You shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch

Due to acute separation anxiety, I decided to accompany Alica and Max to Koh Tao for another 2 days. When we arrived, we were all somewhat surprised - this was supposed to be the most beautiful of all islands? Many roads were not paved, it reminded me of Uganda in some parts, with garbage and dust everywhere. After much back and forth, a few moments of stress, and a few meters of walking, we decided to go to Sairee Beach and found a pretty cool accommodation there. Even there, we were not overly excited - it's a tourist area after all. Well, we made the best of it and checked everything out on the next day and just relaxed. Sometimes you need a break, especially when everyone is starting to get a little irritated. We then planned a snorkeling day trip for the following day, and I decided that I would continue traveling after the trip.

The snorkeling trip turned out to be pretty cool and actually made up for all the stress and irritability. We went to three different snorkeling spots by boat (it's really awesome to be able to see the entire underwater paradise, and every new fish makes you happy in a way), and in the end, we went to this mini-dream island off Kho Tao (I forgot the name). The little island was truly paradise, and the Thais take very good care of it. You weren't even allowed to sit on your own beach towels because you might transfer sand!

Then we headed back (riding the boat over high waves was also a lot of fun, I think there will be some good videos soon on Alica and Max's YouTube channel).

The three of us had big plans for our last few hours together -> getting a tattoo, of course.

After much deliberation and searching for a good (and clean) tattoo artist, we finally made a decision. We decided that it had to be something deeply meaningful according to our characters!

Max got his first (on his foot), then it was my turn and then Alica's. We both got ours on our arms - they were done with a bamboo stick!

Now all three of us have a simple Thai inscription, very delicate and simple yet elegant.

And now you're probably curious about what it means; as I said, there is a lot of brainstorming and depth behind it:

The tattoo says 'Guai Dtiao,' which stands for the typical Thai NOODLE SOUP.

Hahaha, yeah, we're crazy, but at least we're all on the same page ;)

We then quickly went to eat at an Italian restaurant (you need some variety from Thai food sometimes :p), and then I was picked up. When I left, I shed a few tears (okay, I cried) and once again wondered why I even do this shit of traveling alone and constantly saying goodbye :D but that's backpacker life.

And yes, something terrible happened. The taxi I was in ran over a stray dog. At first, I didn't even realize it and thought we were just driving over a pothole in the asphalt and two dogs were fighting somewhere. But no, my taxi simply ran over a dog. In that moment, I was so stunned, and the driver continued driving for another 5 meters (we were already practically at the destination) before stopping. I only heard the desperate howling and barking (it sounded like screaming) and then I saw the little guy. He was spinning in circles desperately because he apparently couldn't move his hind legs anymore. As I write this, the tears are already coming again... The little one then fled under a car and lay down there, howling. Luckily, the Thais are relatively fond of animals, and several people immediately tried to help the dog. I didn't know what to do, I had a lump in my stomach and was probably pale as a sheet. The driver finally let me out, and I ran to the dog, who had meanwhile hidden under the bridge. Then I couldn't hold back anymore and cried a lot. I wanted to stay there and help, but my boat was leaving in 10 minutes, and I saw that two guys were taking care of him. After asking ten times if they would make sure the dog receives treatment and telling the driver again that he has to take care of it, I finally got on the boat. I felt such a terrible guilt for leaving the poor suffering animal behind. Should I have stayed there? If there were no other people around, I probably would have and just let the boat go... I don't know, on the night boat (which consisted only of 80 cm beds all next to each other, aka mass cuddling), I couldn't calm down at all - that was really one of those moments while traveling alone where I missed someone who would just hold me in their arms :( well, okay, I have to somehow forget about it - I just hope they took care of him...

The boat ride was also pretty intense, we were at sea from 9 PM to 5 AM, and it was so stormy. Do you remember the Anastasia animated movie where Rasputin enchants the boat or the weather because he wants Anastasia to drown? And then everything is rocking so intensely? Well, I definitely thought of that, but I was also able to sleep a little bit despite the rocking :)

I arrived in Aow Nang, Krabi around 10 AM this morning. I like it so far, the hostel is cool, but I'll tell you more about it in the next blog.

Pray with me for the poor dog :( Thai kisses from southern Thailand!