Three nights in Bangkok

I made it.. Unfortunately not my luggage. 14 hours of flight and the only thing I had left in my small backpack was a fresh pair of underwear, a toothbrush, and makeup wipes, actually for freshening up - well at least!! :-) I quickly bought something to shower with at the airport - it hasn't been easy, there's mostly shower stuff with extra whitener here.. Took the train to the hostel - luckily they described how to take which train when booking - and off to the mall next to it for a new t-shirt and the cheapest flip-flops. I had to get rid of the sneakers - it's too hot.

At the airport they assured me that my luggage would be there the next morning. So I set off with my new shirt, my new flip-flops, and the harem pants I had been wearing for 14 hours. In a blog I read that I absolutely had to go to the 84th floor of Baiyoke Tower II. That seemed to be the easiest thing to do for day 1. I didn't know where else to go yet and how. After all, I had never been to Bangkok before - except at the airport and for one night in the hotel right next to the airport. Thanks to Google Maps and the Thai SIM card, I found the hotel and it was actually great. For 350 Baht I got a 20-minute foot massage, a cocktail, and the view from the 84th floor. Then I went to the water, where according to the aforementioned blog, small boats should be sailing up and down the canal somewhere. What a miracle, that was exactly the case. :-) Without knowing where to go, I jumped on the boat with the locals and rode for 10 Baht in one direction and then for another 10 Baht in the other direction until I was near my hostel on Sukhumvit Rd. The rest I walked. By the time I got to the hostel, it was already dark so I decided to just go to bed after a 14-hour flight and a little city tour.

The next morning I was already awake pretty early to wait for my luggage. So I sat here like a sitting duck and waited until 12, then the airport driver finally came. I couldn't help but be a little excited as he had to walk up the 5 floors due to the power outage that had just occurred!! ;-) The day could begin and so I ran out immediately after a long shower to see Wat Po and Wat Arun. Took the train to the pier and the rest by boat. While waiting for the boat, I met Sharyn from LA. Since we were both traveling alone, we decided to spend the day together. Wat Po, the reclining Buddha, is definitely worth a little trip. Madness, how much gold, painted pictures on walls, and Buddhas there were to see on the entire site! Wat Arun, on the other hand, was a bit sobering. In the evening, I met Oli and Hansi, friends from Zurich, for dinner and had my first experience with a TukTuk after getting on the train in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, it was the last train of the day, so I took a TukTuk home - 'LOOOOOOOG WAY - 250 Baht.' I gave him 200. Maybe that was still too much, but I just wanted to go to bed.

Today, on my very first last day in Bangkok, I met Oli, Hansi, and Sharyn again in the morning. The planned meeting at 10 turned into 11.. But we're on vacation, after all. :-) For 500 Baht, we were in the Grand Palace with all of Bangkok, which was even more impressive than Wat Po - much bigger, even more gold, and strict dress codes - no flip-flops, no scarves over the shoulders, only long sleeves or t-shirts that cover the shoulders. Luckily we were prepared... Afterwards, we took the boat to Kao San Rd. In the afternoon, it's not so exciting yet... But we were there. On the way back, in the middle of rush hour, which is actually as hard as everyone says in the trains, I quickly got some food on the street and then went back to the hostel to organize my onward journey to Koh Chang tomorrow morning. It's starting in 7 hours - I can already hear my pillow calling... :-) Good night!!