Day 34-37 The Last Post

Day 34 (Monday). For the past few days, I haven't planned on doing much. Rented one of those bikes that are only good for the city and cycled to the first stop. The Silver Pagoda, finally something other than gold. All the craft shops there are still closed, it's too early. The actual destination is a lake just before the mountains, about 10 kilometers away from the city. On the way there, visited 2 smaller attractions. The sun is scorching and this bike is just annoying, it can only go up to 12 km/h. The lake is beautifully situated, but it's more of a recreational area. Rode around the lake on the bike, swam, and read a book. That's how the early afternoon goes by. Unfortunately, the lake is not really refreshing, it's too warm.
Back in the city, took the motorcycle to the train station. Traveling again by night train, but this time booked a slightly better one. The journey itself was uneventful, only the horde of Indians or Pakistanis in the compartment is a bit annoying. More time to read.

Day 35. Woke up at 6:15 and arrived in Bangkok at 7 on the dot. Took the metro to the hostel (which is super modern and intuitive). Luckily, I could check in immediately and didn't have to wait forever, the hostel is good for the price. Actually wanted to start exploring the city right away, but after 500 meters, I quickly realized that I had woken up too early and needed a little more sleep. Okay, so I'll leave just before noon. Had food again at a street vendor, can really hear a lot of German voices.
Explored a few things and small alleys, getting annoying in the shade at 35 degrees. But then I got a permanent souvenir. Here's to a big beer. Currently, there's a promotional campaign by the government for tuk-tuks, a little tour for 40 baht (1.2 euros). well, it keeps proving true that what doesn't cost anything is not worth it.

All the couchsurfing people just wanted to go drinking, I wasn't in the mood for that. In the evening, I first went to a night market that was advertised as a hipster market, rather disappointing. Then went to Chinatown, there was one stall after another for about 1.5 kilometers, not bad. They definitely like it spicy. The last evening ends with a beer on the rooftop terrace of the hostel, to the guitar exercises of a Chilean. So. 3 weeks now without a cigarette.

Day 36/37. Had a good breakfast, packed up all my stuff and checked out. Took the metro to Lumphini Park, which was recommended by several people. If you think everyone in Germany is glued to their phones, it's worse here. The park is a very nice oasis. Then walked to a huge shopping mall, not any different from other big cities.
Then took the Skytrain through the city to get a better sense of its size. Even that is not enough. Tip, pay for one station and then you can enter the train area and ride as much as you want, as long as you get off at the booked station.
On the way back, had an hour of Thai massage, a very intense experience and you can't be too sensitive, the Thai lady was not gentle. For strength, had pad Thai once again. Managed to catch the bus to the airport, even though there are no fixed departure times. You wait at the station and eventually a bus of the line comes, you never know how long you'll have to wait. Otherwise, the return journey was okay, nothing special. The planes and trains were crowded. On the first flight, I tested the bar a bit, it was included, and slept really well. A long journey from A to B can be quite boring, but at least I was able to finish Trini's book.

That's it! Glad you followed along on my journey. If you like, you can write to me about how you liked the travel diary. And bye until the next trip.