TSJAP On Tour: Thailand: We made it to the Pacific - Friends visiting

Our itinerary through Thailand

(30/01/2016 - 28/02/2016; 2300km + flight)

We leave Cambodia on a dusty bumpy and small road and enter Thailand on the other side of the border on a modern four lane highway. What a huge difference in development between these two countries, already on first sight.
Crossing borders has lost its stress since we are in Southeast Asia. No detailed car searching anymore, no intimidating, endless discussions or theft. Instead: relaxed officials, friendly faces and for the first time: no entrance or visa fee has to be paid. Just a simple stamp and the mentioning that we can stay 30 days. We are amazed.Chantaburi a little town, the only place in Thailand that has ever belonged to a colonial power is our first stop. But we don’t have time to do sightseeing. Paul has fever and it’s a strange one, coming and going, up and down and since we have been crossing Dengue fever areas we want to make sure that it is not one of the tropical fevers. So the first building we visit in Thailand is a big hospital in Chantaburi. Not to compare to Laos, this is all new high standard together with a super-efficient organization, after half an hour we see the doctor. Besides the fever Paul doesn’t show any sign of being sick, it is the opposite: being bored after a while he jumps up and down, comments on everything, climbs wherever he can. And after the check the doctor explains us that after 30 hours of fever it is still too early for a blood test on tropical fevers and then she adds: “You know, kids that come to me with Dengue or Malaria really look sick. You can tell when they come in, that there is something severe. But your little one doesn’t look like that at all…” she looks at Paul who tries to climb her desk at that moment. ;-) We decide to wait one more day and if it gets worse we will be back. Luckily the fever is gone the next day.
At the coast behind Chantaburi we reach the ocean! Wow, we have made it: from Europe to the Pacific Ocean, more precise the Gulf of Thailand. Wind blows in the palm trees and we sit at the beach to resume a bit. What a long journey! What comes next? Johann and Antonia shoot coconuts from the palm trees, that is their answer to the question.
The heat has become a problem for us. It is almost impossible to sleep in the car anymore. At the beach there is some wind blowing and we decide to give it a try again, but around 11 pm the wind is gone and the still and crazy heat takes over. And adding to this, we realize the next morning that we have parked in the middle of an alley of tiny but unfriendly ants. They will travel with us for the next 2000 km… We start to discuss plan B: sleeping in the car when coming even closer to the equator doesn’t seem an option anymore and we start looking into the idea of abandoning the car in Malaysia and go backpacking. This would open the opportunity to go back north to Vietnam, where we couldn’t enter by car anyway and also puts Myanmar back on the list, which would also have had a lot of hassle to get in by car. Indonesia is highly ranked too and maybe we could take a glimpse on the Philippines? We will see, thinking and planning has just started.

Golf of Thailand (Pak Nam Laem Sing):
Emma made it to the Pacific Ocean!

Golf of Thailand (Pak Nam Laem Sing):
Enjoying the beach (Antonia reading Harry Potter).

Golf of Thailand (Pak Nam Laem Sing):
Pauli loves the location ;)

Antonia sitting on Emmas roof top.

Golf of Thailand (Pak Nam Laem Sing):
Sunset impressions.

Golf of Thailand (Pak Nam Laem Sing):
Johann tries to pick a coconut.

Golf of Thailand (Pak Nam Laem Sing):
Antonia celebrates his success.

Golf of Thailand (Pak Nam Laem Sing):
I get to open it ;)

We decide to rent a little room or bungalow or something, as long as there is an airco further north at the beach. We hang out there for a couple of days, doing homework, writing the blog. The beach is beautiful and empty during the week, there is great seafood and spectacular sunsets. Only some sand flies give us a hard time, but interestingly only after a couple of days the bites become really itchy and leave ugly scars. At the end of the week we will welcome Kristin, Benny, Korcho, Sinta and Anton in Bangkok and we are so excited! It is so great to have friends coming to visit, after all these months missing them!

Golf of Thailand (Kram):
Sunset impressions.

Golf of Thailand (Kram):
Our host invites us to use his Jetski. We cannot believe our luck.

Golf of Thailand (Kram):
Pauli has to stay on the beach ...

... but still happy.

Golf of Thailand (Kram):
After a nice ride in the twilight we return the toy to his owner.

Golf of Thailand (Kram):
Awesome scenery for dinner.

Golf of Thailand (Kram):
Empty & pure beaches create an enourmous playground.

Golf of Thailand (Kram):
Pauli discovering the beac on his own.

Golf of Thailand (Kram):
Kids catching ...

... lots of ...

... crabs.

On our way to Bangkok we come along Pattaya, the infamous town of sex, drugs and crime. Well it is a huge city from what we see, skyscrapers next to the beach, entertainment offers everywhere. There seem to be plenty of people liking this town, we go on, we want to see Bangkok.
Our travel plan B has emerged so far, that we are planning to leave the car in Bangkok and take a flight to Hanoi to tour Vietnam in about two weeks. The only problem is that we need a customs paper for our car to stay during that time in Thailand. We stop in Bangkok at the Customs headquarters, where some friendly officers try to find a solution for our question. But at the end they tell us that we could stay longer than the paper allows, but would have to pay a high fine. Plan B has to get some adjustment.
To stay together all ten of us at one place we have rented an apartment in Bangkok from one of Benny’s friends. We read the instructions and get really curious what is waiting for us: Pick up key at the lobby at entrance A, then take the elevator to floor 3, where you will find the pools and sports courts, then go to tower F and take the elevator to the sixth floor. Aha. Lobby? Towers? Pools? Sports Courts? We get to know for the first time a form of living that is apparently wide spread in the wealthier part of the region: Condominiums. Bangkok Garden Condominium advertises with: “Bangkok’s biggest private garden” and we find on the third floor a huge area with palm trees, lawns and pools and playgrounds where inhabitants of the towers can stroll and enjoy a quiet moment. The apartment is really nice with a nice view and the kids declare this the best place to stay ever: it is one minute from the apartment to the pools.

Thailand is such a contrast to Laos and Cambodia, so much wealthier and developed. But for some strange reason this country reminds me of the US in the nineties: the design of the houses, shop interiors, cars everywhere, the huge highways, malls, sometimes it is just little details that make a bell ring. Everything looks wealthy, but also a bit old fashioned or very conservative at the same time. As if the country was still living from the substance of the boom in the nineties. Hard to describe, maybe it’s just a feeling. It certainly does not feel like crazy turning China, life goes on much more quiet and settled here. People are very friendly and helpful, but in Bangkok at the same time this friendliness especially from officials feels a bit awkward, as if it could turn into aggression any time. The whole political situation in Thailand is strange, the country divided into two parts and the military taking it as a hostage. Pictures of the royal family especially of the king and queen can be found everywhere, from the small vendors hut, to public transport or huge official buildings. The pictures seem to be from the 50ties to the 80ties and later I read that King Bumibhol or Rama IX has been doing this job since 1946, almost 70 years! Apparently he is the world’s longest reigning head of state. On the series of about ten different pictures of the king, that can be found on posters and shrines in the country he looks uncomfortable and shy and seems very fragile, his hands folded clumsy as if he had hated photo shootings. The monarchy is considered semi-divine in Thailand and there has always been a tight band between the military and the king, one supporting the other. Cruel laws suppressing any criticism to the king have led to sentences for offenders to up to forty years in prison. Any picture with the king on it has to be treated with special respect which also means the bills of money. On every bill of Bath there is a picture of the king. I instruct the kids to be especially careful in public...

I like Bangkok, I really like it, it is an interesting place with so many different places and stunning things to see. We do some sightseeing and people watching. We also use the time for some homework and stay in our apartment. One day Torsten comes back from the super market and tells us, that he has seen from the third floor garden area that there is a house not far from us burning down. Fire waves blast on the last floors of the skyscraper and I see white clouds on the top of the house and suddenly I realize that this must be the pool on the top that is vaporizing. The house burns down completely though the structure remains. We read in the news that the house belongs to a former member of parliament and his family and that two people died in the fire. It takes more than three hours until the fire fighters reach the place with heavy equipment. Apparently the streets around the house were blocked by cars and motorcycles. Later it seems that there has been a tight control by police in the area to make sure that fire alleys are cleared off by all vehicles, because the condominium staff insists one day that we remove our truck form the parking place as soon as possible.

Bangkok: First day at our place. Next door a high-rise on fire,
burning down almost entirely.

Bangkok: After getting mobile internet, Antonia enjoys
er incentive of accompaigning me ;)

Bangkok: People get prepared for Chinese New Year.

Bangkok: Antonia watching preparation
for Chinese New Year.

Bangkok: People get prepared for Chinese New Year.

Bangkok: People get prepared
for Chinese New Year.

Bangkok: Buddhist shrine on the sidewalk
in busy downtown.

Beautiful!

Bangkok: Twilight Impressions.

Bangkok: People get prepared for Chinese New Year.

Bangkok: Chaotic traffic vs. cleared intersections.
We will get used to that picture and we shall rediscover it
in Malaysia.

Bangkok: The pool in the condominium helps us to cope with
the heat and ...

... the kids have a lot of fun.

I think there wasn't so much joy around this pool for a long time.

Bangkok: They were supposed to become fishes.

Bangkok: Floral decoration for Buddhist rites
for sale in downtown.

Our friends arrive Saturday night and since we couldn’t wait, we take the high speed train all the way to the airport 40 km outside Bangkok. And we manage to find them all in the crowds waiting and a great week can start! Everyone happy! Especially Johann who is so happy that his friend Anton has come with Benny’s family and they will enjoy every minute of their vacation!

Bangkok: On our way to the airport to
pick-up friends from Belgium - everyone anxious!

Bangkok: Here he is! Johanns' best friend Anton finally arrived.

Bangkok: Pauli also likes to get a hug.

Bangkok: Boys talk on our way back from the airport.

Bangkok: the travel-crew crew to an extended
that we easily fill a mini-bus ...

... and the rides are so much fun.

Bangkok: ... and surely we are happy
to see this guy back! Welcome to Bangko, Benny.

The next day we meet Benny’s old friends from College in the US. They are all really happy to see each other again and we are really happy to get to meet them all. They invite us to visit the king’s palace together with them and when we get there we realize that almost everyone else in Bangkok had the same idea… It is the day before Chinese New Year and the city is full with visitors that use the day before the celebrations to do some sightseeing, just like us. Still the sights are very impressing. Cambodia’s royal palaces are provincial compared to the ones of ancient Siam. Gold, paintings, drawings, statues everywhere, it is really stunning! Have a look! The temple of the emerald Buddha was copied in Phnom Phen and that it is a copy we can see here. The original in Bangkok is much bigger and more majestic and has much more details.
The family of one of Benny’s friends owns a restaurant chain and Vitoon invites all of us to one of his restaurants after the visit to the palace. We have a great time sitting on one table all together and I realize for the first time how nice it is for Korcho and Anton to speak fluent English, they have nice chats with the daughters of Benny’s friends and a great time. For Johann having a conversation in English is still too difficult. Nina, one of the girls impresses me most, we laugh with her a lot, because she is so funny. Later Benny tells us that Nina is participating in the thai version of “The Voice - kids” TV program and we wish her best luck to win the thing, she is a great entertainer!

The waiters in the restaurant are a bit nervous, since their boss is having lunch here, the poor guys drop several plates and drinks… The food is great and we are having a fantastic day. After lunch the tour goes on and we all get on a boat to cruise the river and canals of Bangkok. The river is pretty rough waters and we enjoy the ride, the talks, the sights, everything. Vitoon’s driver brings us all back to our apartment so we have time to fresh up a little and in the evening we are invited to his house to have dinner. There we also meet his family: His mother, the founder of the company and his father who used to be a minister of commerce in the Thai government welcome us very friendly. His brothers are also working in the business. They have started with one restaurant and today employ around 6000 people. A very impressive family. We have dinner together with Vitoon and his wife and it is a wonderful and interesting evening. Pauli eventually falls asleep next to a fitness machine in the sports cabinet and the kids play table tennis, so we have some quiet moments for talking… ;-) We are very grateful for this interesting insight and being able to meet these nice people. Never to forget, thanks a million!

Bangkok: Breakfast with Anton. Much more fun!

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Impressions.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Lovely guides through the precious
history of Thailand.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Korcho, Kristin & Sinta infront of
a model of Angkor Wat.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Impressions.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Visiting us on our trip. Kristin & Benny.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Impressions.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Now we are real travel party!

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Posing infront
of precious temples. Johann, Anton & Antonia.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Impressions.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: 'Is this real?'

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Impressions.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Beautiful temples decorated
with countles tiles.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: A couple weeks ago we saw it in real.
Model of Angkor Wat.

Grand Palace@Bangkok:
Model of Angkor Wat.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Impressions.

Grand Palace@Bangkok:
Pauli likes the shiny tiles.

Grand Palace@Bangkok:
Good to have big friends.
Korcho helps to tie Paulis shoes.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Chakri Maha Prasat.

Grand Palace@Bangkok: Last view back.
Impressive!

Bangkok: Lunchtime.
All happy with extraordinary delicious food, ...

... look!

Bangkok: The shakes scored high!

Bangkok: Pauli enjoys eating with someone else than us ...

and teasing Antonia from a save place ;)

Bangkok: Old friends reunited.

Bangkok: Susanne having fun chatting.

Chao Phraya River@ Bangkok: Impressions from a boat ride
on the city's canals.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Ruthy & Benny,
former study mates meeting back in Bangkok.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Enjoying
the boat ride on the city's canals.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Pauli & Korcho playing
on the boat.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Boat Ride.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Floating merchant.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: A lot wilder than we thought.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Great ambience, great chats.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok:
Kids feeding fish.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: The girls were so well-behaved.
You should have seen the boys ;)

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: But they all enjoyed it.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Artwork.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok:
What a nice place to enjoy a beer.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Incredible how easy
Pauli gets a long with new people.
It wasn't always like that.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok:Boats waiting at a lock.

Chao Phraya River@Bangkok: Guys keep on having fun.

Bangkok: Anton & Johann.

Bangkok: Former study mates meeting again
after almost 20 years.

Bangkok: Downtown Impressions.

Today it is Chinese New Year! The year of the monkey is coming and everyone is celebrating the end of the year of the goat! We have heard bursting fireworks already and seen the red decoration everywhere. A lot of Chinese Thai live in Bangkok and even not being an official holiday parties for the new year are wide spread. The girls and me we decide to get ready for the party by getting our nails done as we have seen at so many places here: nails in red and gold!
The parade in China town is supposed to start in the afternoon, so we use the morning to relax a bit. Torsten and Benny get a Thai massage. All bones cracked they crawl back into the apartment after two hours… ;-)

After a bus-metro-train-ride we arrive around four in China town and with us at the same time the Thai princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the second oldest daughter of the king and the queen and also the second-in-line-to-the-throne right after her brother. She comes to visit the festivities for Chinese New Year and pray in one of the temples. That means that festivities come to a halt, since everyone has to stand at the side and wait until the princess has passed by: once on her way to the temple and then again on her way back. We wait almost two hours behind a fence to see her. It is hard work to keep up the good spirit while waiting forever. Then all the sudden she walks by in a big group of people, the policeman in front of us starts to shout: no picture, no picture! And holds his hands on cameras. And that is it. So we don’t have any pictures of the waving princess. On our way back we are a bit disappointed: we haven’t seen any dancing dragons (yes one!) or other dances, nor music, just food stands everywhere, a bit like on a night market.

Bangkok: Getting ready for Chinese New Year.
Manicure in Red & Yellow not only for Sinta, but ...

... also for Antonia & Susanne.

Bangkok: Stylish pedestrian bridges spanning over intersections.

Bangkok: Outdated pictures of the King
are spread over the country.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Dragon dance.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Waiting for something.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Impressions

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Impressions.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Benny & Sinta.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
All anxious on what is gonna happen next.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Spending the time with something pleasant
while waiting for the Princess.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Policemen keeping the crowd off the street

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
So we are ready!

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Impressions.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Waiting for something.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Impressions.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Dragon dance.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Side walk talks.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Impressions.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Korcho & Anton.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Better don't mess with this guy.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
Impressions.

We decide to try a restaurant that we have seen down the road from our apartment when we missed to get off at the right bus station the other day. And here we get the missed party: what a great party place! Tawandang German brewery makes great beer and comes with a huge dining hall and a stage where dancers and singers give a sparkling show. We see traditional dancing and pop singers. The birthday party behind us knows all lyrics and sings what it can.

Bangkok: Chinese New Year Celebrations.
For dinner we accidently ended up in a party palast with ...

... German Beer!

After these two packed and exciting days it is time to leave for the beach. We take a flight with Nok Air, a regional airline to Trang, a town in southern Thailand at the Andaman sea to stay a couple of days on the island Ko Sukorn. Now that I am writing this I have seen much more of the coast of Thailand and I am still so grateful und happy that Kristin found this wonderful, quiet, non-touristy little island for us. Knowing the touristy and crowded rest of the coast it still seems unbelievable that such places still exist. We live in little bungalows, the beach right in front of the little open restaurant and enjoy the beach life. Actually there is none, just quiet sea, some old Europeans surviving the winter in Thailand and sometimes getting annoyed by our kids, but for the rest there is not much to do other than swimming, kayaking, reading and talking... One day we go on a boat tour and visit a couple of other little islands where no one is living, to go snorkeling. For most of us it is the first time in our life to see the underwater world so close and we are really amazed and know afterwards that we will do this again! All these colors and wonderful funny and curious little fish! We also see some little corals, though most of them have been destroyed and are only recovering now: there was the Tsunami in 2004 and in 2010 an ocean heatwave coming from Southern America after a heavy El Nino, which brought water with up to 32 degrees where all the corals died. The water is warm, the sand is white and the crystal blue of the ocean is sometimes very unreal and fantastic! We pass several rocks in the sea, at one of them scenes of the James Bond “The man with the golden colt” have been made and I have the film music of James Bond on my mind while we go on in our boat.

Bangkok: Pauli not yet ready for the trip to Trang.
We had to pack our stuff
so we already took his pillow and blanket.

Arriving in Trang.

Getting on the boat to Koh Sukorn Island

Johann cannot wait to leave the pier.

On the boat to Koh Sukorn Island.

On the boat to Koh Sukorn Island: Impressions.

On the boat to Koh Sukorn Island: Looking forward
to the beach.

On the boat to Koh Sukorn Island: Colorful decorated
boat tip.

On the boat to Koh Sukorn Island. Johann enjoys the ride ...

... but did not see that wave coming ;)

Koh Sukorn: Shuttle from the port to the bungalows.

Koh Sukorn: Reflections.

Koh Sukorn: Shuttle from the port to the bungalows.

Koh Sukorn: Time to relax.

Koh Sukorn: Crabs ...

... create beautiful patterns in the sand.

Koh Sukorn: Anton feeling happy.

On our flight to Trang: Pauli gets his seat belt fastened.

Koh Sukorn: Boys going on a paddle turn.

Koh Sukorn: Pauli all happy.

Koh Sukorn: Sinta & Antonia on discovery tour
walking down the beach.

Koh Sukorn: Sinta.

Koh Sukorn: Enjoying the marvellous sunset ...

... at the beach.

Koh Sukorn: Pauli all happy!

Koh Sukorn: Ideal playground for the boys.

Koh Sukorn: Anton & Johann.

Koh Sukorn: Taking a break.

Koh Sukorn: Antonia on the run.

Koh Sukorn: Anton & Korcho enjoying the island ...

... and so does Pauli.

Koh Sukorn: Anton amazed by the sea life.

Koh Sukorn: Sand dollars moving.
The white ones are dead skeletons.

Koh Sukorn: Pauli enjoying the twilight @ the Beach.

Koh Sukorn: Collecting latex from a rubber tree

Koh Sukorn: Impressions.

Koh Sukorn: Gekko.

Koh Sukorn: Anton & Johann building a float.

Koh Sukorn: Guess where I went to!

Yep, the barber.

Again a painful experience.

Koh Sukorn: Barber shop.

Koh Sukorn: Kick-off to the Massacre.

Koh Sukorn: Giving me a break after the introduction.

Cold water only.

Koh Sukorn: Antonia collecting sand dollars.
She didn't know that the dark ones are still alive and shoul be
released again.

Koh Sukorn: Fisherman going for a catch at sunset.

There is a little school on the island and the official little flyer of the island even invites tourists to come visit the local school, so we do. We are welcomed very friendly and visit almost all classes, we introduce ourselves, write our names on the boards next to the names of the kids of the class or listen to singing kids. All very interesting and different to our schools at home. The school is well equipped, compared to schools in Laos and Cambodia. The kids are allowed to cook their own food once a week. And we realize what wasn’t so obvious before: we are back in muslim areas. The majority of the people living in southern Thailand is muslim and so are the people on the island where we are guests. The kids go to the mosque after lunch, more precise: the boys go, the girls have to stay in school. And there it is again, after being gone for thousands of kilometers on our journey, this feeling of: I just don’t get this gender-apartheid-thing. After our school visit we bike and tuk-tuk back to our beach and Torsten and Kristin get to see a big monitor lizard walking across the street. What an impressive animal!

Koh Sukorn: School visit.

Koh Sukorn: In the class room we discover
distinctive silhoutte of the islands on the chalk board.

Koh Sukorn: School visit. Universal dreams of teenagers.

Koh Sukorn: School visit.
Interesting comparison of languages in the region.

Koh Sukorn: School visit.

Koh Sukorn: School visit.
Together we write our name to chalk board.

Koh Sukorn: School visit.

Koh Sukorn: School visit.
Pauli pointing to worn-out shoes.

Koh Sukorn: School visit. Flags of ASEAN states.

Koh Sukorn: School visit.

Koh Sukorn: School visit.
Kids prepare their lunch.

Koh Sukorn: School visit. Antonia watching the lunch preparation.

On a bike tour around the island Kristin ad Benny have found paradise on earth: a little bar right at the beach, with great sun set view and the best fresh sea food ever. The little restaurant with three tables in the sand is run by a thai-canadian couple and they even show us how they cook their wonderful clams, prawns and fish. We take pictures and take notes and hope that we can carry some of this wonderful atmosphere in a cooking book home.

Koh Sukorn: Going on the back of a pick-up for dinner.

Koh Sukorn: Pick-up ride.

Koh Sukorn: Collecting beach artefacts.

Koh Sukorn: Preparing the dinner.

Koh Sukorn: Clams.

Koh Sukorn: Delicious course.

Koh Sukorn: Kristin enjoy walks at the beach during low-tide.

Koh Sukorn: Beach walks at low-tide.

Koh Sukorn: Kristin & Benny enjoying the evening.

Koh Sukorn: Spectacular sunsets.

Koh Sukorn: Impressions.

Koh Sukorn: Korcho feeding Pauli.

Koh Sukorn: Impressions.

Koh Sukorn: Spectacular sunsets.

Fun drive for all of us.

Koh Sukorn: Islands formed of limestone.

Koh Sukorn: Play time.

Koh Sukorn: Pellets formed by crabs,
when building their nests in the beach sand.

Koh Sukorn: Locals looking for shellfish in the twilight.

Koh Sukorn: A sea star movig slowly in wet sand.

Koh Sukorn: Snorkeling tour to one of the islands.

Koh Sukorn: First-time snorkeling.

We have a great time on Ko Sukorn and enjoy every moment. When it is time to say good bye, we are sad that our vacation is almost over. We take a flight back to Bangkok and before our friends head back to Europe we have two hours left that we spent at a friend’s house enjoying great food (cheese! wine!), nice talks and wonderful old pictures from College! Thanks so much Ruthy and Tico for welcoming us that evening, we really enjoyed being with you all!
And then it is time to say good bye. To be honest I am glad I don’t belong to the heading-back-to-Europe-group that night. We head back to Bangkok Garden that night and enjoy more time in wonderful Southeast Asia! ;-)) We will miss our friends, we enjoyed so much having them here. Especially the kids will miss their fellows. But we have made great plans for our time back in Brussels, so there are things to look forward to. But it is not time yet. We have five months left and we will make use of every minute! (so there will be more to read in the coming weeks… ;-)

Koh Sukorn: Enjoying the last moments at the beach.

Koh Sukorn: Time to say good bye.
We spent an awesome week together.

Koh Sukorn: On our way back to the pier ...

... and from Trang ...

... back to Bangkok.

Bangkok: Pauli enjoys last time playing
with Korcho & Kristin.

Bangkok: Lovely evening at Ruthy & Tico.

Bangkok: Antonia needs some consolation.
Saying 'bye' is never easy.

Bangkok: Pauli tired!

And again we are on our own. We stay a couple of days more in Bangkok and do some more sightseeing. It is really nice to take the speed boats and metros in this big city. Everything is very well organized, people stand in line in marked areas to get into public transport and if there is no space left they will politely wait for the next bus or metro to come, instead of pushing their way through… There are very interesting advertisements in the metro, asking people to refrain from using their phone all the time. "Beware of neck insures! Don't hurt your eyes! Talk to each other!" We are not sure, if we have forgotten how bad it was at home or it is really bad in Thailand: people don't talk to each other anymore, they stare on their phones anywhere, anytime.

We visit the Museum of Siam. Very interesting; interactive and funny. Siam is the old Thailand. It used to consist mainly out of cities being independent states, there were several around. But Europeans arriving in Asia asked for a map to see the boundaries of Siam. This question was actually new to people here since there was no understanding of a state or something like that. There were cities like Ayutthaya or Sukotai and around them wilderness. The name of Siam was eventually changed into Thailand. Why and what this means explained a sign in the museum… That brings us to the conflict burning in Thailands south that is almost never mentioned in Europe: more than 5000 people have died in the last couple of years in bombing attacks in the most southern regions of Thailand. Apparently it is a war between the Buddhist Thai government and muslim inhabitants and others from the region. I am not very sure what the real background of the conflict is, could be that religion is again just an explanation for something else. At the beginning we are worried if we will be able to drive through the South towards Malaysia, but people we talk to are all very calm and convinced that the border checkpoint on the west side is safe and quiet.

Bangkok: Skyline.

Bangkok: Public transport on Chao Phraya River.

Bangkok: Museum of Siam.

Museum of Siam@Bangkok: Kids having fun.

Museum of Siam@Bangkok:
Antonia discovering history.

Museum of Siam@Bangkok: Bamboo rice cooking explained.

Museum of Siam@Bangkok: The history of the region
was not always peaceful.

Museum of Siam@Bangkok: Antonia speaking at a TV mock up.

Bangkok: Wat Pho @ night.

Bangkok: Great Architecture.

Bangkok: Old customs building.

Bangkok: Contrasts at Chao Phraya River-Side.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Reclining Buddha.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Perspective.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Wall paintings.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Reclining Buddha.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Wall paintings.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Ehmmm ... right.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Reclining Buddha.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Tile-covered Stupas.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Copy cat.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Gong.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Impressions.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Tile-covered Stupas.

Wat Pho@Bangkok: Guards at the entrance.

Bangkok: Fun Tuk-Tuk-Ride through down-town.

Bangkok: Construction of a giant swing.

Bangkok: Wat Saket (Golden Moutain)

Bangkok: short visit in the backpacker street, Khao Sun

Khao Sun@Bagkok: Entrance to 'Susie Walking Street' ;)

Khao Sun@Bagkok: Fried Scorpions. Not today.

Khao Sun@Bagkok: The place seems to encourage creativity ;)

Bangkok: Beautiful roof-tops in the twilight.

Bangkok: Buddhist monks (right) & Johann and Antonia (left)
on their way to have dinner.

Bangkok: It's late. We are tired. Heading
back to catch some sleep.

Bangkok: Marvelous scenery from the river.

Bangkok: Surprisingly the shores of the Chao Phraya River
provide still scenes for 'normal' life. We didn't expect to see
in the South-East-Asian Metropolitan.

Bangkok: Back in the appartment, ...

... a quite luxrious refuge.

Bangkok: But it's time to head on.

Bangkok: Emma's btteries are getting tired.
The one-week-break decharged them and we had to kick-start it
with the batteries from our box.

Some 50 km from Bangkok we visit the former capital of Siam: Ayutthaya. This ancient city was burned down by Burmese troops 250 years ago. After the fall of Ayutthaya Siamese shifted their capital to today's Bangkok. The remains of the old country centre can still be visited today, it is a huge open air museum of temple ruins, old palaces and ancient houses. We decide to rent bikes to see the different places. Pauli sits on Antonias little bike that we have bought in China. She does a great job driving around with her little brother in the heat, we are very proud of her. The sheer size of ancient Ayutthaya is impressive, as well as the amount of temples and palaces that have been here. What I find most interesting and have admired already at other places are the stories of many different cultures and religions living together in one place and peace. Ayutthaya was at its best times a big melting pot of nations, living religious tolerance.

Ayutthaya: Wat Maha That.

Wat Maha That@Ayutthaya: Lining up with an ancient face.

Wat Maha That@Ayutthaya: Nice ambience in the twilight.

Wat Maha That@Ayutthaya: Pauli
standing on the remnants of a column.

Wat Maha That@Ayutthay

Ayutthaya: Exploring the city by bike.

Ayutthaya: Decorated remnant of a buddha@Wat Ratchaburana

Wat Ratchaburana@Ayutthaya: View over the ruins.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet@Ayutthaya: Before entering, Susanne
provides us with some introducing words about the history of the place.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet@Ayutthaya:
Preservation is a never ending challange.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet@Ayutthaya: Big kids jump.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet@Ayutthaya:
Alignment.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet@Ayutthaya: Giant buddha in the new
reconstructed temple building next door.

Wat Lokkayasutharam@Ayutthaya:
Lunch at the reclining buddha.

Chai Watthanaram@Ayutthaya

Chai Watthanaram@Ayutthaya:
Steps leading up to the holy place.

Chai Watthanaram@Ayutthaya:
Awesome moments during sunlight.

Ayutthaya: When setting back with the car I touched this pole
with a mounted traffic cam. For some reason it was not fixed
in the ground fell like a cut tree. Luckily no one got hurt.

Ayutthaya: After a couple of days at the
parking Emma refuses to start. Definite end
of life of the batteries. Surprise: the original
NATO-blocks are not available. We decide
to modify the battery compartment to
standard batteries.

Ayutthaya: The empty new batteries are filled in a ... let's say ...
pragmatique way with acid.

Ayutthaya:The new baateries do not quite fit so the plastic
handles are cut off.

We drive on to see the little town of Kanchanaburi. It is next to the river Kwai. You probably know the film "The bridge on the river Kwai". It is a about war prisoners building a river bridge. World War II has hit the region very hard. And again we learn a lot and fill white gaps on the map in our heads. Japan invaded almost every region in Asia and since we have been in China we have learned in all regions we passed that "Japan" is apparently not linked to positive feelings. There have been two railways going through the region, one from Bangkok to Singapore at the coast and the other one from north to south in Burma. What was missing was the link between both. If you look at the map you will see that this missing link is not more than around 500 km, BUT it leads through one of the thickest and most dangerous jungles in the region. Thousands of soldiers have lost their lives here. And the film about the bridge shows a part of this history. We visit a museum to learn about the regions fate during World War II.

Kanchanaburi: Visiting the Thailand-Burma Railway Center.
We learned a lot about the history during WWII.

Kanchaburi: The bridge over the Kwai. Immortalized in the
famous movie of the same name.

Kanchaburi: Johann & Antonia standing on historic rails.

Kanchanaburi:Johann & Antonia climbing
up on the locomotives usedon the death railway.

Kanchanaburi: Johann exploring
witnesses of the past.

Kanchaburi: The Japanese built even trucks with changable
chassis for railsa dn roads.

Not far from Kanchanburi, a little further North is one of the most beautiful National Parks inThailand. A huge waterfall invites to swim. Very strange to see when we arrive is, that the area has the appearance of a winter forest in Europe. Because of the long drought in the dry season almost all trees have lost their leaves and everything is very dry. You can't see the heat on the pictures, but it was certainly there.

Before leaving Erewan National Park we decide to refill our gas tank with the diesel from our jerry cans, to get them empty. We already plan the last 2000 km of our trip, in Malaysia travelling with our Emma will come to its end...

Erawan National Park: Enjoying
paradise-like waterfals ...

... further up we even discovered a 10m-slide over a rock
(unfortunately we forgot the camera :( )

We are back at the Gulf of Thailand and stay overnight in Cha-Am at the sea in a guesthouse next to the party strip of the town. In the middle of the night we hear women in cafes screaming loudly, as if they were very excited about someone or something and after a while Torsten is so fed up with the noise that he walks down to talk to the ladies. We hear him arriving at the walkway because the ladies start screaming in excitement again... When he comes back it is all the sudden silent on the street in front of our guesthouse and he tells us that he explained that there are three children trying to sleep and that he would like to go to sleep also... :-) and apparently it worked.

From Erawan to Cha-An: Gigantic master pieces of
stonecutters next to the road. We were wondering what happens,
when you buy one. Who in the world could transport them.

Cha-An: No one here at this time of the day. In the evening it
turns into a party place. At 11pm I killed the music - along
with the frivolous vipe.

Cha-An: The smashed wall wasn't me. Honestly!

We drive further south, some 600 km on one day. We arrive late that evening at Kao Sok National Park a big forest area, where we decide to go hiking for a day. The rain forest is huge and impressive. But it is almost impossible to hike without a guide, the trails are in bad state, everything is made to make tourists pay and don't do any step in the park alone. We decide to ignore that and go on hiking anyway, two young women from southern Germany join us and we have a great time together. We enjoy a bath in a wonderful cool river and see a lot of playful monkeys. The air is cool up here in the jungle and we have a good night sleep in our car, wind whistling on our skin at night.

Kao Sok National Park:
Walking through the bamboo forest.

Kao Sok National Park:
Great view into the bamboo tree-tops.

Kao Sok National Park: Johann & Antonia
swinging in the lianas.

Kao Sok National Park: Puli loves the
nature. Seems like a big playground to him.

Kao Sok National Park: Selfie attempt without a stick. Works!

Kao Sok National Park: The monkeys are
trustring, ...

... so we experience them from close.

Kao Sok National Park: Two monkeys fooling around.
Reminds us of Johann & Antonia.

Kao Sok National Park: Pauli admiring the
leather for the holly spirit, to ease his
climb to the house.

Kao Sok National Park: Enjoying the jump from the rock.

Kao Sok National Park:Pauli plays with a bamboo 'boat'.

We want to go swimming and snorkelling in the sea again. In Bangkok we had found a Decathlon(!) and now we are equipped with nice snorkelling gear. Ready to go! We decide that Kao Lak will be the place, a small town some 80 km north of Phuket. A lot of hotels, resorts and restaurants, but no noisy night life or bars, perfect for families. When we first arrive we are a bit disappointed, everything seems very touristy and pricy. On his way to find a good place to stay Torsten meets Stefan und Melanie from Czech Republic. And that is the beginning of a wonderful time in Kao Lak. They travel with there four little girls, two of them about the age of Johann and Antonia and we all have a great time together. Mela and Stefan are musicians and we can even join them for a little concert that they hold at their hotel one night. Bach in Thailand, really great!

Khao Lak: Piling Pinapples.
One piece 75 Euro-cent.

Khao Lak: Playtime at the beach in the sunset.
Johann & Pauli enjoy the ambience.

Khao Lak: Johann takes his little brother on a pontoon pier
to watch the sun going down.

Antonia joins them.

Khao Lak: You got almost a guarantee to experience
unforgetable sunsets.

Khao Lak: Melanie & Stepan playing a spontanous concert.
We enjoy the evening and realize how much we miss the music.

Khao Lak: Expensive fruits - €10.

For the snorkelling we decide to take a ride to the Similan Islands, a National Park some 60 km off shore in the Andaman Sea. We have to split up again, since the trip would have been too stressful for Paul. It is a trip with a speed boat packed with tourists and the first part of the day I ask myself what on earth has driven me to go on this trip. Hundreds of Chinese tourists, getting sea sick from the boat, being dressed with huge swimming gear, because most of them can't swim, all packed like sardines into the speed boats arriving one after the other on the spots to snorkel. But since most of them can't swim they stay next to the boats holding on to safety lines, so Johann and me we take our chances and swim away from the crowds! I think when god made Johann he wasn't sure whether to make a fish or a human...:-) He swims like a fish, unbelievably fast and strong. We really have a great time snorkelling together. Communication under water goes by hand waving only and that goes perfectly. We enjoy the colourful fish, rocks, corrals, everything. As soon as we are underwater we forget all the touristy hassle on the surface. At the end of the day I am so grateful for this wonderful time with my oldest son!:-) Never to forget. And when he is old enough we will take diving lessons. :-)

Torsten and Antonia enjoy the same trip the next day, both of them also stunned by the underwater magic.

Khao Lak: Approaching the snorkeling beaches.

Khao Lak: When arriving at the boat, we realize
'we're not alone'. Luckily under water you do not notice it.

Khao Lak: Johann enjoying the beach.

Khao Lak: Johann ready to jump.

Khao Lak: Next day it's our tunr.
Having fun on the boat to the islands.

Khao Lak: Antonia looking forward for her snorkeling turn.

Khao Lak: Antonia ready to go in the water.

Khao Lak: Beautiful bays invite for snorkeling.

Khao Lak: Kids playing together.

Kao Lak has been hit by the Tsunami in 2004 badly. The whole town was destroyed and it has taken some years to recover, as locals tell us. Today there is a museum next to a police boat that has been left one kilometre behind the shore line to remember the time. We learn about how Tsunamis develop and how fast and far they travel, what a huge power, very scary. Today there are alarm systems and signs where to run to, should this ever happen again.
From Kao Lak we leave two days before our visa for Thailand runs out. We say good-bye to Mela, Stefan and the kids and promise to come see them in the summer, when we are back in Germany. What a great thing to look forward to!

Khao Lak: Time to say good bye.
We really enjoyed the time with them!

Khao Lak: Visiting the Tsunami Museum.

Khao Lak: Police boat stranded 1,5 km away from the beach
after the Tsunami in 2004.

Before leaving the country we want to see famous Phuket. We have heard so many different stories, from "great place" to "awful, awful"... We park some km south of the airport and are surprised, the beach is quiet and almost empty. We find a huge shell and have great sea food dinner. The next day we do some driving around to have a look. We end up in a traffic jam, before leaving the island again. So apparently it is both: nice and awful. ;-)

After a last stop in the south, where all is quiet, no police, no military we pass a little border station and enter Malaysia. The last country on our trip that we will enter by car. Number 19 on our trip.