Bangkok City

So now I finally get to the first post. On 03.04 it finally started for me. The starting point was Frankfurt International Airport. Just a tip: you shouldn't be there 3 hours early if you have already checked in online, otherwise you have to wait another hour until you can drop off your luggage: D From there we flew for 2 hours on a small plane to Kiev. There I could still have lunch (cheap!) until I boarded the 10-hour long-haul flight. After a total of 20 minutes of sleep, several movies, and 2 disgusting airplane meals, I arrived at 9 am local time (5h+ time difference).

With the help of my great travel guide, I found our hotel on my own by train and on foot, in bright sunshine and pleasant wind :) Lisa was already waiting for me there.

After acclimating by the pool and taking a power nap in our great hotel room, we started exploring in the evening. First impression: loud, crowded, crazy traffic, dirty and totally different from us - I love it❤

After the first Thai dinner, we went to a great rooftop bar nearby. What a stunning view!

After 10 hours of much-needed sleep and a super delicious breakfast buffet, we set off for the Grand Palace. True to our motto 'the journey is the destination', the cheap journey there (about €1.50 for the whole city) by bus and metro was exciting. The palace and the associated temple are very beautiful, but in my opinion, overcrowded and hyped...

Included in the admission price was also a dance performance that we watched at the theater. It was a bit corny, but traditional with Thai masks and instruments.

From there we walked to Chinatown, where the name says it all. Street stalls and booths with crazy Chinese food and non-food items everywhere.

But since I generally don't dare to eat from street stalls (the meat lies in the sun all day, there are bugs, and everything is super unhygienic), I didn't eat anything there...on the way there, however, I found my favorite meal anyway: fresh mango shake and 'Mango Sticky Rice' (mango with sticky rice and coconut milk) for less than €2 in total.

Using the classic mode of transportation, the TukTuk (motorcycle rickshaw where you have to negotiate hard), we went to a large park where it seemed like all the residents were doing sports.

By taking an adventurous footpath through a kind of slum, we walked back to the hotel. Since we hadn't booked anything except the flight and the first hotel, but realized that transfers should be planned in advance, we spent several evenings with nerve-wracking research and booking...stressed out by that, we treated ourselves to a dreamy one-hour oil massage on the second evening :) (for only €10...)

The next day, we didn't leave until 1 pm to go to Bangkok's largest weekend market, 'Chatuchak'.

There you can literally find everything. At first, I was so overwhelmed by the people and stands. But eventually, we got a feel for the prices and strolled around a bit. Surprisingly, no one there wanted to negotiate even the slightest...In the back of the market, there is the pet section. The sight of rabbits, cats, etc. locked up in narrow, hot cages brought tears to our eyes...The worst thing was seeing a husky puppy (!) that just fit into the cage and surely melted in the heat...

After a cold shower, we went for my first Thai curry (very spicy but delicious) to 'Khao San Road', a colorful crazy street.

There were loads of tourists partying in a row of clubs on-site. It was too much for us, so after a Chang beer (tastes like Kölsch), we took a TukTuk home.

Unfortunately, we have been suffering from opposite jetlag for days now - Lisa is 3 hours ahead and I am 5 hours behind...which makes falling asleep together difficult.

On the last day in Bangkok, we decided to relax instead of going to a floating market all the way across the city.

We visited the huge shopping center 'Terminal 21' (but everything was at least as expensive as back home) and chilled by the pool for another 2 hours with a banana shake.

I left my cheap sandals from Germany on the side of the road with a sign saying 'for someone who really needs them' (who knows what Google Translate actually produced xD) because they completely destroyed my feet after one day...

Instead of taking a €14 taxi, I convinced Lisa to travel to the airport by bus and train as an adventure ;) After a McDonald's lunch, we flew to Krabi in the south with the experienced AirAsia line.

Those were the first 5 days of my trip :)