Bangkok and flight back home

Greetings from the plane from Dubai to Brussels. Today is probably my last blog entry for now, at least until the next trip - God and my wallet willing. How do I feel after a month of traveling on my way back home? First of all, incredibly tired, due to my last exhausting days and very short nights, which I will tell you about later. I had last reported from the night bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. The 13-hour overnight journey was an adventure in itself. I had chosen the local bus for savings, which was actually quite good by Thai standards. After all, the seats could be easily reclined, we were given a blanket, as well as water and snacks, and the ride went relatively smoothly. However, I didn't understand a word during the trip. Whenever I asked someone a question in English, I was laughed at rather than taken seriously. I realized once again that the average Thai person doesn't even understand a word of English. They only learn the language when they earn their living with it. No wonder, it must be incredibly difficult to learn the characters and sounds that are so different from Thai. Unfortunately, I didn't get any sleep during the overnight journey, despite the blanket. It remains a mystery to me why warm places always have to exaggerate with turning down the air conditioning. Although the sleeplessness annoyed me, it was exciting to see Thailand at night. Most of the time we drove through small towns where there was nothing but food stalls and tiny huts. But when we arrived in Bangkok, the fast pace changed immediately - we were greeted by a typical feature of the city: honking, chaotic traffic. Normally, I can't stand traffic and become a grumpy monster when I lack sleep. Luckily, the combination of traffic and sleeplessness didn't kill me this time, as I was busy observing Bangkok with wide eyes. Skyscrapers alternated with small dilapidated buildings. Luxury shopping malls could be found at some corners, while small, run-down food stalls and markets could be found at other corners. In some places, Bangkok reminded me of American cities with the huge skyscrapers, traffic, and bars. But in other places, I felt more like I was in a third world country, with people sitting on the street, a crazy mixture. The sky over Bangkok was gray - I'm not joking - due to all the exhaust fumes, there was no other color visible. Fortunately, there is now a train in Bangkok that serves several stations in the city. But most people still take a taxi or a tuk-tuk, as it is quite cheap and offers more flexibility in terms of destinations. However, the old tuk-tuks are not exactly beneficial to Bangkok's air quality, which could explain the gray color and how we are destroying our world. In general, there wasn't much nature to be found in Bangkok, but at least there were always small canals and rivers, as well as street dogs and cats, which roamed freely, as everywhere in Thailand. After our bus finally arrived at a bus station in Bangkok - it would have taken me 2.5 hours to walk to the hostel - I decided to have my first taxi experience in Bangkok and finally arrived at the hostel after another endless traffic jam. The hostel was beautiful, the cleanest and quietest one I stayed in during my trip. It was crazy how clean it was, considering that the city is the opposite. After a short rest on the wonderfully soft bed in the hostel, I finally mustered up the energy to explore Bangkok despite being exhausted. After all, I only had one day there and my curiosity is very helpful in such situations, as it overcomes tiredness.

So I started my tour in Chinatown, a crazy district of Bangkok that is completely Chinese-influenced. Here you could buy all sorts of kitsch, and there were markets on every corner selling typical Chinese products and Chinese food stands everywhere. Despite the chaos, I found the district very interesting. Everything was colorful, the smells were new, and the typical loudness of the Chinese could be heard. By the way, did you know that Chinese and Thais generally don't get along? Don't make the mistake of putting both cultures in the same box or mistaking a Thai person for a Chinese person - it can end badly. The Thais accuse the Chinese of being excessively business-savvy and greedy for money - many are reluctant to do business with the Chinese for fear of being cheated. After my first impression of China, I turned my attention back to Thai culture and decided to visit a temple that I was told was not too touristy: the Golden Mount Temple. For me, this temple was just right, as I had to climb a small mountain and several steps to reach it, and it was actually not overcrowded with tourists. In addition, its elevated location offered a great view of Bangkok, perfect for getting a better understanding of the city's layout. After this relaxing temple experience, I also dared to visit the tourist hotspots, the Wat Pho - the most famous temple in Bangkok with the lying Buddha - and the Grand Palace, where Thailand's king resides. However, I only viewed both sights from the outside, as my time and money were limited, as well as my patience to stand in line with a thousand other tourists. But even from the outside, I got some interesting insights into this important part of Thai culture, as the Thais greatly value and honor their king, whom you should never speak ill of. After observing the tourists here, I finally dared to mingle among them by visiting Khao San Road. It is probably the most famous street in Thailand among travelers, as it is the party hub with thousands of bars, clubs, shops, and hostels. Have you seen The Hangover where the guys get drunk on a bachelor party and lose their memory of the night? Then you are probably familiar with Khao San Road as the main filming location from the movie. The street indeed has a special, American-like atmosphere with all the hustle and bustle. The people here are (when they are not hungover) in a good mood and drink and party during the day, or get tattoos, which is something many tourists do in Thailand. After immersing myself in the crowd on Khao San Road, I needed some quiet time to recharge. What could be better than a massage to end the day? The affordable Thai, foot, and oil massages are definitely one of the things I will miss most about Thailand. Followed closely by the delicious, always fresh food that can be found on every corner. And so, I ended my day in Bangkok at a Thai market, where I did some last-minute souvenir shopping and stuffed myself with street food. Oh, how I will miss all the curries, pad thais, grilled fish and chicken, and the wide variety of fruits. By the way, the market where I enjoyed my last Thai meal was located in Bangkok's red-light district, as I also wanted to catch a glimpse of that area. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad - although there were a few prostitutes walking down the street - I hardly saw them being mistreated or intrusive. Many associate Thailand with sex tourism. Of course, I occasionally saw men from Western countries who were clearly in Thailand for that purpose and had a pretty, too young, Thai woman who didn't speak a word of English as their companion, more for decoration and sexual purposes than for true love (at least according to my psychological first assessment ;)). And I sometimes saw ladyboys and prostitutes on the streets. But all in all, it was within limits (in some corners of Saarbrücken, it seems worse to me), but that may also be because I avoided the main sex tourism spots (e.g., Pattaya).

What is my conclusion about Bangkok? A crazy, chaotic but at the same time very exciting place that positively surprised me. Despite being incredibly tired, the heat, and the bad air, I surprisingly liked it a lot because there is simply so much to discover, it never gets boring, and it offers numerous new impressions. Of course, the traffic and the noise can be annoying at times, but it is possible to escape them if desired, and it wasn't as bad as I had imagined in my nightmares - you always have to form your own opinion. I could easily have spent more time in Bangkok and I can only recommend that anyone who has the opportunity should experience this city and get an impression for themselves. But hurry up: Wilai, the mountain guide from Thailand, told me that Bangkok may no longer exist in a few years. Due to its low location and changing weather, it will probably be flooded by the sea in the near future. This already has major effects on Thailand, as millions of people who live in Bangkok are gradually buying properties in northern Thailand (thereby destroying the nature in the north) as a precaution against this natural disaster. Let's see if this apocalyptic scenario actually comes true.

After a long day in Bangkok, my alarm clock rang at 5 a.m. after yet another too short night, to take me to the airport on my way back to Germany. Although I am not a morning person at all, this had the huge advantage that the journey to the airport, which can take 2 hours in traffic, was done in just half an hour. Lucky me, many tourists in Bangkok miss their flights because they are not aware of the long journey from the city to the airport. While I am being pampered again with great movies and food on the Emirates plane, I have some time to review my trip and look back with immense gratitude. Once again, I had the opportunity to experience and see so much that most people will never be able to. I realize that I will probably need several weeks back home to process all the experiences and encounters. I have also learned a lot about myself during this eventful month, especially about my quirks and emotions that I always want to run away from. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, one cannot escape them even while traveling. I hope I can take these self-realizations home with me and accept them lovingly and try to change them in some areas. After realizing how much stress I generally put on myself, it was very refreshing to get to know one or two other cultures. On the one hand, the Thais, who seem to live much more freely than we do. Although they are also diligent and sometimes work even more hours a day than we do, there is much less pressure and stress at work here. They just do what they can and feel without driving themselves crazy. I have seen Thais sleep at work when they needed breaks and close their shops at closing time, even when there were potential customers outside, but closing time is closing time. Furthermore, the Thais worry much less about appearance, clothing, cars, cleanliness, houses, children, animals...everything is relaxed, as it suits them, without making themselves unnecessarily crazy. I hope to take a big slice of this relaxed attitude with me. The second culture that has inspired me is the many travelers I have had the pleasure of meeting. Each with their own story, with their own destiny, often on a search for something or themselves while traveling. Many of them are very open, interested, not stuck in their opinions, and courageous. I will surely benefit from the many encounters and often think back to some conversations that have expanded my horizons. During the trip, I learned that you don't necessarily have to establish lifelong connections with everyone you meet, but that you can also take a piece of them with you in your heart and simply be grateful for the encounter. I learned that you always find people and "love" if you just remain open and don't force anything. Most people long for nice conversations, acceptance, and exchange, so just go out and talk to people. I realized once again that "self-love" is the most important thing in life. Basically, it is secondary whether you are sitting on a beach, climbing the highest mountain, or shivering in the gray weather in Germany. As long as you are somewhat at peace with yourself and feel connection and love for others, the external circumstances can be unpleasant, but you are still happy. A Thai person talked to me about traveling and said he couldn't understand the hype. If you are not happy in Germany, you can't just conjure up happiness in Thailand. Happiness is location-independent in oneself, or not at all. To some extent, I can definitely agree with that, although I believe that traveling can help in the search for happiness; for example, getting to know oneself better and questioning everyday actions and those of one's own culture from a distance and modifying them if necessary by learning from other cultures. Learning to be open and listen, to engage with things instead of putting everything into the convenient, simple categories in your mind. And the most important point: to trust life. Because no matter how far away you are from the safe harbor of home, life always finds a way for you and always helps you if you just trust it. The right people and opportunities come to you at the right moment, you don't need to stress about everything, just go with the flow. This is the most important thing I am taking home...to let go, switch off my mind a bit more, and trust that things will work out, even without constant control. In this sense, I am now also looking forward to returning home, instead of just longing for the old. After all, there is so much to be grateful for at home: my soft bed in my own room, good German bread, salad and cheese, my wonderful and exciting psychotherapy training, which continues this weekend for a week in a great environment. And of course, most importantly: the great people who are waiting for me, whom I love and trust. It's a luxury to be picked up at the airport by my family without much organization and to know that I will be joyfully welcomed by wonderful friends and family members, even though my adventures sometimes take me away from them for some time.

Speaking of friends: Thank you! Thank you for reading the blog and following along with my adventures. It was an honor and gave me strength to know that I didn't have to travel alone, but could share my experiences with you. Thank you for being there in this way! I know my novels often require a lot of reading stamina ;). Thank you also for the kind messages in between, I was delighted to receive each and every one of them and I am grateful to have heard from you. I know I have neglected replying at times, but sometimes I just needed a break from my phone and to focus more on the travel adventure before returning to everyday life. If you ever want to travel to Thailand yourself, I am always happy to share or give recommendations over a good cup of coffee :).

Otherwise, I hope to be able to share my next travel adventures with you soon. If I unexpectedly come into a lot of money, you will hear from me next from New Zealand or Hawaii. Otherwise, I am likely aiming for Sri Lanka, as I have heard from several independent world travelers that it is their favorite country, with beautiful landscapes, a great and warm culture, and also affordable. In addition, I could easily combine that with a Thai massage course in Thailand, so it sounds very tempting. But I also definitely want to visit some places in Europe, such as Scotland, Croatia, the Alps, and walk the Camino de Santiago. As I said at the beginning, you can't easily get rid of the travel fever. In this sense, see you soon