!!! SHIT BANGKOK !!!

Well dear friends, the headline lets you imagine how much we liked Bangkok :).

With full excitement about what this world metropolis, the second most visited city in the world, has to offer, we made our way to Bangkok. The plane took us here from Chiang Mai in just under an hour. We took a taxi from the airport and headed towards our accommodation. And there we were - Bangkok, a city that should never sleep. The first sight of this city was impressive. Tall buildings, chaotic traffic, hustle and bustle, and people everywhere.

Arriving at our accommodation, the 'New Siam Guesthouse', and checking in, we immediately knew that it was probably the worst accommodation we had ever stayed in. In the 9 sqm room, it was not only hot, if hot is the expression for abnormal climatic conditions, No!, it was also stuffy, without air conditioning, terribly ugly, dirty, noisy, and simply disgusting!! We don't even want to talk about the sanitary facilities, which we had to share with the other residents. It would turn your stomach. But well, we had booked two nights and we had to go through with it. With the intention of spending as little time as possible in the accommodation, we stayed outside, except for sleeping.

After this first shock in Bangkok, we had the desire for 'a piece of home' and walked around the block...HAHAHA wordplay :)

After having a little something to eat, we went back to our magnificent apartment and tried to sleep. Logically, that was not really possible with this noise and the feeling of 45 degrees. There was no blanket or clean bed sheet. We celebrated the first use of our sleeping bag and used it as a sleeping pad.

The next day, we tried to understand the city of Bangkok. It remained an attempt until today. Divided into about 55 districts, there is no real city center. So where to go to experience something?? Based on recommendations, we decided to go to the MBK Center. Once again, a huge shopping center with everything your heart desires. And above all, it was air-conditioned. Anyone can take a taxi there...we took the public bus. An interesting experience, you have to say. There are no exact timetables, the bus stops were hard to find, and the bus itself was a bit old. But it worked. We arrived safely at our destination.

The center itself is truly gigantic. Spread over 7 floors, it has everything. Electronics, clothes, jewelry, food after food, shoes, cinema.....and much more. It took us a good 4 hours until we had enough and returned without seeing everything.

In the evening, we wanted to experience something and went to the nearby Kao San Road, the backpacker mecca in Bangkok. Honestly, we imagined it to be bigger and wilder. For being mentioned in every travel guide, it wasn't that great. Of course, there were some bars, street stalls, and live artists. But it wasn't particularly special. Nevertheless, we went to a bar and enjoyed a few beers. After all, the accommodation was more terrible than any rundown bar.

The next day, we made it. After very little sleep, we checked out and went to another accommodation for two more days. After every low point, there eventually comes a high point. And we had that now, at least for a brief moment. The new accommodation was fantastic!! Unexpectedly large rooms, a huge bed, everything was clean, and the hosts were super friendly. After the previous debacle, it was natural for us to now specifically make sure to have air conditioning in the room. It was an absolute dream come true. They also provided free coffee, tea, water, and cookies!

After a short nap, it was a relief to take a shower in the large, clean showers. We got ready and finally wanted to experience something. Hello?? Bangkok - the world metropolis!?! We took a taxi to the banking district of Bangkok. The money must flow there - and it did :) . Countless higher-priced bars and restaurants lined up next to each other. We mixed with the people and had an excellent meal at a restaurant. Of course, the restaurant was not the destination of our little excursion. We wanted to visit the rooftop bar at 'above eleven'. A bar on the 33rd floor of a hotel, with a view over all of Bangkok. Our second highlight and a must-do in Bangkok. The prices were also quite reasonable. For the equivalent of 55 euros, we got 6 drinks. Time flew up there. We would have liked to stay longer and turn the night into day. However, we wanted to use the following day in Bangkok to experience something great again. We wanted to go to Siam City Park, a leisure and water park, and for that, we had to get up early.

And now we come to the next bitter disappointment!! We took a taxi about an hour outside of Bangkok to the aforementioned Siam City Park. Arriving there, we bought entrance tickets that were sinfully expensive compared to Thai standards. It was a 'fun' that cost the equivalent of 60 euros. Okay, it should have been a nice way to end. We don't want to go into a long complaint letter here. We've already done that with the manager himself and on the internet. Starting from closed rides, broken slides, dangerous tripping hazards, and the run-down condition of the facility, the park was an absolute disaster and not worth a penny. Complete failure, ridiculously expensive, and no fun. We returned to our accommodation earlier than planned and took care of further travel planning there. We just wanted to get out of Bangkok as quickly as possible!

In the evening, we gathered ourselves, took a shower, and strolled through the streets. We came across the best street food stall so far and ate great dishes for little money. Around the corner, we discovered a special night market. It wasn't a typical tourist market, like in Chiang Mai, it was a food market. As big as 4 football fields. Meat after meat, fruit after fruit, and vegetable after vegetable....there was simply everything! Just not the way we know it from Germany. Fish were scaled while still alive, chickens were slaughtered on-site, pig halves were carried over the shoulders, live frogs were gutted....a market that was truly different. We couldn't stop marveling and naturally attracted all the attention to us. We were the only foreigners at this market and apparently not many tourists visit this market. Overall, we found the market exciting and intimidating at the same time. At times, we were standing in 'mud' made of fish scales, melted ice, blood, and entrails with our flip flops. Not for the faint-hearted. Perhaps that's why it was another highlight in Bangkok. With the impressions in mind, we got ourselves a cool beer and then went back to the accommodation. The next day, we had to check out. We could already hear the beach calling us :) !