Bangkok Reloaded - New Corners

On Saturday evening, we arrived by bus from Koh Tao back to our (not) beloved Bangkok... On Khao San Road, we were greeted by thousands of vendors and loud music, making it impossible to understand a word... Maybe one day, we will make friends with this street, but definitely not tonight after a long and stressful journey. We hailed a taxi and went to our hotel. For the last 3 nights in Asia, we treated ourselves to something better, so we slept soundly in our cozy beds.

The next morning, a delicious breakfast buffet awaited us. Tina had caught a cold overnight, which would get worse over the next few days, but we didn't want to sit idle in the hotel for the last leg of our journey... So we plunged into the hustle and bustle of the Chatuchak Weekend Market to browse around and get some souvenirs. Navigating this huge market was not easy at all! In about 5 hours, we couldn't even see a third of it. It was also a good thing that after an hour, we realized that we didn't have enough cash and had forgotten our credit card... Taking a taxi back was too far, expensive, and complicated. So, we had to come up with a system, which is why we first circled the market, marked everything on the map that interested us, and then took a second round to buy what we could afford. We are such experts... After that, our feet hurt, we were sweaty, annoyed, and the sun was unbearable. We had saved some Thai baht for the return trip, but no one wanted to take us! Apparently, taxi drivers often find it too inconvenient to speak English, they don't want to make money, they don't follow our navigation, or they simply don't know our hotel (okay, it's pretty new and unknown, but it's on one of the biggest and most important streets in Bangkok). Public transportation in this city is so disorganized and annoying for a metropolis!

In the evening, we actually wanted to visit another night market, but this time it was a hidden gem recommended by a friend of Carsten's sister (Thanks, Lisa!). The New Rot Fai Market was really cool, relaxed, a bit hipster, with different stands than usual, a big street food market, and a chilled pub scene for young locals around it - perfect and the complete opposite of our afternoon program! We bought a few small things, enjoyed various types of food, and had a big beer with a view over the market stalls. Suddenly, we noticed that the vendors were packing up much earlier than we thought... Luck didn't seem to be on our side that day, and the things we had remembered were already sold out. >Note to ourselves: If you like something, buy it right away or let it go! The same opportunity often doesn't come again...< Nevertheless, it was a very nice evening that showed us that Bangkok can also have beautiful and hip corners :)

We needed some morning exercise, so we jumped into the pool before breakfast. Refreshing and it wakes you up immediately ;) After that, we embarked on the long, complicated, and arduous journey with public transportation to a new hidden gem: an airplane graveyard in the middle of the city! "Middle" doesn't necessarily mean easily accessible or nearby in Bangkok... But eventually, we arrived there.

On a small plot of land with old decommissioned airplanes (or rather fragments of them), a few families live in and around the airplane parts. Of course, this is not an official sightseeing spot, but we were grateful that no one else was there besides us. Naturally, the families ask for a small "fee" to enter the area, but that's okay. The photos were definitely cool :) Depending on how you get there, you should consider whether you want to make the journey.

Afterwards, we searched for a bus stop somewhere, where our very rare bus was supposed to stop. Eventually, we sat in one, but it looked anything but trustworthy... At least it had a retro wooden floor... However, there was so much traffic in the streets along the university and several construction sites that we would have arrived faster on foot. Tina was shaken by severe coughing spells, and at one point, we actually considered getting off, but then we stayed on the bus and survived the ride with the help of candies. After the bus had been making weird noises the whole time, it finally came to a complete stop. The bus driver opened the seat next to him, revealing a steaming engine, and then tried to fix the problem with a decorative ribbon from the bus... It somehow worked, and we were able to continue for a bit. However, we decided on the spot to get off at Lumpini Park.

At Lumpini Park, you can relax a bit and many locals go jogging there, and there are a lot of monitor lizards (for some reason). We wanted to see them anyway, and with Carsten's sharp eyes, we spotted several of them. They are interesting creatures, and they come in all sizes. We also hoped to find something to eat there, but the food court was closed and nothing was open. Since we were quite hungry since breakfast, we decided to go to the next hidden gem, a great restaurant in Chinatown. When we finally found it, we were greeted by closed doors. Somehow, we were having a bit of bad luck today... So we went back to the hotel, freshened up, dressed nicely, and enjoyed our last evening in Southeast Asia.

After a quick dip in the pool (you have to make the most of what you've paid for ;) ), we put on our tailor-made outfits, reserved a table at a trendy sky bar, and took a taxi there. Even the hotel staff who tried to arrange the taxi for us faced the same difficulties as us, as many drivers refused to take us there. It seems that we always choose the wrong destinations... Finally, one driver agreed to a high price, and we actually arrived there.

We took the elevator to the 32nd floor of the Above Eleven Skybar, and what can we say, the view over the Bangkok skyline was breathtaking! After enjoying an unusual cocktail at the bar, our table became available, and we could choose our dinner from a special Peruvian-Japanese menu on the edge of the abyss. It was pricey, but we thoroughly enjoyed this amazing dinner on our last evening! Afterwards, we couldn't resist having a second cocktail and reminiscing about the past 11 weeks.

Tired, we dragged ourselves out of bed in the morning, as we had to pack and distribute all our belongings... This took a lot of time. Once we checked out, we set off on another unconventional and long journey to reach the Chang Chui Cultural Center. Another hidden gem ;) This place could easily be in Berlin. Every building, every artwork, every bar, etc. is created from discarded or recycled objects. From old windows, grids, fences, doors, shutters, corrugated iron, wood, to airplane parts and the like - everything is used! A cool place for art and creative minds, for young people and design lovers. There are many small stores that sell unique things (mostly in the evening, so many were closed) and a few fancy restaurants and bars where you can hang out like a hipster :)

Unfortunately, time until our departure was running out faster than we would have liked, so we had to leave soon. We had planned a short stop at Khao San Road, but without time, we didn't want to make quick decisions, so we went back to the hotel without any new things.

Quickly turning into two pack mules and heading towards the MRT Skytrain Station, which would take us to the airport. And just like that, time was up, and we found ourselves at the gate, where everything began 75 days ago... As the plane slowly drove onto the runway, we looked back wistfully and promised ourselves that this would not be our last trip, nor our last one to Asia... And as our dear travel friend Georgi wrote to us in a message just before takeoff, "but as it goes with traveling: once infected, always infected."

Goodbye, Southeast Asia, it was a pleasure! <3 And hello, cold Germany...