Backpacker's adventures - Grasshoppers, Fish Spa, Boat Trips, Japanese costumes and stuff

There are days, like many days that you spent holed up in class where you have nothing to report. And when there is action you do not have time to write. Kind of a vicious circle but I'll make that work anyway.
So after three rather unexciting days in class, one day spent with massage and relaxing I went all out on what you could call a Backpackers day.
Let's see how that started out. Sleeping in late and then be lucky enough to catch Hester, who I met on Koh Samet, online. We scheduled to meet at Siam Paragon.
What I didn't know than was that there'd be thousands of people crowding the place. A Japanese Fest was going on at the square outside Siam Paragon and there were hundreds of kids dressed up in crazy cartoon style outfits. Thinking of my friend St.A. who will be spending the next months in Japan and may end up looking like that at some point. Can't wait for pictures. So sifting through the crowds for half an hour we end up finally finding us. The foodcourt is so overcrowded its nearly impossible to find a seat. The rest of the Mall, where all the expensive shops are is comparatively quiet and peaceful.

My Bruck ;-)

Bad thing for my wallet.. I find an English bookstore that's got a great selection. I only buy the bare minimum... a book on Thai streetfood and the latest edition of the Shopaholic series, of which I devoured all the previous ones. Just out of curiosity I pick up the Lonely Planet Austria Edition. And which page does it automatically open to. Three pages of recommendations on what to see, do and eat in my very hometown. I didn't even know we had so much there ;-) That makes me think a lot about my folks back home and all the events I am going to miss (once again) while I am away. You can put your tissues away now, it's not gonna be a sad story about homesickness.
Up next is an interesting stroll up and down Siam Square. Thousands of little shops, every cm of space filled with people, street vendors, hawkers and other stuff. It's amazing. A touristy sightseeing spot nearby is Jim Thompson's House, on the way there we pass by a half a dozen more giant shopping malls. Just wondering... who buys all this stuff? Consumerism is really trendy here.

Jim Thompson's House

Jim Thompson's house is solid wood, dark red. He was an American who settled down in Bangkok and established the Thai silk trade. Lots of small woodden houses with a distinct charme and a garden in between them. Quite cozy here if it weren't for the mosquitoes. And... my student ID gets me discount for the ticket, gotta love that even more. Jim Thompson is apparently loved throughout Thailand, although there's few of the silk weaver families from back in the day left, apparently just living across the river. To see the house there's a compulsory tour included in the ticket, but it's arranged very nicely and worth a visit if you have some extra time.

Klorng Boat

We don't make it across the river, but we do make it ON the river. A few minutes walk from the house is a Klorng boat stop that takes you on a little waterway through town (think Venice), the fastest and cheapest way to travel through Bangkok. There's too few Klorngs left though, I guess only this one that has regular boat service, so unfortunately won't get to use that too often. It's lot of fun. You actually have to jump on the boat at the 'stop' where they merely slow down but don't really stop. It's an adventure anyway and for 9 B each we get within walking distance of our next destination... Khao San. The Klorng boats final stop is close to one of the old forts and the Golden Mount, which are both closed for the day. By some magnificent temples and along the grand boulevard we head to Khao San Road, the backpacker haven.

Democracy Monument

Walking along the Klorng

Whenever you are starving there's some great street food to be had and on Khao San there's many 'safe' options for you. The ubiquitous Pad Thai stalls cater to cash strapped backpackers, and for today us too. Yummyyyy. What do we need now? Right, a foot massage would be in order after all the walking today. The streets close by are also jampacked with tourists and a friendly lady and a gentleman (first male masseur I've seen) tend to our tired feet for the next 30 minutes.
There's more shopping to be done and I am looking for a backpack for my upcoming travels. After hard bargaining one lady calls me stupid for not buying it at the price, saying that 100 B is nothing for me and I should just be paying more. Some insults later I leave her standing there, I am definitely not going to buy anything from someone that calls me stupid just because I want a fair price. Helloooo! Where did we end up here? After more unsuccesful shopping for me, but succesful shopping for Hester there's a challenge ahead of me.

Fish Spa

I almost fell of the chair at the foot massage coz it tickled so bad. And now... special offer for the Fish Spa. The fish look hungry and the offer is cheaper than in other places. So what to do... go for the dreadful experience to have little fish nibble some skin of my feet or just keep walking?
I guess you all know the answer. Of course I tried but only after getting the minimum amount of time spent in there from 15 min down to 10 minutes. Makes me feel better. It takes me a few seconds to get the courage to put my feet in the water... I am waiting for Hester's reaction first. Once I finally get myself to do that it's not as bas as I expected. It's somehow inconvenient, though it doesn't hurt but luckily it's not really ticklish. Otherwise I would have quit after 30 seconds or so. There's so many of the tiny fish and after a short moment you can literally only see black swarms surrounding our legs nibbling away. Good thing is, the moment you move they swerve away but only to return a few seconds later. Under great personal effort I manage to stay in there for the full 10 minutes while Hester is truly enjoying it, even a while longer and daring to stick her hands in there too. My feet don't feel any different afterwards but it was worth it for the experience. Would I too it again? Hmmm... maybe, maybe not. For the 10 minutes in the Fish Spa I can get a half hour foot massage, so go figure what I'd rather do with my money.

Eating a grasshopper

There's succesful shopping for me ahead as one vendor decides to give me my desired backpack for my desired price. Sweet. All prepared for Midterm break in October now. Let's just hope the original copy bag doesn't fall apart once it's full with my stuff.
One Chang beer later it's bag to Khao San Road. Now did I say before there's safe food to be had? Well there's also the other kind. And since some friends tried themselves through all the stuff from frogs to cockroaches and everything else and passed the info to me that grasshoppers taste the best, I am brave and grab one. The new saying for the night... You survived the Fish Spa, you can survive anything. And guess what. It doesn't taste that bad. Well it doesn't have much taste at all. It's mainly just crunchy. So go for it, I dare you to try grasshoppers too. It was a bit more difficult to convince Hester - and several bystanders - to try one, but one by one they all did. Not telling you how many spit it out again, but none of them said that it was really bad. Do we have the problem of lack of protein for the 7 billion population solved now? Guess not, but it's one small step closer.
This needs to be washed down by another Chang for sure. And on a whim we decide to dance those beers off at a nearby club. Carrying a giant backpack full with shopping. No problem. Being sweaty and sticky from a full day of walking around. No problem. Dancing the night away. No problem.

Skybars and Hookers

Bangkok nightlife:

First the good, the clean, the svelte, the exclusive, the swanky, wonderful, elegant Sirocco Sky Bar at Lebua State Tower. 64th floor, wonderful views, attentive service, cozy atmosphere, skyhigh prices.
The views from Sirocco are absolutely gorgeous. No wonder they chose this location to film parts of Hangover II. It is fantastic and gives you a great impression of the vastness of the city. In every direction theres lights, lights, lights and even more lights. And there you think that Bangkok has energy delivery problems. It's definitely not visible from here.
After we've finally appropriately dressed up for LeBua we are warmly welcome, ushered into a golden elevator up to the 64th floor and shown to seats outside by one of the 8 well dressed ladies that greet you by the lift.
True to form I order a Hangovertini. The prices rival fancy places in Europe but hey, the view is worth it. Along with the drinks you get some olives and pistachios with free refills, if you ask kindly.
The famous part with the staircase is on the other side. It's great for taking pictures, but the music is more classic and for dinners not as laid back as on the other side. And the drinks area is standing online, without tables. So the 2nd Hangovertini is again on the comfy side. We are welcomed back immediately as if we are old friends of the staff. Gotta love that! Another Hangovertini for me! Hey, I am not gonna do that very often.
The waiter is kind enough to type the recipe of the Hangovertini up for me, so now I just need to find a bar close by with reasonable prices that mixes it up there for me. If anyone is interested... I am gonna be kind enough to share it:
For one Hangovertini you need:
Martini Rosso
Green Tea Liquor
Scotch Whiskey
Fresh apple juice
Rosemary honey
So next time you invite me over... stock up ;-)

The more interesting part of the night leads us to the Sukhumvit area. This is were many, let's call them ladeyyys operate. The cab driver doesn't take us straight there but drops us off at a nightclub instead. The nightclub pays the taxi driver to drop people off there since they need to pay entrance fee there. As we decide not to go in the taxi driver runs after us. Udo wants to check it out anyway so I head off with Markus to discover the 'dirty' secrets of Bangkok.
Turns out they are not that dirty after all. Just the usual outline of hookers, ladyboys and the punters that go along with that. Apparently its a little late already and the place has died down somehow. And since there's not much business to be had from the women walking through the area its fairly uneventful. Man walking alone would have a much more hmmmm enticing experience.
Massage parlors are still open in the middle of the night, the markets are closing down, only a few more dildos and viagras to be had on the street stalls. The hookers grabbing some food at the street vendors. Business seems to be slow tonight.
The typical punter looks like you would imagine. Older, receding hairline ( Rsl remember that one :D ), beer belly, bermuda shorts and open shirt. I overhear one of them negotiating with two, very good looking, ladyboys. Next time I should just fetch my dinner hear and eat very slowly for the perfect people watching perspective.
The only really dirty moment are ladies sitting on bar stools, legs wide spread with no underwear on. Not that sweet. But still that's the Bangkok one would imagine. How we know it from movies, songs and crazy stories. It still exists. In a more confined space but its there. Nothing to worry about. I felt safe at all times. Great moment was also a Tuk Tuk driver in the best of his body language describing what happens at the ominous Ping Pong shows. For all of you that know, let your imagination go wild.
Let's hope that was only the first of many interesting, and safe, trips to the real Bangkok...

Ko Ratanakosin walking tour

Monday seem to become the new Sightseeing days. Two Mondays ago the Grand Palace Tour and all the other stuff, last Monday, walking all over Koh Samet island and this Monday full program.
The plan for the day is a walk through the older part of Bangkok, Ko Ratanakosin, where the most famous temples are. The day starts with a sweet little Moped-Taxi ride to the Skytrain, the Skytrain to the Ferry Boat Pier and the Boat to Ko Ratanakosin (Pier No. 9).  Bangkok Transportation Systems at its best.
The idea for the walk comes from the Lonely Planet, Bangkok Edition so I deserve no credit for the great and weird things we've seen today. Other than the reading and leading the way part of course. Today Laura is for one the token Finnish, with 2 Austrians and the assimilated German ;)

evaluating amulets

Our self-guided (Lonely Planet aided) walking tour starts right off the Pier through some markets, to the Amulet market. It's as it says, a lot of amulets, Buddha statues, various bracelets, necklaces, ornaments. Practically everything you can imagine. Mostly Buddhism related. To see all the amulets its nice, but if you do not know or understand their meaning it's more about copper and brass than anything else. What I personally liked better is watching the locals buy the amulets. They get tiny magnifying glasses out, evaluate them in detail to estimate their worth or see whether it fits in their collection.

Lunch over the River

Along the way you can also buy everything from the pharmaceutical side up to a complete 'new' set of teeths. The Tarot card readers seem interesting but as I walk past I guess there's not one here today that speaks English well enough to use all the wonderful adjectives to describe my prosperous future. All along the way there's small eateries and we find a very fine one, located over the Chao Phraya river. The woodden planks look stable and the food and drinks delicious. All the food tastes great and I fall in love with their Mint Shake. I could bathe in that it tastes soooo good. I hope I can find that at other places in the city too. May I dare to say that, that Mint Shake in the morning may replace my coffee craving...?
Eating over the river has other advantages too. You have a nice breeze, you can do great people watching and can feed your leftover food to the fish (they ate EVERYthing).

Coconut ice cream

Around here there's a few universities so there's students in their uniforms all over the place. Makes it look even more lively. There's more shops, more markets, more streetfood. Really nice area to hang out for a while. If it weren't for the scorching heat. As it seems we picked the hottest day in a while to go on the walk luckily there's shop awnings and trees around that make it a teeeny bit more bearable.

Laura shaking out her fortune

The walk leads further past Sanam Luang, the royal field. No idea what happens on this vast empty space, but it looks perfect for outdoor concerts. Walk by the Grand Palace and the thousands of tourist busses outside, past the City Pillar, Lak Meuang. All distances in Thailand from Bangkok are measured from this point.
What we've been looking forward to since the last two hours or so is the next stop, apparently the best coconut ice cream in Bangkok. Luckily the way there is described pretty well, it leads us through streets with no people, over a Klorng, the tiny waterways that haven't been paved over - yet, to a little residential area. The housing is two stories and very basic. Even though they may not be able to afford a proper roof or windows, everyone's got their satellite dish mounted. The people are outstandingly friendly, greeting us every time we pass by. And there it is, hidden on a corner, Natthaphorn the famed coconut ice cream shop. And delicious it is. I haven't tasted too many other coconut ice creams around so I wouldn't be a fair judge whether it's the best one, but this is daaaaamn good. And for 25 B a steal.

Reclining Buddha

A cocotastic experience later a trip back over the klorng again, past the Pig Shrine, yes you heard correctly, there's a Pig Shrine for a Queen born in the year of the Pig through the Saranrom Royal Garden towards Wat Pho. In the garden there's people jogging and working out in this heat. I am impressed. Wat Pho is a haven. Hardly any tourists. Very different from the crowds at Wat Phra Kaew. Wandering through the big grounds through various temple buildings and past uncounted numbers of stone statues and golden buddhas we grab our fortune through the shaking it out of a wooden box. My fortune is.... mysterious if you can call it that, but its a fun practice for sure. Pacing over the gigantic grounds of Wat Pho we look for the main attraction, the Reclining Buddha, which is quite hidden in the corner of the grounds. It's stunning and really impressive. Gold leafy 46m long and 15m high it rests peacefully among all tourists trying to catch a good photo. It was worth looking for.

Udo being interviewed

Laura heads back home from here and the boys give an interview to two Thai students who need to interview foreigners as an assignment. 20 minutes in the conversation they loose their shyness too. 
The massages in Wat Pho are famous, but overpriced. So we set out looking for a cool place with cool drinks. We find a hidden rooftop bar with fantastic views of Wat Arun but missing air conditioning, so sit down somewhere else. Since boats finish running soon it's off to the Pier and back. And a boat it's not full till it's full. About 60 people more than someone would say the boat is full, we head down the river, picking up ever more people along the way. Cozy ride indeed. On the way back home we observe some open air aerobics from the Skytrain, looks fantastic, maybe I'll actually join in one day.
After 11 hours of sightseeing there's most energy drained out. The plan to go to the Skybar tonight is delayed again. Let's see when we actually make it there.

Movies, Shopping through the weekend market, Nightlife, Silom

The post following should have been about the classes at Bangkok University, the little thingies Thai students do, that we don't and the weird and very distinct rules they have for each class.
I think I will learn a lot more about the subject in the near future so lets forego that and save that for another time, I am sure there will be more puns by then too.
Classes, classes, classes. To do something productive despite that it's off to shopping (more window shopping) to MBK. I am looking for a Backpackers backpack, maybe 75 L for the upcoming trips that hopefully happen ;) MBK is full of those at very cheap prices. Since I have some time I will compare the prices with some others too and then settle. Let's just hope the cheap copy brands don't break during the first use. I don't wanna see all my belongings scattered on the floor somewhere. I am getting one more set of 'sexy' uniform fór the university and my shopping is done for the night. Woohoo, even more classes tomorrow.
Friday night is movie night. Or so we decided. After a dreadful taxi ride (since Sukhumvit Rd more resembled a parking lot than a road) we switch to the Skytrain and make it to Siam Paragon Center and the movies only over an hour after our appointment with the others. Hey, it's Bangkok.
The foodcourt in Siam Paragon is yummyyyy... well not really the food I picked, but everything else definitely looked the part. And if you don't know how to get your shopping home... be my guest and buy a Lamborghini on the way out. Very nice sports car show room. So if you are not sure what to get me for my birthday....
The movie we end up seeing is 'One Day'. Straight up... none of us really liked it so go save your money and see a movie with a real plot, not a movie that's trying to be a movie, but not succeeding. But the snacks are great. Popcorn is all sorts, sweet, spicy, salted and whatever else. Best thing is for an extra charge you can get your popcorn in a Harry Potter Cauldron and your drink from a Wizards Hat straw. There's a few more of these for other movies too. That's innovative. I resist the urge to get some of those trinkets. 1 for me.

Weekend market, school uniforms

What's Saturday night? Right, parteyyyyyy night. But the day starts off with a visit to Chatuchak weekend market. I meet up with Markus, another exchange student from my home university but whose courses don't start till late October. So he's got some time on his hands. So the saying goes that in Chatuchak they have everything you need and everything you never even know you wanted. The bargaining is not as good as in other places, they start with the prices already reasonably low. Sometimes you get a few Baht cheaper but not more than 50%. Doesn't beat the 95% or so you often had to haggle down in Shanghai. There's clothes, antiques, furniture and let's just say stuff. Stuff, stuff, stuff and more stuff. It's a real great place to just look around. But I would come here either to just look around, or if you need something specific, go in, find it, get out. You can probably get everything here at MBK or another place in Bangkok too, but it's just nice as it's on weekends only there's a sea of people so the people watching is just great, that is, if you don't mind crowds. And I am not talking tourists only.
The snacks on the market are fabulicious. Just go through and try everything that looks good, and when you are full just get some fruit juice to wash it down. There's too much to mention and everything we tried was really yummy. I should come back just for the food....

Weekend market, Shrimp rice balls

 

And tonight... Party at the residence first at the 'Finnish House' and then continued at the 'Swedish House'. Some silly drinking games were invented and the party continued till late on RCA. For some later (earlier) than others. There was the ID-story, the key-story, the bathroom-massage story, the taxi-story, the peanut-story......

Finnish connection + Udo

True to form Sunday is sleep-in day, why, I leave up to your imagination.After some pooling our party of 7 leaves for some Mexican food at Coyote. I think what lured as was the 2 for 1 Margarita offer. Over 75 kinds of Margaritas to choose from, that's a nice and tasty selection. The food is really good for a Mexican restaurant in Thailand. It actually does resemble Mexican food more than whatever I've gotten sold in Austria under that name. The prices are outrageous for Thailand, still have the price of what it would cost back home but around 3-6 times as much as in a Thai restaurant. So for desert we need to look for another place. The high price but average portion size leaves some still hungry and hunting down the next Street Food stand where the chicken costs 1/6 and apparently tastes better than at Coyote. So next time that means... drinks only for us.

Glass chars on the walls to prevent break-ins, detected in Silom

Desert leads us to a hidden Waffle place, where we separate. We head off through Silom towards the Skybar while the others head home. One cheap Chang at Markus Hostel and we try our luck with Sirocco Sky Bar (Hangover II location). Since the visit wasn't planned we don't fit the dresscode, no Skybar for us tonight. We try get the needed shoes and pants at the next market, but its overpriced or ugly. Sirocco will see us another night. A bear in Jameson's Pub on the way home. There's also an Ice Bar there. I wonder if it's same as the one in Stockholm. Maybe try that also another night.
At Jameson's there's a Hot Hot Hot Hot Wings competition. If you can finnish them in under 10 minutes you get them free plus a T-Shirt that states your survival. The sauce is made with the infamous Ghost Chili of 1.000.000 Scoville. The boys agree to practice and come back in December for the challenge. Lets see. I for one will be watching only.

Taxi PoGo, Dingelingelin

The lucky two of us catch the best Taxi in town for our ride home. It's not just a racecar, it's a discotheque too. He opens his Laptop and puts on some nightclub music as well as the red disco lights in the cab. It's freaking amazing. At every red light he takes off the steering wheel and uses it as his dancepartner. Best freaking cab ride E V E R. The moment he notices we speak german he switches to german dance music and asks us for recommendation on what to download next. Damn, I would like to always get a ride like that. He also knows english, puts the meter on and uses the most direct roads. Transportation Bliss.

Koh Samet: Island of beaches

Short and random notes on Koh Samet:
 

Small island – lots of little bays with nice beaches, Bungalows built behind the tree lines, lots of mosquitos everywhere, transport by Vespas or green overpriced Taxis, a quasi monopoly

Not too much to do other than beach and get massages, there’s tours to smaller islands around to see fishes though.

Food is amazing, there’s BBQ’s all over the island, you can pick your meat or fish or seafood with side dish, they throw it on the grill and you get it perfectly grilled. So yummy.

Other than that our accommodation Tok’s offered the best value for money around, it was cheaper than other restaurants in the area and the food was always delicious and service attentive. Even special requests were taken care of.

Thai Boxing

You can walk around most of the island but it’s not very advisable, the heat is killing you, and if the heat isn’t the mosquitos are, or you might be washed away by torrential rains in the rainy season.

There’s not much partying available on the island, it’s more of dinners and cocktails. There’s three discos/nightclubs if you can call it that but they weren’t well frequented. It’s nicer to just sit on the beach and enjoy the performance of the fire boys, as one little girl called them.

You can get massages everywhere and that for very cheap. There is no bargaining with either the massage ladies or the food and fruit vendors. They all have licenses to sell on the beach and fixed prices.

The stray dogs everywhere sometimes look cute and sometimes scary, but none of them was aggressive. I have no idea if rabies is an issue on the island. But they wander around everywhere and leave you alone. They may only sit there and stare at you for a little while.

Beaches: Beaches and Bays are scattered throughout the island, some smaller, some larger, but then again, if you are already staying on a nice beach, the other ones are going to be pretty similar. If it’s too crowded or too quite you can surely find another place where it’s more busy or more chilly. The busiest beach is also the biggest one, Diamond Beach, just near the Ferry Pier. The farther away you get from the Pier the quieter the beaches become. Sometimes almost too quiet for my taste.

When it comes to accommodation you have everything from pricy luxury rooms that don’t stand European Hotels in anything behind (neither in price nor luxury) to the standard room, basic bungalow or spare mattress on the floor with shared bathrooms. So for every traveler and every budget there’s something to be found here.

Rain: It’s not called rainy season for nothing. There were heavy rains every day at different times. That said, they usually didn’t last for that long, so it’s manageable. The heavy part is over in minutes but then it can drizzle for quite some time. If rain is a spoiler for your vacay, come after October….

That said it’s an island mostly for relaxing, don’t expect too much action or adventure here. If you want to spend some days doing nothing and not be afraid of missing out on sights on the island, you are right here. If you want high life then better seek out somewhere else. For a weekend away from Bangkok to chill, perfect, easy to get to, reasonable prices, nice beaches.

So whether you ever go or you just soak up the pics… Enjoy Koh Samet.

Chilling on Koh Samet

Today is the day when I finally arrive in Thailand. Not Bangkok, but Thailand. With all the information I gathered yesterday Udo and I head to the Eastern Bus Terminal at Ekamai. In the Taxi there we decide that this time we will go to Koh Samet, Koh Chang maybe another time. Talk about being spontaneous. The bus to Banphe, from where the ferry leaves to Koh Samet, leaves exactly the minute we get there and is kind enough to wait for us. There’s not enough time to look around but the connections seem fantastic. Pretty much every hour there are buses leaving to the major Southeastern destinations, making traveling around cheap and convenient. Our bus ride is only 157 Baht – one way, with another 100 B return for the ferry to Koh Samet. The bus is comfy and we even get water and cookies for the 4 hour scenic ride. The roads are pretty good and it’s practically not bumpy at all, strongly depending on what you compare it too, though. The bus stops in Banphe 2 minutes walk from the ‘ferry terminal’ a wooden shack and pier from which ferries and speedboats leave from. They scare us that we won’t be able to get accommodation on the island, since it’s a long holiday weekend – Friday Aug 12^th is the Queens birthday and a holiday in Thailand. We pay the 200 B entrance fee, since the island is a National Park and get on the ferry anyway. The ferry is essentially an ancient wooden boat, access is terrible and I salute the people that got on there with heavy luggage. An adventurous 45 minute ride later we arrive on Koh Samet. Crawl over 4 other boats to get to the Pier where’s some Taxi pick up trucks waiting to get everyone into the tourist areas. The pier is full with boats bringing items to the islands and bringing trash and other things back to the mainland. Good first impression, the rubbish is not just dumped in the water. And you can see that on pristine beaches and crystal clear waters.

On the boat I asked a girl for recommendations on where the go to look for accommodation and she was spot on. We walk about 15 minutes along the beach and check out 3 places and Tok’s is the nicest and cleanest. Prices are a bit higher than usual as its Holiday weekend but paying around 23 € a night for our private bungalow seems ok. Mosquitos here are fairly bad and while waiting to be shown to various rooms I got bitten a few times already. So the first purchase of the day is a bug spray which is being put to good use.

The temperatures here are wonderful and there’s a breezy wind but the humidity is terrible. The only thing helping is a dip in the bathtub warm ocean where one could just stay forever. Later there’s heavy rains so not much happening tonight. There’s loud music outside later once the rain stopped, indicating a big party. Earplug blocks it out, there’s always another party night somewhere, after all I AM on vacation right now.

Friday, Queen’s birthday today. Full day on the beach is planned. No excursions, no activities, no nothing. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! And it’s the first day I am actually having a real breakfast since I am in Thailand. They call it Thai Omelet but it’s just a regular omelet with tomatoes and onions. The menu is so extensive here they have everything, staples from around the world. Only the coffee could be better.  From the breakfast table we need to walk a whole meter to a beach spot, that I don’t intend to leave for quite a while.

The usual hawkers, like food and drink vendors, clothes sellers, henna tattoers and massage ladies approach but are by far not as pushy as on other beaches around the world. After a loooong swim in the ocean we go for a Thai massage directly on the beach. This is fantastic. For roughly 6 € you get spoiled for an hour in a setting that could be from the movies. Not much more to report here. Tanning, reading, swimming, tanning, reading, swimming. Relaxing to the music from the speakers. 80s and 90s classics are blasting in a just loud enough volume. Just before sunset my massage lady mentions that it was a very bad day for her, since it’s not busy yet and I was her only customer. Seems like I just have to get a massage again tomorrow to ensure the lovely lady can get food on the table. It’s supporting the locals just like all the conservationist want you to do ;-)

Welcome to Bangkok University, Orientation, Courses, Excursion, Ayutthaya

Welcome Day 1 at Bangkok University International College involved getting into our oh so sexy University Uniform, walking there and registering. The usual. The introduction was held in an icecube, I meant a chilly auditorium and we were cheered on by Jet, one of the coordinators whose fantastic mood in the early morning hours can only make you jealous. The information was the usual bla bla, nicely and slowly presented nothing of which you wouldn’t already know from the previously received handbook. All Freshman, exchange, visiting and transferring students were put together and invited for a lovely lunch. Where I already got to meet plenty of people from everywhere. US, UK, China, Taiwan, Sweden, Finnish, German, Austrian, Norwegian, Thai, Nigerian, Venezuelan, Slovakian, Croatian to just mention a few. There’s quite a good mix here. Most of the European exchange students are staying at the same residence so far, no one is really enthusiastic but its practical and there’s talks about Penthouse parties. In the afternoon there’s registration for our courses. Since I am soooo perfectly preorganized ;-) I picked out all my classes for a perfectly timed schedule weeks ago. All my classes are in order so I am done in like 3 minutes. Get my picture taken for the BU student ID and then just wait around for a few other people to finish and chat with the newfound friends.

Fun taxi ride

Green Curry

Udo and I schedule to meet with 3 Finnish girls (after some pool time) for an evening trip to the infamous Khao San Road. Since we are greeted with torrential rainfall on our arrival there we head straight into a restaurant for dinner and cocktails. Since my dear friend asked me to eat some Green Curry for her, this was my pick for the night. S. this one was for you and it was really, really delicious, albeit a tad spicy. I bet with Udo to eat a spicy looking chili for a cocktail. The joke was on me though since the chili wasn’t really spicy, but hey, a bet is a bet. Our new Finnish friends are exceptionally nice and I think we could have sat there and chatted for days. Curiosity drives us out in the end to Khao San. And it is pretty much as imagined. Road stalls, streetfood, travel & tours and people that want to sell you everything there is, legal and illegal. I snap a pic of a huge sign showing which fake ID’s they can make for you in a short amount of time. The shopkeeper forces me to delete the pic, since it’s illegal to fake ID’s. The irony…. I’d like to get some information on nice tours just to get an idea of what can, should be done and the like. Most places are closed now, and there’s surprisingly few brochures lying around. Since none of us 5 is really in the mood for shopping we look around a bit and head back.

Khao San is definitely THE place for backpackers. Within the first seconds I already saw more than ten. There’s everything right here that you could need. Tours all over South East Asia, information, shopping, clothes, massage, tattoos, bars, markets and the sights are also fairly close by. So although it has a bad reputation I think for a short stay in Bangkok, it’s convenient and cheap too.

Wednesday morning we meet again at the Campus for a tour of the second Bangkok University Campus which is about an hour bus ride away. Smartly they split all people arriving together up in different buses so you get the chance to meet plenty more people. There’s 6 brightly colored double-decker buses going through Bangkok with 300 or so students all wearing white ‘I am BU International’ T-Shirts. Quite a good sight actually. Fantastic branding by the university. It’s a long drive to Rangsit Campus. There’s a few icebreaker games, activities and short tour around the library and the Museum housed on the Campus and a delicious lunch buffet. They really spoil us here. Over lunch I meet another bunch of Austrians. I would have never imagined that there’s so many here, I am sure sooner or later I can deliver an exact count.

Next up a hop on the bus to Ayotthaya, the former capital of Thailand. We visit a temple site which was destroyed by the Burmese in war times. I would tell you more but the guide’s English was so terrible I didn’t have the strength and patience to listen to his explanations. Few nice pictures there and further on to the Ayotthaya Floating Market. It’s not really floating, it’s just built on stilts, but they still have some vendors, mostly food, going around in their boats selling sweets and pad thais.

Floating Market Ayothaya

On the way back to Bangkok I ask around about recommendations on weekend getaways. After all due to my impeccable scheduling I do not have to be back on campus until Wednesday. Six blissful days off. I get some insights into how to travel to the islands located southeast of Bangkok. Koh Samet, Koh Chang are supposed to be the closest and nicest ones. The decision is made, the next few days will be spent at some beach somewhere down south. Aaaaaaaaaaah! I should have decided earlier then I would have had that glowing feeling of anticipation of a beach getaway much longer.

First off there’s still some more pooling and a ‘Swedish Party’ in the residence. Woop Woop! Comfy getting to know everyone better and also meet more new faces. The scare of the night was being locked in in the fireescape staircase. Apparently it is impossible to get out of the staircase once you entered it, since they only open from the outside. So much to trying to be fit and take the stairs instead of the elevator. Never again.