Experience Bangkok with Handicap...

Hello everyone 😊

It's been a while since I last wrote, but I had a specific reason for that, and now I'll catch up on everything.

Let's start with 07.03.18. We spent the whole day relaxing and in the evening, we sat outside and just talked.

On 08.03.18, we took our scooter and drove towards the mountains. We had no destination, we just turned right and left and saw where the road led us. It was great. We drove through small villages with beautiful rice fields, horse farms, dogs, and cats. Cute little houses and mountains surrounded us, the weather was pleasantly delightful. We stopped in the middle of nowhere to have a coffee. And at noon, we were in a small town where we stopped at a small restaurant and ordered something from the menu that looked delicious :D The menu was written in Thai. We then got delicious fried rice with vegetables, carbonated water (which is something special here), and for dessert, we had delicious fried bananas. After getting refreshed, we continued our journey. Suddenly, we came across a beautiful road that went through the mountains and the Thai jungle. It was amazing, and we kept driving, admiring the view until everything suddenly changed. The road was well-built and had no potholes or bumps. Suddenly, we noticed that the whole road was covered with gravel and rocks, and as soon as we noticed it, it was already too late. There was a curve, Tim braked and steered at the same time, and it happened: we fell. We weren't driving very fast, about 30 km/h, and thank God we fell and didn't crash into the nearby guardrail. Anyway, we ended up lying in the middle of the jungle, 50 km away from the hostel and without any network. So, despite the shock, we had to act on our own. I first put the scooter back up and moved both of us a little away from the edge of the road. Tim needed to catch his breath; he was about to faint, all yellow :D Thank God we had a small first aid kit with us. We examined ourselves and first noticed that we didn't have any fractures or open wounds, only major abrasions and bruises. So, we tried to wrap everything up as best as possible, and I knew we had to get back as soon as possible to clean everything thoroughly. So, I put Tim on the back of the scooter; he needed another break, and I drove us out of the mountain pass. At the bottom of the road, we had network coverage, and we took another break and informed my mom. From there, Tim drove us the last 30 km home. Christian was already waiting with alcohol for the physical wounds and wine for the mental wounds. We cleaned everything up and dealt with the shock. My mom even cooked something delicious for us, and then we went to bed early. The night was still terrible because we couldn't sleep. Everything hurt, and it was hot and uncomfortable, just everything you have when something like this happens :D In hindsight, we are both sooo glad that nothing worse happened! What would we have done if one of us had been seriously injured? Wait until someone came every 10 minutes? Get help ourselves? Maybe we ourselves would be injured? And we don't even know the emergency number. Well, one shouldn't think about it at all!

The next day (09.03.18), we had actually booked the elephant tour. We were really looking forward to it. But it didn't work out. So, Mom was kind enough to find out that we would get almost the entire amount we paid back. Instead, Christian drove us to the hospital again. We were very sad, but in hindsight, it was the right decision. I'm sure we will still see elephants in South Africa 😊 Christian drove us to the military hospital. Not everyone can go there, but when the soldier at the entrance saw us, he just went: "OH" and waved us in. When we arrived, I had to show my passport quickly, and then it started. From one room to another. About 6 nurses surrounded us and took care of us. More and more came. It was as if they said: "Tourists are here - they need special help :D" The nurses actually had caps on their heads like in wartime and were incredibly kind. Our wounds were cleaned thoroughly and without regard for any losses, and they were disinfected. One plump nurse took me for an X-ray with my hand. My hand was fine, except for bruises, and the nurse was amazing. After we paid a total of 18€ for the whole treatment for both of us, we wanted to leave. The bigger nurse asked where we were going and looked astonished. She quickly summoned a soldier who drove us out of the military area in a golf cart. What a service :D Before that, she wanted to take a photo of us, and then we were allowed to leave after being treated. I then went directly to the pharmacy and stocked up on bandages and wound dressings :D We casually packed our things and went to the train station in the evening. Our night train to Bangkok left at 6:00 PM. We said goodbye to Christian, and then we were on our way to Bangkok. Due to our handicap, everything was not so easy, but we always received help!

So, on 10.03.18, we arrived in Bangkok in the morning and took a taxi to our hostel. When we arrived, it was 6:30 AM, and we could only check in at 3:00 PM. Plus, our room was quite bizarre. We would have had only one shared bed in a tiny room, so we quickly booked a double room because we definitely needed sleep in our condition. Still, we had to wait. Then I realized that we had forgotten to return the key to Christian. So, I walked to the post office. That was also interesting. There was a packaging station. When he saw what I wanted to send, he gave me the right envelope, and when he saw my hand, he immediately called someone over to write the address on the envelope for me. :D Very sweet! I then handed in the package and hoped it would arrive. And actually, the next day it was already with Christian in Chiang Mai :D Faster than the German Post :D We didn't do much for the rest of the day, and in the evening, we just went across the street to eat pizza.

Yesterday, on 11.03.18, we moved to our current hostel. The hostel itself is very nice, big, clean, and very open with small balconies and plants. Only the location is borderline... it's right next to the sewer canal :D Death and decay are part of it. Plus, it stinks, and the "houses" around it are very poor. They eat and dry their laundry right next to and above the canal. Well, we checked in and went out a little on foot around noon. We had a coffee and ate at a vegetarian restaurant. In the evening, we went to Khao San Road. There, we went to a comedy show. There were 5 comedians and unfortunately only 8-10 spectators, but it was quite funny! Then we took a taxi back and went to bed :D

Today, on 12.03.18, we chatted with Lila for a while. She flew back to Germany today, and we waited until she had to leave. Then we took a tuk-tuk to the city. I love riding tuk-tuks :D Then we ate something and went to the pier. There, we took the boat for 15 Baht (38 cents) and sailed along the canal. The Thai people use the boats like buses. It's just much faster than the roads. We then got off somewhere and walked a bit. There we experienced the real Bangkok. Small narrow streets and hustle and bustle. Poverty and wealth side by side. I enjoyed walking along there. Then we found the cafe 'Wanderlust' and had something nice to drink. Then we tried in vain to find a taxi, finally got one, and drove back to the hostel. It was a successful day!

Tomorrow, Laurin and Linnea will finally arrive 😊