Travel Destinations of 2012 (1)

GREECE (19th - 24th April 2012)

My best friend's wedding

Our short trip in Greece was of full emotions and cultural discoveries. On the airport in Munich we met the bride's mother & guests from Romania. The trip started well. The flight to Athens was short and without turrbulances. After we landed, I couldn't wait to see my friend. It was more than 6 month since we last met but thanks to the countless hours we chatted on the internet we were still as close as before. After finding some seats at the airpot's cafeteria, we waited for an old class mate and her boyfriend to land with another airline company. As soon as they arrived we jumped into a rented car and started our 3 and a half hours trip to Andravida.


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The wedding & Baptism of the bridal couple's son was on the 21th of April. Until then we had one day to get used to the greek customs and food. The few things I learnt:

• no breakfast and lunch as we know it, but a late and heavy dinner
• greek families are big (we knew but never experienced it live)
• loud and very generous
• Greeks hate Germans

On the wedding day, I was more excited than the bride. I couldn't sleep at all. After I had my hair done, I went back to the hotel and got ready. The whole ceremony started at noon and it was not in Andravida but a half an hour drive from there. I found the location excellent: seaside, wooden terrace, and wonderful decoration.

  
But there was nothing more beautiful than the bride herself.

 
 We had a nice time, but to my surprise more then half of the guests left before 20 o'clock. We thought the whole party is going to end soon, so we left as well. I found out later that there was a lot of dancing afterwards and we missed the best part. I'm soo sorry but at least I got to try the cake.

 After the wedding we went for 2 days to Athens. Here are some pictures and impressions:

• the old city: the most impressive part of Athens
• a lot of things to visit
• great for shopping
• lots of bars & restaurants (but the food quality is much better in the countryside) 
• otherwise very big, crowded, dirty, poor, dangerous 

 

 Greece is one of the most beautiful holiday destinations in Europe and as long as my friend is there, I'll try to visit her and her family at least once a year! :)

Kho Tao

There are already 5 days since we set foot on this remote paradise in the Golf of Thailand. As soon as we arrived on the island I draw the following conclusion: i love to travel but until we arrive at the destination it's a nightmare for me.by plane: I get very stressed when turbulences occur and I feel the sweat shower taking control of my body, by car & bus, I get sick...I feel like throwing up throughout the whole journey, by ship (as I experienced few days ago) it's even worse: I need to throw up and I am very dizzy. I think for me the best way to travel is by train.
Here is where the route we made from Hua Hin to where we are now:


Kho Tao auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen

We took the bus until Chumpon for 4 hours and then the Katamaran until kho tao  for 2 hours. You can't imagine the happiness I felt when I finally got off the katamaran and I saw my backpack.

What followed next was somehow unexpected: we were literary attacked by taxi  drivers, people offering accomodation, diving schools...but we survived having the best weapon: ignorance. Our friend Joy has an aquaintance in Kho Tao who suggested that as soon as we arrive here we should go to a travel agency to book our accomodation. We went there...but were unsuccesful. Either the lady did not understand us, or booking was not possible. Anyway, we checked the web for accomodation but found nothing so we decided to go to Ao Leuk Bay. Here is a map of the island:

The Bay was ok, but the accomodaion the worst we had so far. Not only did it stink, but it was really expensive. The only thing which was nice was the view: directly on the beach. The waves were so loud, I could hardly sleep. A photo on the following morning, shows my excitement:

It looks very nice from outside, but believe me...inside was not nice. :(

Our next destination was Freedom Beach. O yeahhh...that was nice! It was love at first sight! Our little bungalow was also very nice; very warm during the night, but hey, it was much better than the one we had before. Here are some photos:

The beach was great...perhaps our favourite in Koh Tao. And what I really loved was going into the water in the middle of the night...sooo refreshing. We also found a path which lead us on the top of the hill for an amazing view:

                           

One thing that really got on my nerves (not only in Koh Tao but Thailand in general) were the mosquitos, which devoured each part of my body even though I used an anti mosquito spray. But well, not even in paradise is everything perfect.

From Freedom Beach we went to Sairee Beach. If you are not doing a scuba-dive course, I don't recommened going there. It's packed with tourists, the beach is small and you don't have any privacy, unless you are sleeping in a 4 star hotel. I hardly resisted one day...

...and then we moved on to June Juea Beach. That was very nice as well. We lived in a bungalow on the hill and had a fabulous view. 

 

Sooo beautiful... the water cristal clear, the beach belonged to us: except another couple, there was no one else there. In the evening we did a cooking course at one of the restaurants there and otherwise, enjoyed the sun and peace all day! 

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Last days of Hua Hin

We prolonged our Hua Hin stay with 3 nights and there are several reasons for doing that: our friend Thomas came from Kho Pan Ghan, and we wanted to spend some time with him; we had some clothes made by a tailor shop and we needed to go for the fittings; there was finally wind and my man wanted to kite surf and last but not least we had to organise our next trip.
So what did we do all these 3 days: a bit of shopping, night market visits, dinner with Joy (a thai friend of Thomas), photoes, tailor visits, beach, billiard in the evenings...and that's about it. I have to admit, even though we had a nice time in Hua Hin, I was happy we were leaving (at least for one week or so, cause we will stop by on our way to Bangkok).

Hua Hin

In 3 days it will be one week since we arrived in Hua Hin. Bangkok was very nice but we were happy to escape from the crowds of people and smog and breathe some fresh sea air. We actually came here to do a kite surfing couse. We booked a package with course and accomodation while we were still at home...so we had no stress. We live in a holiday apartement with 2 more people: one thai guy who works for the surf school and another one who makes the course as well. The house is big: it has 2 floors. Downstairs is the kitchen, the living room is on the 1st floor and on the 2nd floor you find the dormitories. We usually don't see each other so you have the feeling the whole house belongs to you.

We are not doing a lot of sightseeing. There is not very much to see around here. For almost a week we sort of have the same daily plan: wake up between 10 and 12, eat breakfast, go on the beach until afternoon and in the evening go on the night market and eat freshly prepared dinner.
Of couse, besides this plan we do something different every day. We went shopping, saw several thai box matches, I went to have have my nails done (manicure and pedicure is a culture for itself in Thailand - great job), we visited a tempel on the monkey hill (I was so scared there because of those aggressive monkeys) and most importantly went to a tailor. I am having a white dress made and my sweetheart will soon have a custom tailored suit. Looking forward to seeing the end product. :)

As I wrote at the beginning, we are here to do a kite surfing course. Unfortunatelly we were not very lucky with the weather. This is the second windy day since we arrived. On the first one, we started the course together....for 4 hours.  After the first lesson I have to sadly admit: this sport is not for me. It looks great, when other people are doing it but it is extremly difficult if you try it yourself. I reached the stage when i am able...more or less...to control the kite on the beach. But as soon as I am in water...things are a bit different. Waves are coming, the wind is so powerful, I have the impression I will fly away together with the kite. During the first four hours I already had 2 minor accidents: my kite fell in the water and pulled me so strong down that I scratched myself on the sand and now I have a "beauty" on my right knee; then, another kite interfered with mine, so the got stuck together. Luckily the trainer was beside me, so he knew what had to be done. But when I had to go inside the sea with the kite, where the water is deep...I felt so affraid, I didn't want to do it. And when I think about getting on the board with a kite on one hand...and then coordinate my kite with the boarding...pff...for me it seems impossible. Just to fly the kite is difficult enough for me: for 2 days my shoulders and arms were hurting...:-S So no kite surfing for me anymore.
I just prefer to lay on the beach...and have oil massages. ;)

Bangkok

01.02.
After checking in at the hotel, we went for a walk to search for a place where we can have dinner. We took a side street in the hope that it won't be so crowded as the main road but it was actually full of thai women waiting for customers. we landed in the emporium shopping mall and ate at a nice restaurant in the food court. i had a tofu soup with egg; it was good...but too much. While eating I felt i'm being attacked by the tiredness...I was so tired, I couldn't chew anymore. After we finished eating, we walked back to the hotel and went to bed at 21 o'clock.

02.02.
Even though we woke up in the middle of night, we still had a very good sleep. The bed was fantastic! We went for breakfast at the hotel and we had to check out until 12 o'clock. Afterwards we took a taxi to suk11 hoping to find a free room...but no. the hostel was overbooked, so we bought a juice, went online and searched for hotels. In half an hour we found one, in the same street just few meters away. After checking in, we wanted to do some shopping. we bought a daily ticket for the sky train went to siam shopping center, the biggest mall in bangkok. and what did I find? zara, mango, esprit and so on! no, thank you! the prices were as high as in germany so i won't carry stuff from here to germany when i can buy it there for the same price. after our big "shopping" we wanted to go to china town, to make a photo of the city from above. We got a bit lost after getting off the metro...and when we were finally on the right track, a "friendly" local advised us not to go there because of the mafia, it's dangerous...blah blah. we were a bit unsure about what we should do so we turned around and went to a thai massage instead, near the hotel. it was very good! even though i felt very relaxed I couldn't fall asleep...but I just got used to it in time...

03.02.
We made a plan the evening before, so we knew what we wanted to do. In order to get to a pier on the river shore we took the sky train. when we got off, we realized we need a bigger SD card to be able to make as many photoes as possible. so...we entered the closest shopping center. the search for an sd card ended in shopping some clothes for myself. the prices there were realative good. and no european labels. We took a boat to Wat Pho, visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, made so photoes. Then took the boat to China Town hoping to celebrate New Year's Eve. The streets were full. People were standing on both sides of the
main road, so we thought a parade or something will take place there. After waiting a bit, we decided to go eat in one of the restaurants. I hate air conditioning. It was sooo cold there, that i was happy when i finished my meal i could finally go outside. People were still waiting...so we were glad we did not miss anything. Then suddenly 2 or 3 cars came with some important personalities (among them the Chinese prime-minister as I heard people talking) and in the next minute (after the cars passed) everybody started leaving. it was a huuuuuuge crowd of people. uff...I wanted to get out of there as well...so we entered a side street. but that was crowded too. we made photos and slowly we were again on our way to the metro station. it was a full day and by the time we got to our hotel i was exhausted. it's no wonder, i slept like a baby.

04.02.
After a good night sleep we checked out of the 2nd hotel at around 12 o'clock. we left our bag at the hotel and go out to eat. When we returned, the reception called for a taxi and there we were...on our way to Hua Hin.

Bangkok impressions

Bangkok: the city of a million smells. I've never experienced somehing like this before. At each step you take you encounter another smell: from grilled meet, fried food, spices, massage oils to expensive parfumes...you can smell everything.

Bangkok: the city that never sleeps. No matter at what time we went for a walk on the streets of Bangkok, it was always full and crowded. The tuk-tuk, taxi drivers seem to never sleep: they are on the streets 24/7, offering a ride to wherever you want to go. If you get hungry at middnight, no problem. you will always find a small snack on the street.

Bangkok: the city of traffic. Skytrains with 2 levels, below that another 1 or 2 layers of roads with up to 6 lanes or even water with boats, underground you have the metro, and again everywere people of all nations.

Bangkok: the city where your are the alien. As a Westen-looking-person you will definately belong to a minority in thailand and pop out. White (Foreign) people are called "farang" by the thai. It´s very hard for the thai to put a fereng in the right draw, that´s why thai´s tend to throw every fereng in the draw for rich people. This is good and bad at the same time, you will allways be treated with alot of atention, but you are at the same time considerd as a source of money.

Bangkok: the city where everything is negotiatable. From a taxi drive to a piece of cloth you can bargain anything you want. I am not good at negotiating so I leave everything to my sweetheart. He's the one carring the money anyway. So whenever i see something I would like to buy I look at him and tell him in german that i want to have it and the price the seller asked for. This is the moment when my sweety jumps in. He asks the seller again: "so how much is it?". The seller tells the price. My man: "ohhh...we have a problem!!! what can we do abot it? you say 300, i say 150" and so does the negotiation go on. I just loved this "we have a problem"...i'm still laughing about it.

Bangkok: the city where the people are toooo friendly sometimes.
They constantly throw a smile at you and it´s hard to tell if it´s a real one because their eyes allways seam to play along. If you enter a hotel they will jump at you to help you with your bags, if you walk along they will ask you if you need a taxi or a tuk tuk, and where you are going. When you just want to wander around they will tell not to got this or that way because there will be gangsers and you should instead do this or that. Most of the time it´s better to ignore them and just keep on doing your thing.

Bangkok: the city that allways chews. The city lives after the motto: "eat all you can" and not "all you can eat" no matter where you are or what time it is you see people eating. at each corner of the street you can buy either meat on spit or a noodle soup or fresh fruits. you can always find some plastic chairs so there is a possibility for you to sit down and enjoy your meal...if you can...in the middle of the street with crowds walking by. But I have to admit one thing: thai food is delicious.
Diversity is the theme of bangkok when it comes down to food. In gernerall asian food doesen´t make you feel stuffed for a long time, just a couple of minutes after your last meal (and after experiencing some more smells) your appetite is back, and therefore you allways chew...

Bangkok: sex and the city. Everywhere you go, you see young thai girls holding the hands of old european men. I mean, everybody knows that Thailand is the land of prostitution but when you see it with your own eyes it's just sad. You walk on a street with night clubs and you see at least 3 to  10 girls outside waiting for somebody to "invite" them to his bedroom. On the streets you can buy viagra and other arousing "medicine". Prostitution is prohibited but actually it's more than tolerated.

First day in Thailand

The flight was very long: 10 hours and 45 minutes. I didn't sleep at all...and every part of my body hurt. The whole flight I was dreaming about a Thai massage. I watched 2 movies, ate & drank, listened to music, talked to my neighbour ( a Swedish 21 old year guy), looked on the monitor to see where we are...but the last 2 hours were really hard.

At 10: 29 am we finally land in Phuket. I was looking out of the window...and saw these green trees with large leaves...exotic images, that woke me up. I was very excited. I couldn't believe we made it. My enthusiasm ended as soon as we entered the pass control area. It was crazy. A huge crowd of people, no air, very warm and I could hardly stand on my feet. What more can I say? We waited and waited...for 2 hours until our passes were finally controlled. But our journey did not end here. We needed to get to Bangkok, because we still had a hotel reservation for 1 night. So we went to the Air Asia office and bought our flight ticket. The plane was leaving in 2 hours. We still had some time, but we decided to pass the security and wait at the Terminal. I don't remember the last time I was so tired. I felt like fainting. Boarding was deleyed...ahhh....I just had the feeling we will never arrive in Bangkok. But as soon as we went outside to the the bus which took us to the airplane I miraculously had some energy again. Was it the warm air? The feeling that I'm on holiday? Or just the thought that we are so close to our destination? Whatever it was, it doesn't matter. The flight was ok. Domestic flights in Thailand are generally very relexed.

Around 16 we finally landed in Bangkok. We did not wait too long for our luggage and in no time we were outside the airport. We decided to take a taxi to the hotel. For that, you have to wait in line at a service point until your turn. Then, a taxi driver (who was also standing in line, waiting for his turn) took us to his car and drove us 40km until our hotel. It was our first time in Asia...everything new. We were looking outside the window and yey...we were in Thailand. The traffic was...worse than the one in Romania (if you know what i mean ;)) The single rule: "no rule". Ahh...and the cars are driving on the left side, just like in London. The taxi driver was funny. He had some stuff for good luck at his front window:

After an adventurous drive we FINALLY arrive at the hotel. As soon as I walked inside, I felt like a VIP. The staff was very friendly...my luggage was taken away and as soon as we had our room, it was brought there. The hotel was amazing. Best 5 star hotel I've ever been: