Tag 1: Arrival in Bangkok

After landing at around 06:30 and collecting our luggage, we headed towards the taxi stand. The journey itself was quite an experience. Despite the roads having four lanes or more, there was still a lot of congestion. Everyone drives wherever there is space, sometimes even using two lanes or extending to a fifth lane. Speed limits are also not taken seriously. The only thing that surprises me is... it works!

After the friendly taxi driver dropped us off at the hostel, we found out at the reception that we could only check in at 12 o'clock. So we left our luggage and went on an exploration tour. We were actually completely exhausted from the flight and just wanted to relax a little.

We strolled through the streets and discovered a lot of street food, which didn't make a particularly good impression on me at first and made me wonder how I would survive the next 3 weeks. However, Christian was excited and looking forward to dinner. After running some errands and exchanging money, we decided to wait in the lobby of the hostel, as the 30 degrees heat and tiredness were taking a toll on us.

After checking in, we finally got some sleep. We chose the CHERN Hostel, which made a really positive impression, clean and modern. The only downside: the bed is extremely hard. It's almost like sleeping on the floor.

In the evening, we went to Khao San Road. A 400-meter long "shopping street" full of street food stalls and tourist shops, and lots of tourists. Here, I also dared to try the street food and was surprised how delicious the food was.

We then took a TukTuk to the Vertigo Rooftop Bar.

TukTuk driving, again really exciting on the Thai roads. TukTuks and scooters squeeze in everywhere they can, even when the light is red.

When we arrived at the Moon Bar, Christian was given long pants to wear, as entry is only permitted in that attire. On the 61st floor, we had an incredible view of Bangkok. The sea of lights was simply fantastic.

We treated ourselves to an overpriced cocktail each up there, and then made our way back to the hostel.

Conclusion from the first impression in Bangkok: very run-down, yet there are always modern buildings, very friendly residents, and delicious food.