selling deal right now (and only now). It was also possible to get the Armani member card and today was the last day. We were already a little confused and not sure where we have landed here. Next stop: silk shop. As Tobi was in the „I-might-buy-a-suit-mood“ we talked quite a while with them but then left the shop. Our driver waited and next we went to see the marble temple. The drive itself was a also real adventure with driving so close to cars and holding on tight to not fall out of the tuk tuk. After this temple he wanted to take us to another shop and we begged us to just go inside and stay for 5 minutes because then he would get his gas coupon. We decided to leave the tuk tuk driver, paid him the 50 Baht and found our way back into the city center alone. This trip was so exhausting! But also a cheap way to ride a tuk tuk and see some sights.

Besides this adventure, we loved the little soup kitchens everywhere on the street which sell cheap but delicious Thai food. In Thailand eating in a restaurant doesn’t mean that you will get better food than on the street. Often the cook shops sell a smaller variety of dishes but are really good in what they do. Our favorites which are also in the top ten of Thai food are Pad Thai (fried noodles with egg and a sauce mix) and Som Tam (papaya salad with chili sauce). Also the fruit shakes and papaya, water melon and mango cut into pieces are great for having a quick, fresh, tasty and healthy snack.

Furthermore, we did a nice river trip on a regular ferry. Of course there are also tourist boats but they are much more expensive. And what is better than feeling somehow authentic while sitting next to locals and seeing the buildings on the side of the river passing by fast? Interesting is that in Thailand there are always secats reserved for the monks who might take the boat, sky train, etc. In Germany reserved seats are for disabled and oldish people or for pregnant women. I guess this is what they call different cultures, different behaviors and oh, this is soooo true.