THAILAND (30.01. - 28.02.2013)

In some points Thailand is really different to the neighbour Malaysia, in others just the same. The most difference at first is of course the LANGUAGE - Thai dosn't have greek letters. Still, at every touristic place you'll find english, but outside of the guided tours and hostels often just the necessary sentences to do the job. Still, because it is by now so touristic it is really easy to travel and to meet a lot of great people!
FOOD AND MARKETS are one of the most important points here. Like in Malaysia you'll find everywhere some foodstores on the road with fruits, snacks or a full lunch/dinner. Often even the Thai or Malaysian people go on the street to buy their lunch/dinner and take it back home instead of cooking it all. Today here is as well a lot of western style food to find, specialy in the touristic places you have everything from pizza over Starbucks and McDonalds. But even if some of the traditional food seems to be strange and new in the beginning (like noodles and rice for breakfast), don't forgett to try some of the amazing Thaifood while you're here!
CULTUREL is Thailand mostly affected by the BUDDHISM, you hardly find any mosque or hindutemple here. Everywhere you can see monks walking around and all kind of temples - new ones just as well as historical ones. And as often as any tempel you'll find a picture of the KING here (sometimes as well with other royal family members). It is not just around the royal places in Bangkok. You will find it in front of nearly EVERY public or state-run building like a school or museum. And it is not rare that this photo is 5 meter high and has a golden frame just like you know it from the old palace. Thai people just LOVE THEIR KING!
Outside of the big city the LANDSCAPE has a lot of DIFFERENT things to show. A lot of farmland, Nationalparks, Rainforest, hilltribes, and of course all the islands with sandbeaches, diving & lots of party - everything you need :)

Most tourist come here to have some inexpensive and relaxed holidays with great food, sunny weather, clean sandbeach islands and of course a lot of thaimassages!

Bangkok

With official over 7 Million people it is the BIGGEST CITY I've ever been! Still, it dosn't feel that much more than all the other cities. We live in the "Backpackerghetto" at the famous Khasan Road (how lonely planet destcribes it) and I saw the most of the sights around the center. Of course lots of tourists and crazy traffic everywhere, way more than in Malaysia I would say.

The most of the important SIGHTS are easy to explore by walking or (or you use Thailands famous TUKTUKS, some kind of motorbike with more seats). There are on first place all the buddhistic TEMPELS on both sides of the river (which goes in the middle through the citycenter). Some tempels are just unbelievable huge with some statues like the broze reling buddha which is over 10meter long! At the golden mount or the tempel of the dawn you can as well walk up the steep steps and enjoy a nice VIEW over the city. Every tempel is somehow different with its own special things! And then there are some palace as well. The most important is the Grand Place where probably everybody goes. But thought for 500Baht I found it a rip-off for tourist and did'nt go in.

Food and Markets are of course everywhere. CHINATOWN is huge, specially with markets and now just before chinese new year beautiful decorated. And the huge WEEKENDMARKET outside of the citycenter is worse to go to. You'll find everything here: food, cloth, handmade art and crafts, books, antiques and even pets!
And KHASAN ROAD ITSELF is something nobody should miss. Starting in the morning still "quiet", but at night just crowded full. Lots of stalls with all cloth and souvenirs to sell, heaps of food, bars everywhere, you can get even tattoos, hairdressers or all kind of passports if you want to!
 
It is an amazing place and for me it was a great time with great people, but with 4 days more than enough! Time to get out to see the rest of the country :)

Central Thailand - Kanchanaburi, Ayuthaya

By train I go to KANCHANABURI in the west - a very interesting trip just to get there. The public trains in Thailand are unbelievable cheap, but usualy never on time. My train started to late, needed longer for the journey than they told me, stopt on different stations than on my map and so on. But like that you get a great tour through some beautiful countryside. And with open windows and sun comming in this often older trains it is a nice change to the freezing cold aircondition buses!
Kanchanaburi is actually a small city and just tourist with time come here - but it is worse it! The most accomondation is at the river with nice gardenareas to RELAX. Next to it is the mainroad for the tourist with bars and a few shops. The citycenter with the NIGHTMARKET is nearby. If people don't come here to relax it is because of the HISTORY. Kanchanabury and the area is famouse because of the THAILAND-BURMA-RAILWAY which the japanese build in the 2nd world war (with thousands of dead prisoner of war). To see is the old railway itself (again in use at some parts) and the famous bridge, the hellfire pass, warcemeteries, monuments, museums... For sure a very interesting part of the history. Who want to can do as well some tours to elephantcamps or the tigertemple... It is easy just to stay here not doing much - and incredible cheap as well (singleroom for less than 2Euro)!
 

The next stop is just for one day in AYUTHAYA. As well a very HISTORICAL CITY. Wherever you go here you'll find OLD TEMPLES (most around 500 years old stone ruins). Town itself is devided in 2 parts, one "one the island" and one off, deveded through the river all around. The best way is to rent a bike and just drive all around to visit all the temple. Just minutes outside of the citycenter it feels like in the middle of the countryside with small bungalows and kids as well as animals running around everywhere. Its not rare to see ELEPHANTS, too. Out of town there is a farm and they bring them as well into the towncenter for the tourist to ride or do a show (which seems to me cruel).

Northern Thailand - Chaing Mai, Pai

Just in time for the big CHINESE NEW YEAR celebration I want to go up to CHIANG MAI with a big CHINATOWN area. What I didn't know, the most celebration there is on sunday morning with a big parade. Yeah, at that time I was in the bus to get there. Still, there is a market with lots of decorations the whole day and some beautishows in the evening. Except of that Chiang Mai is quite a big city and after Bangkok probably the most famous one. A nice and really clean citycenter (which is not usual in asia) with everything you need and lots of possibilities to go out. SUNDAYMARKET is huge, selling just everything! And then you can do all kind of TOURS here. Courses like cooking or massage in town or tours to the near Nationalpark like biking or trekking. We do a DAYTOUR including Butterflyfarm, RAFTING (in the dryseason now not to much water), ELEPHANTRIDING, floating down the river and more. Lots to do around here, but not every tour is cheap!

 

3 Hours driving through some windy small roads and you end up in the HILLTOWN PAI. It is just a small town which got popular as a hippi-art place. Today the CENTER is quite BUSY with guesthouses, restaurants & bars, all sort of small Art-, Cloth- and Souvenirshops and everything else you could need. A lot of possibilieties for things like Thai Massage, Yoga- or Cooking courses, or as well some guided daytours to hilltribes. Some temple and a  river with bungalows right are right in the center as well. And don't forgett to visit the afternoon market (with all kind of snacks and fruit) and the NIGHTMARKET. Here you can get everything from food to fantastic handmade art.
But the best on Pai (except the great athmosphaere) is the LANDSCAPE ITSELF- all around the town are ricefields and other farmland. Some guesthouses (like mine) are a few minutes walking out of the center and have stunning scenic views all around.
If you want to to some WALKING around - there is a temple on the hill (1km out of town) with great views around or you can walk 2 hours through forest to a small waterfall.
Everything else is the best to explore with a rented SCOOTER or motorbike. There are heaps of small villages all around, and Chinatown with some old parts is not far eather. Some waterfalls, historical bridge, temples and awsome viewpoints (don't miss Yun Lai & Coffee in Love) are all around the area. One of the best points to visit is the PAI CANYON. Just amazing to walk around and right next to the small path it goes a few hundred meter deep down!
Pai is a great place with some awsome people and a lot of possibilities to RELAX (specially if you have a great hostel out of town with garden, pond and awsome views around). I stayed one week and I just loved it like everybody. Time goes by so fast there :)

Noth East Thailand - Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat)

This part of Thailand is mostly missed by tourist - I usually stayed in hotels (as cheap as dorm rooms!) and saw HARDLY other western-TOURISTS on the streets around. Maybe there are no famous sights, but it is still a beautiful part of the country and worse going to! The most are smaller cities and you really see how the people live. Not like other places where everybody lives just for the tourism. My tour goes all around the river on the eastside, which is as well the border to Laos (most people pass eastthailand on the way over the friendshipbridges to Laos).

  

First stop is NONG KHAI. Okay, this is nice town but it does'nt have any major sights which you should'nt miss. It is good to see the "normal living". Directly at the river it has a nice RIVERPROMENADE with some guesthouses and bars. All around the town are some nice TEMPELS and chinatown. What you shouldnt miss if you're there are the  MARKETS. At the huge foodmarket you can buy everything from fruit to all kind of "fresh" meat and alive fish. Next to the river is a big market with cloth, shoes, bags, toys, snacks and all hardware stuff.

 

6hours busride is it to get to NAKHON PHANOM. It is small, but has some nice spots at the RIVERFRONT and you can see Laos on the other side. There is a small NIGHTMARKET, a great park and "beach" next to the river, the small INDOCHINAMARKET and like everywhere a few TEMPELS. Nothing curios, but great to relax and watch the Thaipeople :)

 

Just 2 hours to MUKDAHAN, the same river and view over to Laos, but a bigger town and the only one where I found heaps of other tourists (thought the most with tourbuses from Thailand itself). Except the usual TEMPELS here are couple of other sight. There is a impresive INDOCHINA MARKET all along the riverside, even underground it continues. And you get everything from hardware, cloth and handmade stuff, all the imported toys from china and even imported armee hats from germany! The NIGHTMARKET is impressive as well with heaps of traditoional food and snacks. And if you walk to the cityborder there is the MUKDAHAN TOWER. Around 70meter high is the observation deck with 360degree views over the countryside.
For me the most impressive thing (probably in the whole Thailand time till now) is the PHU PATHERB NATIONALPARK just 17km outside of town. Behind the visitorcenter is a field out of rocks. The whole ground seems to be one big rock and all around are several meter high rocks in all shapes. And everywhere touristbuses. But behind the rocks there is some kind of marked trail - a loop through a part of the forest. And here is nobody, not one person I met the whole way! The way goes over open stonefield and some kind of steppe, up through some bamboo forest and passing some huge stonewalls. On the top it is the best view I've ever seen. All around just National Park farer than I can see - STUNNING! From here, if you don't take the wrong way like me at first, the loop passes some rockwalls, Buddha statues and dried up waterfalls and back to the open stonefield. Just amazing the feeling of freedom on the top in the middle of this huge park!

 

Last stop is NAKHON RATCHIMA or KORAT how the city is often called. With 2 million people it is after Bangkok the 2nd biggest city in Thailand. But compare to the capital it is just a living and study city without any cultural or touristic offers. And you'll hardly find somebody who speaks english. Only sights are some TEMPELS and SHRINES are around the center and there is a big foodmarket and a NIGHTMARKET. But you find all kind of shoppingmalls...
If tourist come here than to go on a daytrip to PHIMAI, which is just over an hour by bus. Phimai is a small town which has some historical stonetempels (ruins) from the time around the 13th century.
Elseways you can take a 4hour bus from Korat over to Aranya Prathet and GO OVER the border to CAMBODIA - which is exactly what I do next :)