south east asia

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Trip start
November 15, 2022
south east asia Traveler
Vorarlberg
November 15, 2022 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
15. November 22

Let the adventure begin!

07:38 - Train from Feldkirch to Zürich Airport. Unfortunately train was delayed 30min because of technical issues luckily Elena, my travel buddy for the first couple of days, and I planed enough time so we had no hurry. Furthermore we had enough time to explore the airport and we found a viewing platform where you can watch planes take off and landing.

13:15 - departure to Bangkok Airport. A boeing 777, 10 000 km, 2 bad meals & 11h later we arrive at 06:10 (16. November) in Bangkok

p.s. i forgot that goodbye is so difficult and i have absolutely no clue how i got everything into my backbackRead more
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Bangkok
November 16, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
8 a.m. - Elena and I arrived at our hostel called “bed station” near the Khao San Road, because check-in is not until three o’clock, we decided to explore our hostel a little bit.
I can genuinely recommend this hostel when you’re the first time in Bangkok, especially when you’re travelling alone. The hostel is located in the heart of Bangkok and the vibe there is fascinating. There are two buildings, a swimming pool between them, a small gym and a bar throughout the day which turns into a disco at night. After we have looked around, we agreed to relax by the pool to calm a little it down. There we met a few other backpackers with whom we arranged to have lunch together.

12 p.m. - We had lunch in a small restaurant and after we’ve finished, we strolled around the neighborhood. Honestly, my first impression of Bangkok was overwhelming because there are so much different smells, especially weed and pee, and the everyday life there is super crazy and busy.

3 p.m. – Finally, we had our Check-in and we saw our room for the first time. Everything was clean and hygienic and even the bed was comfortable and had curtains for more privacy. Unfortunately, it was really loud until 12 a.m.

4:30 p.m. - Many new backpackers arrived today at our hostel. Some of them gathered at the bar so I joined them and got to know some of the guys.

7 p.m. - I went to bed early because I was extremely tired. I only slept for 1 hour during the long flight from Zurich to Bangkok.

P.S.: I am not sure if I pissed myself while sleeping or just sweated a lot hahaRead more
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south east asia Traveler
Bangkok
November 17, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
1 p.m. – After waking up, I directly jumped into the pool and had a coffee.

4:30 p.m. - For lunch I ate Pad Thai for the first time, which is a typical street food dish in Thailand. I also had a fresh coconut for dessert.

8 p.m. - We walked through the Khao San Road with Rune and Audrey, a Belgian couple we’ve met in the hostel, and tried some of the street food. At the local street food markets, you get everything from spiders, scorpions and crocodiles, to laughing gas, Viagra and lots of weed.
Afterwards, we went to Soi Cowboy which is kind of a red-light district. We strolled through the roads and decided to go to a strip club called “Long Gun”. That was a fucking weird experience. They did a Ping-Pong show and some other disturbing things like smoking two cigarettes, blowing a whistle, shooting balloons, blowing out some candles with their pussy and many more, just to mention the strangest ones.

P.S.: The majority of the people in the strip club or generally in the red-light district were old white European men.Read more
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south east asia Traveler
Bangkok
November 18, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
2 a.m. - Elena and I tried to book a cheap flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on Sunday, but due to technical issues it didn’t work. Furthermore, all trains were fully booked, so we ended up booking a 10-hour bus drive to Chiang Mai.

12 p.m. - Today we wanted to see the grand palace, but the guards told us it’s closed because of the APEC 2022 (Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation) but will open again tomorrow. So, we decided to visit the “Wat Paknam” temple instead. There we went inside the 80m and five floor high stupa „Maharatchamongkhon“ which was beautiful . The details and style of this building were stunning. In front of the stupa is a giant Buddha image. It’s 69m tall and 40m wide and called „Phra Buddha Dhammakāya Thepmongkhon“ or also known as the sitting Buddha.

3 p.m. - After visiting the temple, we went to Chinatown. It was very hard to get there because our Bolt-Driver (it’s basically Asian uber) got the wrong destination and only spoke Thai. We tried everything to communicate, but the language barrier was too big. So, I ended up lending him my phone to navigate. One hour later, after he took the wrong exit twice, we arrived in Chinatown. Chinatown is the busiest part of Bangkok, but it’s really cool and definitely worth it. You get lost really quickly and there is so much to explore. You could literally stay there for a couple of days.

6 p.m. - I got something to eat and ate it at the hostel. After that I called my family because I got my first mental breakdown. (I don’t know why, I guess it was just a lot of new things to deal with… )Read more
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Bangkok
November 19, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
9 a.m. - It’s is our last day in Bangkok, so I decided to make my first laundry. Sunday morning on 7:30 a.m. our bus leaves to Chiang Mai and will arrive there at 7:30 p.m.

11 a.m. - Elena and I went to the Grand Palace and I was fascinated by the architecture, colors and decorations from the different buildings. I saw the famous “Wat Phra Kaew” where the legendary emerald Buddha (which is 75cm high and made from jade) stands. He has a very special meaning for the Thai Buddhism. I also saw the golden “Phra Sri Rattana Chedi” and last but not least I saw the Royal/Grand Palace.

2 p.m. – It was way too hot to do anything right then so I just relaxed a bit by the pool and read a book.

P.S.: So far, I don’t know very much about Buddhism, so don’t judge me

Summary:
Bangkok is a shithole but if you get into it it’s pretty cool. Honestly you must have seen it but it gets exhausting with the time. In my opinion there are some beautiful temples you can visit and really nice streetfood but the main part is party, sex and drugs.Read more
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Bangkok -> Chiang Mai
November 20, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
5:30 - I haven’t slept well because it was really loud and hot in the night. Furthermore the british girl beside me started to phone someone extremely loud at 3am. After a small amount of sleep my phone rang already and I took my things outside and checked whether I have forgotten anything. After that I booked a Bolt to get us from the hostel to the bus terminal.

7:00 - It was easier as i thought to get the ticket and find the departure point.

7:30 - The bus leaved from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and was supposed to arrive there at 19:30. I made it comfortable in my seat and slept the hole morning.

12:00 - We had a little break for food and toilet. The food tasted not really good and the toilet was awful. After that we continued and i saw many rice fields, banana trees and some mountains.

18:10 - We arrived 1h earlier than planned and shared a taxi with other travelers to our hostel.

19:00 - Elena and I were very hungry after this long bus ride. So we walked into the city center and looked for something to eat. Suddenly we found a cute little restaurant beside the river. It was quite full but luckily they had place for two. The Pad Thai I ate there was the best I ate so far. The ambience was beautiful near the river with live music.

20:30 - I met a germany guy his name was Felix and we had a really interesting conversation about FPV-Drone’s and psychedelic substances. Furthermore he has some experience in traveling alone and I learned a lot.Read more
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Chiang Mai -> Pai
November 21, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
9 a.m. - I woke up and went to the toilet packed my things together and ordered a Bolt to the bus station.

10 a.m. - Elena and me arrived at the bus station. Suddenly we met Eleanor which we knew already from Bangkok. It was really exciting to meet again.

10:45 a.m. - The bus from Chiang Mai leaves to Pai. The bus was really small and had nothing to store the luggage so they put it on the top of the bus and tied the luggage tightly.

12:30 p.m. - We made a small break for toilet

1:45 p.m. - We arrived in Pai after a 3h ride. I went to the ATM to withdraw some money and after that we made the way to our hostel for the first night. I don’t know why but almost every good hostel in Pai is fully booked out.

2 p.m. - Elena and I were checking into our hostel for one night. The hostel is 15min from the center and it was really cozy. Furthermore the family who run‘s the hostel is really lovely and wanted to get called mom and dad. It was a really hot day so I decided to go for a swim in the pool.

5 p.m. - We walked 15min into the center of Pia and explored the nightmarket. We got us some street food, honestly I love the Thai food. By coincidence we met Eleanor and she invited us for public viewing in another hostel.

7:30 p.m. - I don’t know why but there are so many UK guys backpacking it’s insane. The UK boys from the Circus hostel organized a public viewing for the WM game England vs. Iran.

10:30 p.m. - After the game I went back into the town with a small group. In comparison to Bangkok it was really cold in the night. We were hungry so we got something to eat and went into a bar. It was more a club than a bar so unfortunately we could not talk.Read more
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Pai
November 22, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
9:30 a.m. - I woke up after a decent night in the hostel JJ&J‘s garden.

11 a.m. - Elena and I packed our bags and checked out.

11:30 a.m. - Because check started at 2pm we decided to eat breakfast in the cafe „coffee stain‘s“. I got a hot coffee and a awesome chocolate bowl for breakfast. I talked a little bit with the owner and he taught me some Thai words. Sadly i forgot them already expect for „khawp khun (khrap for male/kha for female)“. It means thank you.

2 p.m. - We hooked up with El, we met her at the public viewing yesterday and organized a sightseeing tour for half a day. El brought 3 other girls with her their names were Anne, Rachel and Louisa.
At first we went to the hot springs and it was nice but because it was a hot day no really refreshing. After that we visited a viewing point from where you saw the whole valley. Then we went to the bamboo bridge. My personal favorite that day was the bamboo bridge. There are lots of rice fields and you can walk basically over them with a bamboo bridge. It looked like it was harvesting time. I really loved the smell of the dry harvested rice plant’s. It remembered me of the smell of dry grass back home. At last we went to the famous pai canyons to see the sunset but we missed it.

6:15 p.m. - We finished our tour and it was amazing especially with this group constellation. But I have to mention that the roads and the drive to this places are an adventure for themselves.

7 p.m. - I ate something at the nightmarket. There you can always get a lot of good and cheap food.

10:30 p.m. - Elena and I hooked up with Anne from the sightseeing tour and we met her and some friends of her, Dave, Meg, Scott and Louisa, at a bar. They taught us the dice game „yesbank“ and it was really fun.
yesbank rules:
- 6 dices
- the goal is to get one 2, one 4 and to hit a high number mit the other dices
- each roll you have to put at least one dice a way
- the best score (a yesbank) you can get is 2,4 and then 6,6,6,6Read more
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Pai
November 23, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
10:30 a.m. - Start of the day. It’s getting late every evening so obviously I don’t get up early.

11:30 a.m. - Elena and I brunched with the guys from yesterday evening because the leaved later that day.

2 p.m. - I phoned my mum. I didn’t expect to miss my family so much so it was really exciting to talk with her.

3:30 p.m. - I just walked randomly around and explored the town. I discover some nice café‘s and stores.

4 p.m. - Later I went to pai canyons again to see the full sunset. It is always really busy when the weather is good there are always many people but it was still beautiful and relaxing. In could what sunset‘s literally everyday.
There I met Malte, Charlie and another girl.

6:15 p.m. - I hooked up with these guys to get dinner and Malte took me with his scooter back to the center.

8 p.m. - As usual we went to the nightmarket to find some food.

9 p.m. - I met Anne and Elena and we decided to smoke weed for the first time in Thailand. You can get it at every corner so we bought some and went to a cool bar we saw the days before. The bar had an outside space made of bamboo and in the middle was a open fireplace. The perfect spot to smoke.Read more
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Pai
November 24, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
10:30 a.m. - Anne, Elena and I went for breakfast to „rainny café“ and I ate a really good chocolate bowl and a coffee.
There I met two lovely girls named Ella and Tilda. Both are from Germany and we had a nice little chat.

1 p.m. - I explored the town once again. I love it because every time I find some new cool stores and café‘s.

2:30 p.m. - I switched back to JJ&J‘s garden hostel because I loved the atmosphere here. The hosts are awesome and you feel like in a big family. In the afternoon I read and relaxed for the first time.

5:30 p.m. - I went into town for shopping and found a nice bracelet. While shopping I got really hungry. Luckily you get good and pricey food at every corner.

7 p.m. - Walking trough the streets I met Anne and Elena and we went in a bar to drink something.

9:30 p.m. - I got tired so I left earlier than usual. While walking to the hostel I phoned my sister and almost got fucked from the homeless dogs. Not far from our hostel there are always 10 dogs guarding the street. I don’t know what I have done to them but the barked at me and run after me. I normally love dogs but that scared me as fuck.

P.S.: Elena and I split up so now I am traveling aloneRead more
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Pai
November 25, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
9 a.m. - I talked to a spanish guy at breakfast and we reckon that we both are planning the same jungle trekking tour in Chiang Mai.

9:30 a.m. - I went for my first little hike to the white buddha. I easily could go with a scooter but I am to scared because they drive on the left side of the street, the streets are not in a good condition and i saw so many people with serious injuries. Don‘t want to end my trip after almost two weeks.

10:30 a.m. - I arrived at the white buddha and it was amazing. The buddha itself and the view especially. I sat down and just thought about life and wrote it down in my travel journal.

11:30 a.m. - I left after one hour.

11:45 a.m. - I saw a cool café on the way to the temple called „fat cat“. I ate something like milk rice with fruits and a iced coffee. Honestly this café is one of my favorites. It is a little bit outside the town but the ambiance is gorgeous. I really loved the space where you ate. It was kind of a bamboo platform in the height with a lot of sitting areas.

12:45 p.m. - It should have been cloudy but it was so hot when I walked back. I tough I don’t need any suncream and got my first small sunburn.

1:30 p.m. - I arrived in the hostel and gave up my laundry because I only have one t-shirt and one short left. In the afternoon I read my book at the pool and relaxed a little bit.

5 p.m. - Exploring Pai is kind of my daily routine now

6:30 p.m. - I got a good hot yellow curry in a thai restaurant

8 p.m. - Earlier that day I got a flyer for a nice party in a bar. So I went there and they had good prices for alcoholic drinks. Furthermore there was a free BBQ wich was really tasty and a DJ. I also met there some people I already knew from Bangkok and we had a really fun time.Read more
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Pai
November 26, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
9:30 a.m. - I woke up a little bit hungover and got me a small breakfast. Every morning mom gave us fresh fruits from her garden. Going out every evening is definitely nothing for me.

10:45 a.m. - I got breakfast and coffee in the „coffeeandcake“ café. I ate a bagel mit peanut butter, nutella & banana’s. Honestly I love peanut butter especially „roti“ with peanut butter.

12 p.m. - I decided to visit a 1.5h Breathwork class at „Bodhi Tree Yoga“. Breathwork is the practice of consciously working with the breath, generally for relaxation, meditation, or therapeutic purposes, and to unwind tension patterns in the physical, mental, and emotional body. The goal is to get trough breathwork access to the deeper dimensions of the body, psyche, and spirit, in support of therapeutic healing, insight, and self-discovery.

3 p.m. - I had literally no expectations at the beginning. But afterwards I can say that this experience was one of the craziest in my life so far. At first it was a little bit weird but after a couple of minutes I got used to it. Suddenly everything was automatic and I was like in a trance. I began to tremble, my hands cramped, I had to cry and I kinda passed out for a short time. I could not describe my feelings afterwards. I was kind of sad and happy at the same time. I don‘t know how to explain but it was really intense.

4 p.m. - I phoned my family and told them what happen the last days.

7 p.m. - I went for a little walk and got asked by strangers what to do because there was a dog who got hit by a car. So I googled for something like a rescue center but I couldn’t find anything. The only option was to ask the locals and they told us that this dog got injured already five years ago and there is nothing they can do :(

8 p.m. - I ate at the hostel and went to sleep early because the breathwork was extremely exhausting.

P.S.: everywhere I go and whatever I do I am by far the youngest backpackerRead more
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Pai
November 27, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
9 a.m. - I got up and ate a little bit. Talked with the other guys in the hostel

11 a.m. - I went into town to brunch in the
„Om Garden Café“. I met a german couple which gave me some good advice for traveling alone. They also recommended me some activities they already made. I was almost ready to leave but suddenly another guy, Cesàr, came at my table and we directly had a nice talk.

2:30 p.m. - I spent the afternoon at the pool in the hostel. Furthermore I got my laundry back.

6 p.m. - Walking trough the nightmarket looking for food and some clothes I met some Spanish girls from Bangkok. It’s crazy how many I already met twice.

9 p.m. - Later I hooked up with Cesàr the Belgium guy from the morning and we watched the Belgium World Cup game.

P.S.: Watching the World Cup when it’s warm and with people from all over the world is fun :)

Summary:
I don’t have many other places to compare but I love Pai. It’s a smaller town in the north of Thailand. Although Pai is perfect to relax and explore the nature there is always action in the evening. Furthermore I also love the good café‘s. I almost went in another every day to brunch and read or watching people. As I already mention before I have not rented a scooter because of safety but the next time I definitely will. So I can explore the beauty of Pai by my self.Read more
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Pai -> Chiang Mai
November 28, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
8 a.m. - I woke up early today because I moved later to Chiang Mai and I needed to pack my luggage.

10 a.m. - I said goodbye to my lovely hosts mom and dad. I had a great stay at there accommodation. Samuel, a guy from the hostel, drove me with his motorbike into the center of Pai.

10:30 a.m. - I had some time to spend so I went into a café to drink a coffee. There I met the Swiss couple from my hostel and we had a nice little chat.

11:30 a.m. - I hooked up with Elena and Anne to brunch and say goodbye.

1 p.m. - My bus left from Pai to Chiang Mai. Honestly I think the driver wanted to set a new time record. He drove so fast and criminal it was an adventure.

4 p.m. - I arrived in Chiang Mai and shared a taxi with other travelers to get to my hostel.

5 p.m. - I checked in into my hostel called “SmileRobotist”. The owner was very friendly and nice. He recommended me some good places for food, party and sightseeing.

5:30 p.m. - I went to „Kats Kitchen“ for dinner one of the restaurants my host recommended. I ate Khao Soi and it was excellent but also extremely hot. I never sweated so much. Don’t get me wrong spice is nice but I need to taste the other things as well. Not just burning your mouth. This restaurant seems popular because when I left there was a long queue.

9 p.m. - I bought tickets for the Muay Thai Figh tonight. I met Cole, Jena and Eliza at my hostel and they also went there. It was a fun night with those american guys. We saw seven entertaining but hard fights and made some bets between us.

0:30 a.m. - We went back to our hostel and Cole began to play the guitar. Elza joined im later.Read more
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Chiang Mai
November 29, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
9 a.m. - Ton the owner of the hostel got us some breakfast.

10 a.m. - Later Ton has advised me some activities for the next couple of days and I booked some of them.

11:30 a.m. - I got me a free bicycle for the hole day to explore the city.

12 p.m. - I visited the temple’s “Wat Chiang Man” and “Wat Phra Singh”. I mean if you saw a few temple’s you saw them all but everyone has another story and the architecture is fascinating. After that I made a little break and drunk for the first time Thai Tee at “Zohng Coffee”. It was unexpected good. Furthermore I went to the pharmacy because I got a cold from the fans and air conditioning. Afterwards I visited another temple “Wat Chedi Luang”.

2:30 p.m. - There I chatted with monks almost 1.5h. They just sat there and you could asked them whatever you wanted. It was really inspiring, helpful & interesting.

4 p.m. - I continued my driving around the city. I love just walking/driving around and explore the area.

5 p.m. - I got hungry so I went to “Blue Noodle” another recommendation of my host. It was a normal noodle soup nothing special. So I was a little bit disappointed.

8 p.m. - I met two guys at the hostel and we hooked up for dinner. I ate the first time mango and sticky rice as a dessert and I loved it.

9 p.m. - After dinner we went to a Ladyboy Show. At first we were convinced because the drinks were very expensive and the show started slowly. But after a while we enjoyed it and were sad when they took a 20min break. The second part was even better than the first one because they involved the audience. One part of the show was a wedding and the groom was a guy that in the audience. The whole situation was so funny especially when e dropped the bride. I also got involved several times with dancing, flirting and kissing. At the end we partied all together and we took photos with the actors. I loved it and we had the time of our life so I highly recommend it.

P.S.: I honestly believe one of the ladyboys got a crush on me. She flirted the hole time with me and kissed me on the cheeks.Read more
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Chiang Mai
November 30, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
6:30 a.m. - I got up because I planned the Elephant Sanctuary Tour. I slept not really good because I got a damn cold.

7:30 a.m. - We got hooked up at our hostel and drove into the mountains.

10 a.m. - We arrived and got some information about the structure of the day. Furthermore we got a introduction what we can do and what not.
Then we hiked a little bit in the jungle and suddenly they appeared. We fed them with bananas and sugar cane. Furthermore we gave them a massage and pet them. Honestly I have so much respect of them they are so majestic and strong.

12:30 p.m. - After that we got some really good lunch with a beautiful view.

1 p.m. - After lunch we made elephant medicine with vitamins and you had the opportunity to washed them. I decided not to wash them because it started to rain and I did not want to aggravate my cold.

2 p.m. - We left the sanctuary. Just watching them eating buy themselves or walking trough the jungle and cutting random trees was the best part for me.

3:30 p.m. - Although it was a nice day I arrived in the hostel extremely exhausted. After I took a refreshing shower I phoned my mom.

6 p.m. - I hooked up with some girls from the elephant trip and we searched some food at the nightmarket. I left really early because I felt no well and wanted to get some rest.

P.S.: I usually no longer ask for the name because I forget it again anywayRead more
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Trekking Day 1
December 1, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
6:30 a.m. - I woke up and got the usual Ton breakfast. Two slices toast and a banana.

7:30 a.m. - I got hooked up from the trekking company.

9:30 a.m. - We drove outside the town into the jungle. On the way we made a small break for food and toilet.

10 a.m. - We arrived in the jungle and started our two day trekking. San, our guide, Alexi the sportsman & another biology guy (forgot his name), both french, and I. On our trekking I saw once again elephants. Likewise told our guide that Thai man get randomly elected for military. They either pull a red card (military) or black card (no military). Furthermore I learned so many things about plants and their effects in the jungle. For example the „energie tree”. I don’t know exactly what he does but he is a little bit intoxicating.

12:30 p.m. - We got our pre cooked lunch, fried rice with egg and pineapple, at a nice waterfall. After eating we took a refreshing swim and rested a bit.

1:30 p.m. - We continued our trekking.

2:30 p.m. - After 1h we got to another beautiful waterfall with a nice swing. So far on our way we met many other groups who did a one day trekking.

2:45 p.m. - After leaving the second waterfall we got now into more remote territory. Because most of the people do a one day trekking so they just hike to the waterfall and back. We saw some wild koriander, lemon grass, mushrooms and many rice fields. Sadly we saw no snakes but many spiders.

4 p.m. - We arrived in our camp for the night. It was really simple and nothing luxury but the view was amazing so I didn’t care. Not long after we arrived was a big thunderstorm and San told us the have no lightning protection.

6 p.m. - I watched San prepare the dishes for dinner and had a little chat with him. Dinner as amazing. There was kind of a buffet with three different dishes.

7 p.m. - Because of the bad weather we could not sit around a campfire so we played some “stick games”. We had a lot of fun although they were really tricky. Everyone went to bed early because we had an exhausting day and it was really cold.Read more
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Trekking Day 2
December 2, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
8:30 a.m. - I woke up and realized that the weather was the complete opposite from the day before.

9 a.m. - We got scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast.

10 a.m. - We continue trekking and decided to go of track for a short time. Because of the heavy rain the day before everything was wet and muddy. My clothes were really dirty especially my shoes were covered by the red mud.
On the second day we walked trough some Karen village’s and learned many things about there culture and agriculture. Furthermore I learned about there agriculture. I saw how the build new buildings, how they grow there plants like rice, corn, sugar cane and there animals. Mostly dogs, chickens and pigs.

1 p.m. - We arrived at another waterfall where we got fried noodles as lunch and a fresh pineapple for dessert. The waterfall was really impressive because you could walk through it to get into a cave behind the waterfall.

2:30 p.m. - We got us some coffee from a local in a bamboo cup and continued our trek.

16:30 p.m. - We got hooked up from the trekking company and drive back to Chiang Mai.

6 p.m. - I arrived really exhausted in the hostel, took a refreshing shower and got me some rest.

7 p.m. - I ate at the local nightmarket and went to bed early.Read more
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Chiang Mai
December 3, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
7:30 a.m. - I woke up and got breakfast as every day from Ton.

8 a.m. - I got picked up for the cooking class.

9 a.m. - We arrived at the local market where Thais by there Ingredients to cook. Cici, our cooking teacher, showed us around and explained everything.

9:30 a.m. - We arrived at the smile organic farm and started with a little introduction about the structure of the day. Furthermore everyone could choose the dishes they wanted to cook.

10 a.m. - Herbs are really important in Thai food so they showed us there herbs garden. Furthermore we could smell, feel and taste everything.

11 a.m. - We started with the cooking. I started with Spring Rolls and Pad Thai. After eating that I made Panaeng Curry and a Hot and Creamy Soup with shrimp. That was a little bit to much so I packed it for take away. Then we got a little break and continued with the dessert. I chose Mango with Sticky Rice and and least I made Papaya Salad.

2:30 p.m. - We finished all dishes and to sum it up it was really easy to cook. Thai kitchen is really easy if you have the right ingredients.

3:30 p.m. - I got back to the hostel and informed me a little about the south of Thailand. Where to stay at Christmas and new year. I freaked a little bit out and booked an accommodation for Christmas but now I am stressed because I have a timetable to follow and I don’t know if I am going to make it.

6:30 p.m - I ate my remaining food from the cooking class and went into the city. There I met Elena and Anne for a drink. We found out that there is a event for local craftsman and artists. So we went there and had a look. It remained me a little bit of the local markets at home.

8 p.m. - We went to the “Zoe in yellow” bar and met some people from Pai for a drink. Furthermore two girls from Vorarlberg joined our group and we had a nice evening.

P.S.: Mom I can cook now :)Read more
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south east asia Traveler
Chiang Mai
December 4, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
8:30 a.m. - Breakfast and coffee to start the day. After that I informed me about the south again because I was stressed yesterday and some people told me the weather in the south is not so good. I already booked my flight and I know where to go but the weather can fuck it up. But we will see when I am there.

11 a.m. - After the stress I got me my first thai massage. Eight euros for one our massage is not bad. Honestly the massage itself was painful because the lady used her knees, elbows, feet, hands and her hole body weight to massage. After the massage I felt newborn so I definitely need another one.

12:30 p.m. - I made a coffee break at the fancy “muang coffee” café.

1:30 p.m. - After that I explored the city and found some really cool graffiti art.

3 p.m. - I relaxed a little bit and read my book.

6 p.m. - The highlight of that day was the Sunday nightmarket. The biggest in Thailand. The main road is 1km long and there are also many side streets. There I met Elena, Anne and a couple I met in Pai. The market was really impressive there were so many different food zones. Too much good food to eat everything. There I also tried the crickets, it was not to bad. Furthermore you can buy there everything from clothes and souvenirs to handmade soaps and spices. There were so many things I would bought there if I knew I flight home soon. But firstly I have no space and don’t want to carry a heavy backpack. Secondly I don’t want to waste money on things I don’t need really.

P.S.: It took us 2,5h to walk trough the market and we just saw one site of the road. I have never seen such a big market and so many people than you almost could not walk.

Summary:
Chiang Mai is definitely more busy than Pai. There are many cool activities you can do and I love the old town (the square). It is not that big so you can walk everywhere easily and you always have a orientation where you at. Furthermore I loved the graffiti arts in the streets and the Sunday nightmarket is a must seen. In my opinion Chiang Mai is a little bit overhyped but it’s nice and I really enjoyed my stay.Read more
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south east asia Traveler
Chiang Mai -> Chiang Rai
December 5, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
9 a.m. - I ate breakfast and repacked my bag because I left to Chiang Rai. I am almost three weeks traveling now and don’t know how to pack my bag the best. I also went to 7eleven to grab some snacks for the bus ride later. Ton, the owner of the hostel I stayed was very friendly and helpful. He definitely has his heart at the right place.

11 a.m. - I got me my first scooter bolt ride with my hole luggage. For short distance perfect because you get easy a driver, your are faster than cars and it’s really cheap. I arrived early at the bus station but I rather have no enough time than have a hurry.

12 p.m. - Departure from Chiang Mai. I my bus were two girls from Vorarlberg that was kind of funny.

3:30 p.m. - We arrived in Chiang Rai and I took a Bolt to the hostel. My driver spoke english and I asked him for some recommendations for food and transport.

4 p.m. - I arrived in the hostel and met a guy from the USA. He also gave me some sightseeing recommendations.

5 p.m. - I rented my first motorbike because I stayed just one night here and I wanted to explore the city by myself. I just drove around and found a park where the locals come together to do some sports like basketball, running and soccer. There I asked a local for a good restaurant and he recommended me a Noodle restaurant just around the corner.

6 p.m. - I went to the restaurant and ate the best pork noodle soup so far. For dessert I bought some fresh dragon fruit and went back to the park and watched the locals.

7:30 p.m. - I continued my exploring and I found a cat café. There were 15 cats living in that room and strangers come everyday to drink a coffee, pet and feed some cats. Little bit strange but quite common in Asia. Afterwards I went to the night basar and found my new favorite roti combination. Banana + nutella + peanut butter trust me. At the basar I ran into a group of four people and they invited me to there table. It turned out that two of them stayed in the same hostel and same room as me.

9 p.m. - We went to a Irish bar and they thought me a new card game called:
Catucs (I am not sure)
Goal:
- To have as few points as possible
Special card effects:
- Jack -> you can look at one of your cards
- Queen -> you can look at one of your opponents cards
- King -> you can look at one of your opponents cards and can change them with one of your cards if you want to
Card points:
- 10 = 0
- ass = 1
- jack, queen, king = 10
- all other cards normal
Rules:
- everyone starts with 4 cards
- look at the first 2 and remember the card
- every round you have to draw a card and you can change it with one of yours
- every round you have to discard a card
- when someone or you discard a card and you have another one with the same number you can discard the card as well (but just one so you need to be fast)
- furthermore you can also discard a card from your opponents if you know them and you are faster than them. Instead you give them one of your cards.
- when you have less than 5 points you can say “cactus” and every one have to reveal there cards
- points get counted

the game is really challenging and you need to concentrate but we had a lot of fun.

P.S.: I definitely need to find a store where I can by cards.Read more
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south east asia Traveler
Chiang Rai -> Chiang Mai
December 6, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
7:30 a.m. - I woke up early to have enough time for sightseeing. My hostel provided breakfast for free and they had really good chocolate banana waffles.

8:30 a.m. - I went at first to the “Wat Rong Suea Ten” also known as the White Temple to avoid the tourist groups. The temple and the surroundings are really impressive.

9:30 a.m. - After that I drunk a coffee and continued to the “Wat Rong Suea Ten” also known as the Blue Temple. Also really impressive but not finished yet.

11 a.m. - Then I went to the “Baan Dam Museum” also known as the Black House. Nice to see the buildings and the history but nothing special.

12 p.m. - For lunch I ate fried rice with chicken and egg + a thai tea to drink. Thai tea is really underrated and one of my favorite drinks.

1:30 p.m. - I drove back to the hostel.

2 p.m. - I arrived in the hostel, gave my motorbike bake and relaxed a bit before I went to the bus station.

3:30 p.m. - I arrived at the bus station and met Elena, who arrived at this time, for the last time in a while.

4 p.m. - Departure back to Chiang Mai.

7:30 p.m. - I arrived in Chiang Mai again. My hostel was a little bit outside of the center but near the airport. It is really small but cozy and there bathroom was really clean.

8 p.m. - As usual I got some food from the nightmarket.

9 p.m. - After I ate I took a refreshing shower in the hostel. There I met Kassidy a girl how was in my elephant sanctuary group. She is going to the south as well and maybe we meet up there.

Summary:
Chiang Rai has not convinced me. The temples are cool and nice to see but there is nothing else. The city is really small and there is nothing to do. Furthermore if you compare it to Chiang Mai it is not really beautiful and this was once the capital city. So one night was totally enough for me but I want to see the golden triangle sometime.Read more
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south east asia Traveler
Chiang Mai
December 7, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
9 a.m. - I was my last day in the north so i just relaxed. I woke up and drunk a coffee as usual.

10 a.m. - I left towards city center and discovered the fresh market for the locals. Thai people have a lot of fast food. The pack precooked sauces, curry’s, soups etc. in small plastic bags so the just have to cook some noodles or rice.

11 a.m. - I got another thai massage. This time I tried a oiled feet, back, neck & head oil massage. It was really relaxing and not so painful.

1 p.m. - I found a cute little shop where I bought two tanktop’s. For real tanktop’s are the best pice of clothe in a hot country. I made a coffee break & phoned my mom.

3:30 p.m. - I realized that I lost my sunglasses. Luckily I was just at two places. I walked again to them and the owner in the clothing store gave me my glasses back.

6 p.m. - I took a shower and packed my backpack once again.

6:30 p.m. - I went into town for food and I also had to bought some snacks for the flight.

9 p.m. - I got back to the hostel and went to bed.Read more
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south east asia Traveler
Chiang Mai -> Surat Thani
December 8, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 24 °C
4 a.m. - I woke up because someone had an alarm just like mine. I slept on the top of the bunk bed and because of reflex I tapped my phone and dropped it. Luckily it landed on the bed under me but sadly there was a guy sleeping. So put his curtains to the side and climbed like a special agent over him to grab my phone. I don’t know how but the guy was sleeping so good he did not realized anything. After that action my adrenaline level was to high to sleep well. Furthermore someone snored so loud.

7 a.m. - I woke up and went to the bathroom. Moreover I checked again my bags.

7:30 a.m. - I tried to get bolt but I just got a bike. Better than nothing but not the best with all my luggage.

8:00 a.m. - It was my first time flying alone at a airport I was never bevor. So I planned enough time but I arrived way to early at the airport. I wanted to check in but they said check in for my flight starts around 9:30 a.m.

9:30 a.m. - I checked in and went trough security check. I had another hour to relaxe and I needed that because I slept not so well.

11 a.m. - Boarding started.

11:30 a.m. - The plane departure to the south and I slept the hole flight.

1:30 p.m. -I arrived at the airport Surat Thani and the first thing I saw was rain. At the moment the weather in the south is not the best.

2 p.m. - I didn’t not know how to get into the center of the city where my ferry left so I asked some locals. They told me that there is only one bus. I found the bus and the driver fast but I was scared because the driver smoked a joint. I showed him the destination where I wanted to go and he drove me directly to it.

3 p.m. - I arrived at the ferry station and got my ticket. Furthermore I had a little look at the ferry where I stay for one night. Now I had time until 9 p.m. so I searched a café where I had WIFI and phoned my little sister.

6 p.m. - I needed to leave the café because it closed and went to the local night market. I was the only tourist and I asked some locals to help me to order food.

7 p.m. - I phoned my good friend Robin for the first time. It was really nice to talk with him. Definitely a brother for life.

8:30 p.m. - I got back to the ferry and had a first look at my bed. It was really small and hard. Furthermore it was a big sleeping room with 76 beds.

10 p.m. - Departure to Koh Tao.Read more
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south east asia Traveler
Surat Thani -> Koh Tao
December 9, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 26 °C
7 a.m. - I arrived in Koh Tao after a night on the boat. Great experience but the beds were really small. My feet were over the bed and you could only lie straighten so I slept not really well and was tired. But it thought it would be worse. It rained heavily when I arrived so I took a little bit overpriced taxi to the hostel.

8:30 a.m. - I needed to wait for the reception and got fucked by moskitos. Afterwards I walked a little bit around and got me some breakfast where I also meet two girls who recommended me some places

9:30 a.m. - The choice in Koh Tao for scuba diving schools is overwhelming, and it's quite difficult to separate the places, with prices similar across the board. So I choose the “Big Blue Diving Center” because of there google reviews and I visited them personally. There I met Steve and I can not describe what it was but I felt comfortable and safe to make my first diving experience with them and get my „open water diving license“ there.

11:30 a.m. - After my small exploring I returned to my hostel and checked in. I napped a little bit and when I woke up I realized that I was in a six bed dorm but we were just two guys.

2 p.m. - I already got three sections of homework for my scuba dive course. It was really theoretical and overwhelming but also interesting. Honestly I didn’t understand everything completely and it’s also hard to remember when you heard it once. Afterwards I talked little bit with my german roommate for the next couple of days.

6:30 p.m. - My roommate showed me around and we went in a restaurant. After that we went for a little walk at the beach and discovered a bar with a fire show.

8 p.m. - He went back to the hostel and I stayed at the bar. I got me some drinks and watched the nice show. So far Koh Tao was really calm and there was not much going on.

P.S.: The moskito’s here in the south are really badRead more
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