And the next country is... ?!

[by Jonas] As teased in the last blog, we are now in the next country or rather back in the first one. Yes, we are back in Thailand.

Our flight here departed from Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City at 9 am. Unfortunately, we couldn't check-in online in advance, so we had to arrive at the airport early. However, we arranged with our hotel the day before to organize a reliable taxi for a fixed price (10 USD = 8.14€). It arrived on time at 6 am. But it wasn't a regular taxi, it was a private driver who took us to the airport. However, that didn't bother us as we arrived at the airport punctually. There, we checked in at the counter and dropped off our luggage. We exchanged the remaining Vietnamese dong for Thai baht at a good rate. By the way, we still have some Lao kip left that no currency exchange office wants to accept!

After a short wait, during which we ate a baguette we had from the hotel, we headed towards immigration and security. However, it was so crowded that we had to queue at the entrance of the check-in hall. At first, we were worried that we might not make it to our gate on time, but the line eventually moved quite quickly, so we went through immigration and officially exited Vietnam. We then proceeded directly to security. Fortunately, the line here was not as long, and everything went smoothly. Once we arrived at the gate, we only had to wait for 5 minutes until boarding began.

We flew with Jetstar Airways, a low-cost airline in Asia that operates through its hub in Singapore. The seats were comfortable, and there was sufficient legroom for a 1.5-hour flight, even for someone my size. The crew was friendly, and we departed on time towards Singapore. The takeoff from the bustling city of HCMC was as impressive as the view from the Skybar two days earlier. The airport is located amidst the houses of the sprawling city, and as we flew higher, we could even see the Financial Tower, where the Skybar is located.

But soon, we had left this city and the whole view of it behind us and soared through the light clouds into the sky. The flight itself was uneventful, as we couldn't see much since it crossed the South China Sea the entire time. We slept for a while and listened to some music until we heard the announcement that we were now on the approach to Singapore. It took a while, but when we were on the final stretch, we fortunately had the perfect seats to catch a glimpse of the skyline of this high-rise city-state. I had imagined it to be even cooler as I thought the airport would be more centrally located, but even so, we could see quite a lot and even recognize the typical triple high-rise with a pool on the roof that is characteristic of Singapore.

So, we had a three-hour layover at Changi Airport in Singapore. Normally, this transfer time is usually something you want to kill as quickly as possible, but at this airport, it's different. The airport has a very calm atmosphere, which doesn't match the stressful nature of flying. There is plenty to do in all areas. The airport is known for its rooftop pool at Terminal 1. However, it costs 17 Singapore dollars (approximately 10.52€) per person, and we thought it was a bit pricey for the relatively short layover, especially since we were really hungry by now. As a result, we went to Subway and had a Chicken Teriyaki Sub (10.50 S$ = 8 US$ = 6.49€). We paid in US dollars without any problems, and even the change was given to us in US dollars.

Afterwards, we went to the other attraction at Terminal 1, the rooftop cactus garden. It is filled with over 100 species of cacti from around the world, which enjoy the hot sun near the equator. The garden is located outside the otherwise heavily air-conditioned areas, and it was here that we realized how far south we were at this time. The sun was scorching here, 140km away from the equator, even more than in southern Vietnam. So, we took some photos and watched the planes land through the tropical plants and quickly went back inside.

Our flight boarded quite soon. Once that was completed, we headed to the runway for takeoff, but it took almost 40 minutes until we could finally take off. The reason for this delay was another aircraft that had an emergency and had the highest priority for landing. We don't know exactly what happened, but after the other aircraft landed, the airport's operations returned to normal, and we were able to depart.

Until shortly before the end of the flight, nothing really happened.
During the approach to Phuket, we enjoyed breathtaking views. This time, it wasn't high-rises, but beautiful islands off the coast of Thailand. We made a turn right above Koh Phi Phi, giving us a direct view of the paradise nature of this island.

After landing, we made it: we are back in Thailand, and the final phase of our journey begins!

[by Franzi] After getting off the plane in Phuket, we had to go through immigration once again. However, this time, we didn't get a visa for our second stay in Thailand. We didn't get one in advance or at the airport. With a German passport, you can stay in Thailand for 30 days without a visa if you can show proof of exiting within those 30 days, and we could. Without any problems, we received a stamp in our passports and proceeded to the baggage claim. Our backpacks were returned to us quite quickly, and we stepped out into the Thai air.
We read on the internet that there should be a shuttle bus from here to Phuket Town, which is quite affordable for this rather long distance. So, we started looking for this bus, but we couldn't find the bright yellow bus anywhere. The departure time was approaching, and we were becoming more and more anxious. After some time, we found out that the bus departs from the Domestic Terminal, and we had been searching for it at the International Terminal like idiots. Of course, we couldn't find the bus there. So, we walked to the other terminal, where we immediately found the yellow bus. We boarded with our luggage, and soon after, the bus departed. The bus attendant went through the bus to sell everyone a ticket (100 baht = 2.60€). The journey took us through the countryside and lasted about an hour in total. The bus stopped along the roadside to pick up and drop off passengers.
Upon arriving in Phuket, we got off just before the final stop and made our way to our hostel from there. Luckily, it didn't take long, and we were able to check in (190 baht per person per night = 4.93€). Our room wasn't particularly big and basically consisted only of the bed and a small area in front of it where we could place our luggage. Unfortunately, I caught a cold and fever from the airplane air conditioning and was so tired that I fell asleep immediately. So, I spent the next day in bed and couldn't see much of Phuket. However, Jonas walked around a bit, but he didn't really like it. In the evening, we went to a pancake restaurant and had a pancake chicken burger (165 baht = 4.28€), which I had never eaten before. The next day, we continued to a small (dream) island in the morning. You will find out what we experienced there in the next blog.

Until then!

Franzi and Jonas

P.S. With this, we greet Grandma Zita, Grandma Withi, and Grandpa Franz, who always eagerly read our blog!