Asia | Thailand | A new chapter

So on December 5th we finally embarked on a 15-hour flight to Bangkok (via Sydney) with heavy hearts. Getting up at 04:00, flight at 6:30. Our first plane landed on time at around 9:30 in Sydney. However, as luck would have it, our connecting flight to Bangkok was over 4 hours delayed, which meant we still had 5-6 hours left to say our final goodbye to New Zealand with a worthy report. That was bitter necessary...

1) Never accept deals because they are worse than the real price

2) If someone says that an attraction is closed today and offers to take you there with a tuk-tuk (3-wheel taxi) where it is open - don't believe it

3) If someone is friendly, don't believe anything - they are stealing something from your back pocket, taking you to an Indian suit shop, or selling you fake pearls

4) If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

and much more.

So we were well prepared not to fall into any traps and had fun watching people trying to scam us - of course, these residents are just the exception. In general, everyone here is very friendly and in a good mood.

So we arrived late at our hostel, spent the first 2 days sleeping, washing our clothes, sorting out our luggage, and immediately getting our feet comfortably massaged. The food is very hot - Herbert is speechless - green curry a la Thai. Brilliant. Just as we hoped it would be. We navigated through the jungle of the big city for 4 days, visited a few temples, took longboat rides on the rivers, and strolled through the bustling markets day and night. It's fascinating to see how everything works, even if the power lines haven't always been laid in a suitable manner, often lying in the water or hanging at head level. The hundreds of small food stalls in the middle of the sidewalk, streets, and rows of houses invite you to linger and try out. With a little bargaining skills and avoiding major tourist centers, you already feel comfortable :).

We visited the floating markets (boat markets on the rivers) about 3 hours by bus outside Bangkok and the train market (a local market for fish, vegetables, etc., where the train passes through from time to time) and moved to a 5* hotel (Muse Bangkok) for 2 nights on the 5th day. There, we enjoyed the pool, a generous breakfast with a bloody mary, a fantastic room, and dinner over the rooftops of Bangkok. The city is not only two-dimensional as the travel guide says. On the last day, we packed our backpacks and left the two small day backpacks and a bag at the hotel, which we will pick up again in February. From now on, we can travel around Asia with lighter luggage and, if necessary, buy more nice things :).

After 7 days, we flew from Bangkok to Koh Samui & Koh Phangan, where we treated ourselves to another 7 honeymoon days. With the sea and sand, romantic lamp-lit dinners for two on the beach, party nights with fire shows, and perfect summer weather. We took the ferry after the first 3 nights to Koh Phangan, where we explored the underwater world in two dives and saw a massive 4m whale shark, snorkeled, and enjoyed island life. It was a very relaxing stay in our 'hectic' travel everyday life.

In Koh Samui, we had planned to go to Phuket and even booked the flight, but we were able to change the flight to Krabi for free directly at the airport (thanks to Herbert's brilliant inquiry skills) and arrived at the wonderful destination after just 40 minutes in the air. Hilly landscapes, long beaches, endless longboats with colorful cloth strips on the bow... wonderful. The polite boatman took us to Raylai Bay despite the slightly rough sea, crashed into a few of the surrounding boats while docking, and earnestly asked us to jump off here and left us bemused on the wrong beach. Wonderful. With heavy backpacks, we stood in the sand and tried to figure out where to go now. Eventually, someone told us that it was common practice to drop tourists off at the wrong beach so that the other boatmen could earn a little more. However, we didn't want to be part of that and so we walked through the village, along the beach, through and over rock caves that are only passable at low tide, over a rubbish field, climbed over a wall, and after an hour we finally reached our accommodation. There, too, it took us 3 complaint attempts before we finally got a free upgrade to a clean room without frogs, with toilet paper, and running water :). But they couldn't spoil our mood... delicious cheap food, a rainforest, pub atmosphere in the middle of the idyllic mountain landscape, where we were surrounded by little monkeys and a bunch of cats. We went around the island, through the rainforest, visited a cave, enjoyed the beach, borrowed a kayak for snorkeling, and enjoyed the local food directly from the longboats on the beach. Successful days that we are proud to have chosen. Steffi found a new love in a black kitten, which made itself comfortable on her feet every day.

We took the bus (and some cockroaches) for 4.5 hours to Hat Yai, where the main transportation routes between Malaysia and Thailand converge. For only 11€, we slept in a comfortable bunk bed in a private room. More than you can expect for this price. We inquired about the train journey to Malaysia at the train station and, of course, were promptly bombarded by taxi/shuttle/minibus/tour providers: 'My friend... where you go? My friend?'

Us politely: 'Penang, with train.'

Thai: 'Nooooo, my friend. No train penang. Nooo. Come come my friend.'

Wildly waving, he pointed to his bus/taxi in the distance and thought we would just follow him. Unfortunately, after 4 months of world travel, we already know too much about it...

Us: 'Thanks. We will take the train.'

Thai: 'Nooooooooo no train. Closed. No possible penang.'

Us: 'Well - train...'

After finally queuing up at the train information, the gentlemen even tried to influence the man at the information desk, who then stutteringly/shyly told us that there was no direct connection to Penang by train. Eventually, however, he recognized that we knew the way exactly and finally pointed us to the right ticket counter.

So the next day we took the train to Padang to the Malaysian border and from there continued to Butterworth/Penang. Set the clock forward one hour - thus 7 hours time difference.

It can be said that we hardly had any stomach upsets in the 17 days in Thailand. The climate unexpectedly agreed with us, and we didn't have much to contend with regarding the challenges that the country and its people bring. Asia is wonderfully diverse. New and exciting, and we are looking forward to the next exciting weeks and months.

But now, as always, the photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17SFGMCEzs50OzaFJunGJm5pByCSXSNwo?usp=sharing