Welcome to Thailand

As expected, we have now arrived in the dreamy Thailand. I haven't written anything since then, but I'm catching up now!

On 02/12, we went to the airport in Saigon in the evening and left Vietnam with mixed feelings. Vietnam was perfect as our first stop on our big trip. It offered breathtaking landscapes, great people, and amazing history. It was easy to travel as the country is geographically well-structured, and we loved it. We've already decided that Vietnam hasn't seen the last of us :D

So we flew to Bangkok and originally wanted to fly from there to Phuket. However, there were complications :D The connecting flight we were supposed to take was yesterday. Fabi and I chose the wrong day. Shit happens. Then we all grumbled for a moment and booked a very expensive flight to Krabi instead. Krabi is near Phuket and this flight was cheaper. Well, we arrived :D

So we arrived in Krabi. It was beautiful there and a huge shock for us at first. The place is right on the beach, but it was not very touristy and therefore very quiet. No honking and it was just silent there. We had to get used to it after the hectic and noisy Vietnam :D We checked into Mr. Clean's Guesthouse. Mr. Clean is a man. He runs the whole place alone and even cleans the rooms himself. We arrived earlier than the check-in time, so we slept on the sofas first. When the other guests checked out, he hurried to quickly finish the room so that we could move in. He also had a little puppy named Christman :D It was so cute and ran around the hostel all day. It was really nice to stay with him! We slept all day. In the evening, we rented a scooter and drove through the city and had dinner.

The next day (02/14/18), after an incredibly delicious breakfast (the first time in 4 weeks without eggs :D), the three of us hopped back on our scooters and set off. It is really hot here and we were very glad that we were heading towards the water. We went to the Emerald and Crystal Pool. These are natural pools with an incredibly blue color. The water is so clear. We immediately jumped in after walking through the jungle for about 20 minutes. It was incredibly beautiful. We stayed there until noon and then continued driving. We hoped to never encounter a red traffic light because the asphalt was so hot that it was unbearable to sit on the scooter without feeling any wind. Once we even had to stop because Tim's scooter overheated :D Oh, the things you experience here. Then we arrived at the Tiger Cave Temple. Before that, we had a huge portion of delicious and spicy chicken curry at the market. Then I quickly wrapped a scarf around my legs at the temple and luckily I was wearing a T-shirt instead of a tank top. You could have climbed the mountain with 1237 steps, but we didn't feel like it and only visited the lower cave, which has been transformed into a temple. At the entrance, a nun tied a braided bracelet around our wrists and we wrote our names in a book. All names are immortalized on the newly built big bell. The cave is named after a tiger, as a monk who came to meditate in this cave saw a tiger wandering around. That's why there are many tiger statues in the cave. Additionally, many monkeys have settled on the mountain. They are quite cheeky and the monks and nuns often have fun with them :D One monkey already had a small handbag in its possession. They skillfully got it back through distraction maneuvers ;D After the temple, we went to the beach and arrived just in time for the sunset. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day! In the evening, we went to the market again and had dinner there. Then we went back to the hostel.

The next day (02/15/18), we took the bus to Phuket. First, we were picked up at the hostel. Fabi realized that he had forgotten his sunglasses in the rented scooter from yesterday. But it was already gone. Mr. Clean immediately grabbed his phone and tried to get the scooter back :D We waited for a moment, but the bus driver wanted us to leave. Then we were taken to a place where many other people were already waiting with their luggage. The Thai women working there immediately put a sticker on our shirts. It said where we were going. That's the system :D Suddenly a car arrived and who got out? Mr. Clean. And what did he bring? Fabi's sunglasses :D That guy is really awesome :D Then we were ordered into the next bus. It was a small open van, almost like a tuk-tuk. He just threw our backpacks on the roof and we hoped they would arrive safely :D Then we arrived at the main bus station and from there the big bus to Phuket city started. We arrived there around 4:00 pm and went to the Sunny Hostel. It's also very nice and clean. In the evening, we went to the Indie Night Market. We ate there and listened to live music. It was really nice! Just a great atmosphere. My flip-flops broke, but I bought new ones at the market right away :D

On 02/16/18, we went to another beach - Kata Beach. Fabi and I went ahead and Tim followed. The beach was 100 times more beautiful. Turquoise blue, clear, and clean water, and not overcrowded at all. We spent at least an hour in the water :D It was unfortunately Fabi's last day :( In the afternoon, we went back to the hostel. He packed his things and then we all went to the bus station where the bus to the airport departs. I shed a few tears too. I already miss you Fabi :* Hihi, but it was really nice and we'll see each other again soon! After saying goodbye, Tim and I went to eat a delicious curry and planned our further route. Now I'm looking forward to what's next. Thailand is just my country! :D

Today is 02/18/18 and we somehow got up pretty late. Hihi, I guess we overslept a bit. Well, we got something to eat and hopped on the scooter. First to Monkey Hill. You can drive up the hill with the scooter and it's full of monkeys. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, thin ones. Everything is represented. I sat down on a rock. I had my backpack between my legs. I actually had all the monkeys in view. Tim was a bit further away. Suddenly I felt something warm and soft on my neck. At first, I thought it was Tim. Then more limbs touched me and I realized it was a monkey :D So I quickly jumped up and shook him off in shock. What I didn't think about in that moment? My backpack. I left it to the monkey. So now it was a struggle for the backpack between Tim and me and the monkey. :D Tim first tried to lure them with a plastic bottle, but one of them got angry, jumped up, and hissed at us directly. The others examined the backpack more closely and tried to figure out how to open it. Then suddenly a car arrived and they were distracted for a moment, and that's when I grabbed the backpack :D Thank goodness! After that, I could have used a drink :D Actually, I had already resigned myself to leaving the backpack to the monkeys. So we quickly got on the scooter and drove away. We quickly took a picture of the beautiful view and then left :D After that, we drove to the Big Buddha. It's a 45 m high Buddha statue on the mountain. You can see it from almost everywhere. Google Maps showed us a really strange way. The road suddenly ended and there was only bumpy clay ground. We almost did motocross and sometimes it was close to a crash :D We passed lonely houses with huge pigs, dogs, and chickens lying in front of their doors :D Then thankfully the road started again and we wondered who or what could have left those big piles of poop. Suddenly we turned a corner and what did we see? ELEPHANTS. AMAZING! We drove slowly and tried not to attract attention :D The animals are just great. Today I bought an elephant bracelet right away :D When we finally reached the top, we had a beautiful view and the Buddha was truly breathtaking. We wondered how they brought all the material up there. It's made of small mosaic stones. They probably had to make use of the elephants too.. After that, we drove back to the beach and took another dip in the water. Such a delightful refreshment! In the evening, we went to the market in the old town of Phuket. Fantastic! So many different delicacies, live music, artists, and clothes. I could have strolled around there for hours!

Tomorrow we're heading to Suratthani. I'm excited!!