Bangkok 25th - 28th January 2020

After a very calm flight of about 10,600 km, we landed in Bangkok. Due to strong tailwinds, we arrived one hour earlier than planned. After the immigration procedures, we first went to the baggage claim, then to the ATM machine and the prepaid card counter. Finally, we are in a taxi heading to Benjamin's place. How do you explain to a taxi driver who barely speaks English where you want to go when the street has no name? Google Maps, an email written in Thai, and an additional phone call help, and after about 45 minutes, we find ourselves in front of Benjamin's house, where he and his girlfriend Kate warmly greet us.

After a short coffee break, we went for a traditional Thai massage, our first ever. It was astonishing to see the physical effort the ladies put into their work. Occasionally, we thought, 'Hopefully, they won't break anything.'

Since the Chinese New Year is being celebrated, we went to China Town in the evening.

The next day, we visited one of the floating markets together and took a boat tour on one of the many canals. Then we climbed the Golden Mount with the Buddha Temple Wat Saket, where we also enjoyed the sunset.

The third day was marked by visiting various temples. Early in the morning, we went to the Grand Palace, the former royal residence. We were overwhelmed by the huge complex with its opulent buildings and the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha (which cannot be photographed). We also saw a model of Angkor Wat, the temple complex in Cambodia.

Our next destination was the Wat Pho temple, which we reached easily on foot. Here, the reclining Buddha measuring 46 meters in length and 15 meters in height is housed. It is completely gilded, and it is difficult to capture it completely in a photo.

Afterward, we needed a break. With the help of Benjamin's smartphone, we found the Mango Tree restaurant on the Chao Phraya River with a beautiful view of Wat Arun. Refreshed, we continued our tour at the flower market. We could hardly believe how many flowers there were and how beautifully some of them were decorated.

After a short rest in a nearby park, we crossed the river and visited the Wat Arun temple, also known as the Temple of Dawn.

On the last day, we had only one attraction left on our program. The house of Jim Thompson, who made Thai handcrafted silk famous. After he disappeared under mysterious circumstances during a trip to the Cameron Mountains in Malaysia, his house was made into a museum for everyone.