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11. Stop: Thailand - Same, same but different

Naipablaak: 20.09.2019

Was it really Southeast Asia if you haven't been to Thailand? Thailand is the ultimate classic among holiday destinations, especially for Europeans, so we wanted to find out what the fascination with Thailand is all about. And how could you start a classic Thailand vacation more clichéd than in a resort in Khao Lak. Since we are a bit tired from traveling, especially in Asia, we booked a whole week in a super new and modern resort by the beach (by the way, an absolute bargain in the low season) and let our souls dangle. Here you really don't miss anything: From the incredibly hospitable Thais in the resort and the whole village, to the hotel's facilities with everything you can imagine (including several huge pools), to the rich breakfast buffet, everything was perfect. So our entry into Thailand was actually like a wellness treatment.

No iceberg ahead, but a beautiful resort
No iceberg ahead, but a beautiful resort


This is how you can handle the heat
This is how you can handle the heat


Beer on the beach? Jan is beaming
Beer on the beach? Jan is beaming


Sushi for breakfast is surprisingly good
Sushi for breakfast is surprisingly good


But of course, Khao Lak is also a heavily scarred city. The small town stretches for over 20km along the west coast of southern Thailand directly by the beach. What are we getting at? We still have Christmas 2004 in our memory, when thousands of people in Thailand alone were surprised and killed by a huge tsunami, many of them in Khao Lak. Even after so many years, this catastrophe is still present here: there are memorials and signs for tsunami evacuation routes everywhere. Many sellers hope to attract more customers with large posters printed with their tragic story, and there is nothing left of the traditional wooden huts of the locals. Instead, tin huts or simple stone houses now line the streets between the huge resorts. The fate of the people here, who really lost everything back then, deeply moved us and once again showed us that we are pretty well off with our two backpacks. But life goes on here too, and many new restaurants with cheerful owners and a lively night market lift every mood.

A memorial for the 2004 tsunami
A memorial for the 2004 tsunami


The royal family must of course be mentioned
The royal family must of course be mentioned


Night market in Khao Lak
Night market in Khao Lak


In Thailand everything is deep-fried
In Thailand everything is deep-fried


After our wellness treatment, we naturally longed for new experiences and impressions, so we embarked on a somewhat adventurous minivan ride to Ao Nang, a good starting point for exploring the beaches. On the way there, we already noticed the many steep green mountains rising from the ground, and when we arrived, we couldn't help but be absolutely overwhelmed by the tall cliffs right by the sea.

This is also part of traveling: waiting for transportation
This is also part of traveling: waiting for transportation


The rugged cliffs of southern Thailand
The rugged cliffs of southern Thailand


We decided that we absolutely wanted to see where you can do "Deep Water Soloing", a climbing practice where you climb cliffs over the sea without any safety equipment and can jump into the sea. So we took a longboat, a traditional boat in Thailand, to Railay and hiked across the peninsula with its huge caves, steep cliffs, and the shining blue, clear sea. Unfortunately, we didn't see any climbers in action above the sea, but you can imagine that it's possible here. We ourselves preferred to stick to hiking and swimming in the 28°C warm water and will try climbing when we have gained more experience (and calluses, because ouch, these rocks are pretty sharp). However, as a highlight, we were able to watch some southern dusky langurs (or simply monkeys) climbing in the trees in the end, and we were too fascinated to realize that it was not a good idea to stand right under a horde of monkeys - Zap, a huge load of monkey feces narrowly missed us, and we decided that this was a sign that we should make our way back home.

Postcard idyll in Railay
Postcard idyll in Railay


Jan is already practicing for deep water soloing
Jan is already practicing for deep water soloing


You rarely see such huge stalactites
You rarely see such huge stalactites


A super cute southern dusky langur
A super cute southern dusky langur


Since we had only been in very touristy areas so far, we wanted to get to know the original Thailand a bit better. On the island of Koh Lanta, tourism is still in its infancy, and you can find many completely abandoned spots and explore villages that are still built in traditional style. We completely fell in love with this island. It may not have the most beautiful beaches in Thailand, but we were always completely alone at our beach paradises and could experience spectacular sunsets. We also enjoyed a hike in the jungle with cave exploration and swimming in a waterfall.

Enjoying deserted beaches on Koh Lanta
Enjoying deserted beaches on Koh Lanta


The island with the most beautiful sunsets
The island with the most beautiful sunsets


Exploring caves in the jungle (including fossil discovery)
Exploring caves in the jungle (including fossil discovery)


Our treasure map to the waterfall, drawn by the ranger
Our treasure map to the waterfall, drawn by the ranger


A cooling down is a must at 35°C and 100% humidity
A cooling down is a must at 35°C and 100% humidity


But the most beautiful thing was a small fishing village called "Old Town", which was built on stilts in the sea and immediately transported one into a pirate movie. As a highlight, we even saw dolphins there, which also completely thrilled the fishermen. However, a Chinese lady insisted that they were sharks and repeatedly proclaimed this with the cry "Shark, Shark", which amused us all quite a bit.

Old Town is a world from another time - maybe like with the pirates, only more beautiful
Old Town is a world from another time - maybe like with the pirates, only more beautiful


Classic Thai fishermen
Classic Thai fishermen's houses


Waiting for dolphins
Waiting for dolphins


As the monsoon is currently raging in western Thailand and we have experienced some really heavy storms and rainfalls, where the roads were sometimes knee-deep flooded, we wanted to move to a more stable weather area and traveled on by bus and ferry to Koh Samui. We spent 12 hours in a non-air-conditioned, packed minivan at 30°C and on a slightly outdated ferry until we finally arrived on the island in the Gulf of Thailand. Here we rented a scooter for €6 per day and were able to explore the island independently. We got stuck once on a hill with the scooter, and Natalie had to push it because we were too heavy for the small engine on the steep slope, but otherwise it worked great. We visited several temples with huge Buddha statues and shrines and felt like Alice in Wonderland in a jungle garden, and hiked to an almost dried-up waterfall.

Cats also take advantage of the huge temples
Cats also take advantage of the huge temples


A cobra temple
A cobra temple


A temple cemetery - somehow prettier than our cemeteries
A temple cemetery - somehow prettier than our cemeteries


Alice in Wonderland feeling in the Buddha Garden
Alice in Wonderland feeling in the Buddha Garden


Life-sized handcrafted figures everywhere
Life-sized handcrafted figures everywhere


You can go for a swim in this sea
You can go for a swim in this sea


Fire show on the beach
Fire show on the beach


Night market with plenty of food
Night market with plenty of food


We have been wondering who always eats this delicate part of the chicken
We have been wondering who always eats this delicate part of the chicken


And that explains the insect extinction in the world
And that explains the insect extinction in the world


After 5 days, we (well, especially Natalie) had enough of island life and beach vacations, and we were drawn to northern Thailand. In Chiang Mai, life is really completely different from southern Thailand. It is loud and densely populated, cars, scooters, and tuk-tuks drive everywhere, and instead of relaxing on the beach to find peace, you go to one of the many Buddhist temples scattered throughout the city. We must have seen about 30 temples, which is still only about 10% of the temples in the city. In general, temples in Thailand are much more colorful, pompous, and kitschy than any temples we have seen so far. And something very strange caught our attention: In front of many temples, schools, and also public places, there are huge billboards and whole shrines with the image of the royal family. They still enjoy a high status here, but with the new king, they have lost a lot of their prestige. But now imagine if there were posters of Angela Merkel in front of churches and schools in Germany, how strange would that be?!

All in all, Chiang Mai is one of the most beautiful cities we have visited in Southeast Asia because it has many lovingly designed restaurants and temple complexes, orange-clad monks stroll through the streets, and it is surrounded by the green hills of northern Thailand, where elephants and ancient hill tribes hide.

Chiang Mai's streets are beautiful and relatively quiet
Chiang Mai's streets are beautiful and relatively quiet


Chiang Mai is known for its crafts, especially umbrellas
Chiang Mai is known for its crafts, especially umbrellas


This Buddhist monk gives the boy a bracelet and a blessing
This Buddhist monk gives the boy a bracelet and a blessing


Monks spend most of their time in their temples
Monks spend most of their time in their temples


Natalie was appropriately dressed for a temple visit
Natalie was appropriately dressed for a temple visit


Typical offerings for temples: packed in plastic a thousand times
Typical offerings for temples: packed in plastic a thousand times


Classic northern Thai food
Classic northern Thai food


Happy elephants
Happy elephants


A new family has been found in the sanctuary
A new family has been found in the sanctuary


Elephant kisses
Elephant kisses


Each mahout lovingly takes care of his protégé
Each mahout lovingly takes care of his protégé


This lady came up to us and we were allowed to stroke her, but only on the side, never on the trunk or ear
This lady came up to us and we were allowed to stroke her, but only on the side, never on the trunk or ear


Bangkok
Bangkok's busy streets


Everywhere you look, only city and temples
Everywhere you look, only city and temples


Unfortunately, there is a lot of poverty in the dark alleys
Unfortunately, there is a lot of poverty in the dark alleys


Of course, a stay in Bangkok also includes getting an overdose of temple visits again, because here are some of the largest temple complexes in Thailand right in the middle of the city. Among other things, we admired the 46m long reclining Buddha and climbed the Golden Mountain with a view over Bangkok together with Natalie's friend Kim. Kim, who has been friends with Natalie since elementary school, is doing her master's degree here and showed us around the city. Especially, we wanted to discover the famous nightlife and had a great time in a bar next to the party street Khao San Road, amusing ourselves about the passing people. Here, you hear conversations about sex tourism, see lots of ladyboys and provocatively dressed women, and wonder how some drunk tourists can still walk. Thailand is indeed a typical Asian country that deals with many things much more liberally and perhaps also more modernly, such as women or homosexuality than its neighboring countries.


Temples in Bangkok are anything but idyllic
Temples in Bangkok are anything but idyllic


The huge reclining Buddha with a length of 46m
The huge reclining Buddha with a length of 46m


Kim shows us Bangkok
Kim shows us Bangkok


Exploring the nightlife on Khao San Road
Exploring the nightlife on Khao San Road


Reunited: Friends since elementary school - What this trip brings with it :)
Reunited: Friends since elementary school - What this trip brings with it :)


However, when we mentioned that we had miraculously survived almost 3 months in Southeast Asia without any health problems, we probably put our luck to the test. Jan promptly got food poisoning and spent 2 days with fever and nausea in bed. But just in time for the flight, he was recovered, and so the Southeast Asia adventure could be concluded.

We are definitely leaving with mixed feelings. Here we had by far the strongest homesickness and at the same time learned the most about ourselves and other cultures. Southeast Asia is completely different from our home or anything we have known so far. We didn't find a single thing that is like at home, not ONE. The houses, the smells, the appearance and character of the people, the traditions, the moral concepts, the hygiene conditions, the food, the landscape, the plants, the animals, everything is different. This means, of course, that everything is exciting, new, and instructive, but also that you often long for something familiar - good thing we have each other.

Therefore, we have decided to embark on new, unfamiliar cultures that are somewhat closer to our familiar environment, namely, first of all, Georgia in the Caucasus.


Song of Thailand's beaches: Three Little Birds - Bob Marley & The Wailers

Sungbat

Tailandia
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