After another safe and short flight back from Siem Reap to Bangkok, I start my true Thailand backpacking trip: very long train & bus rides, crazy people, awesome food, scary monkeys, dried out waterfalls, a night on an old fishing boat and sunburns included:
Thailand (4) – THE JIM THOMPSON-EXPERIENCE IN BANGKOK
I’ve seen pretty much everything in Bangkok. Slowly, I’m getting bored of the city. The humidity, the heat and the daily traffic chaos all add considerably to that feeling. I have no idea what to do. Time to consult my travel bible*. I open the pages on Thailand and start looking for the blue stars (the must visit recommendations). Oh yes! Gotcha! A few minutes later, Maria from Germany, Stephen from China and I head over to the closest BTS station. As it turns out, the Jim Thompson House is a true gem inside the heart of Bangkok. An oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Well worth the hour you will spend here and 150 Baht entrance fee. The tour (mandatory to see the house) is informative and the antique collection beautiful. Quite relaxed and happy we’re ready to return to the modern world – and accidentally stumble into the MBK Fight Night…
*Lonely Planet’s Southeast Asia on a Shoestring by China Williams
Thailand (5) – A LOT OF SIGHTSEEING IN AYUTTHAYA
I’m taking the train to the ancient city of Ayutthaya 76 kilometers north of Bangkok. It’s a slow (around two hours) but pleasant and cheap ride. Ayutthaya, formally known as Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya was the Thai capital city 417 years ago, and is one of Thailand’s major tourist attractions. I’m spending a few days here to enjoy all the sights:
Thailand (6) – MONKEY BUSINESS IN LOP BURI
My train travels continue to the small, but super relaxed town of Lop Buri. It’s a wonderful place to stop along the way to Chiang Mai. The monkey temple is the highlight, of course, but the small town also offers some chilled bars and delicious food:
Thailand (7) – THE NORTH: CHIANG MAI & PAI
Tonight, I’m taking the night train from Lop Buri to Chiang Mai for 836 THB (around 21,00 EUR). It’s a fantastic ride! The sleeping car is very comfortable, clean and safe. The steady motion of the train puts me to sleep in minutes. In Chiang Mai I’m staying at a small guesthouse called Wayside Guesthouse. The price is great and the staff (especially Som) very, very helpful. She helps me plan almost all of my activities in Thailand’s northern capital: a trip to an Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, the bus rides to Pai and back to Bangkok, a Thai/Akha cooking class and much, much more. Despite the constant arrival of planes and trains full of tourists, Chiang Mai’s historic centre still feels more like a sleepy country town with delicious food and relaxing massages. There are also many great shops around and the Saturday night market is quite impressive. My backpack keeps growing bigger and bigger. I can’t resist all those amazing & cheap shirts with cool designs… Together with Red from Taiwan and Jack from China I also get to „enjoy“ my first real Thai massage at Lila Thai Massage:
Established by the former director of the Chiang Mai women’s prison Lila Thai offers post-release employment for graduates from the prison’s massage training program.
Well, to be honest, the traditional Thai massage does need some getting used to. There’s no time to sit-back and relax… the little ladies jump and bounce around, laugh at us „tight men“ and make us work with them. Ouch, that’s not always pleasant, but the following night I do sleep like a baby. The next morning, I’m well prepared to explore some major sights in the city and take a short trip to Pai:
I’m quite happy to leave Pai again, although I have to travel along some of the most winding roads I’ve ever experienced. I did meet some cool people and we had a great motorbike ride to a waterfall without water and a beautiful sunset location without much sun, but the small town is mostly occupied by strange hippies and young party people who just finished high school. I’m feeling a bit out of place here. It’s time to explore the south of Thailand and it’s well-known islands… but first, back to Bangkok, via bus!
Thailand (8) – THE SOUTH: SEA FOOD MADNESS
Thailand (9) – A BORING DAY IN CHUMPON
An unexpected delay. After taking a really slow mini van from Prachup Khiri Khan to Chumpon –it felt like the whole road was a construction site- I miss my ferry to Koh Tao at 01:00 PM. What a mess! I have no idea where to go and the harbor is about 13 kilometers away from the city center. One of the guys working at the „bus station“ (a desk with a phone and an old map of the area from the 70s) finally offers some help. He calls a travel agent somewhere close and I end up on one of the motorcycle taxis although I had promised myself to never ever use on of these… Luckily, it’s a really short and slow ride that only costs 20 Baht. My giant backpack and I are too heavy to drive fast.
At the tourist information (which is an old cafe) I learn that there’s only one other ferry today, because it is… Sunday. And that ferry leaves at 11:00 PM, meaning I have to wait for ten wonderful hours in this stupid city. I decide to book a room at the worst hotel possible, just so I can sleep a bit and maybe take a shower. The „Fame Hotel“ is really bad. The room is next to a main street, the windows don’t close completely, there’s only one giant and loud fan above the bed and no running water. I’m just hanging around there, sweating, buying loads of water and later enjoying a delicious Pad Thai at the night market. Should I mention that the night market is located on a very busy street and cars are still driving there the whole time? Weird! However, in the end it all works out. The boat leaves almost on time and I get to enjoy the original Thai experience: an old fishing boat takes me and a few local families to Koh Tao. Yeah!
Thailand (10) – ISLAND FUN: KOH TAO & KOH SAMUI
MILO UNTERWEGS 