#4: NORTHERN and SOUTHERN THAILAND - PENANG (MALAYSIA)
April 24 | Berlin, Germany.
Ignoring the fact to be finally back home in not-so-much-freezing-anymore Berlin and contemporaneously envying all the people who are still able to enjoy infinite freedom on the road, devouring fruit shakes, sunshine, coral reefs and the like. Hooray, you people! (It's still alright to be back home, one only now entirely appreciates really, as usual). I see you again one day.
Having remarked that it's time to look back on the last and final chapter of this year's South-East Asian travel - my good friend and wonderful travel companion cK has just recently published an excellent travel survey with the very likable title "Whale of a Time".

The following report covers some wonderfully magic places in Northern Thailand (Tha Ton, Pai and Chiang Mai), Thailand's South (Phuket Town and Island, Ko Phayam, Chumphon and Ko Tao) as well as a short, but certainly amazing detour to Malaysia's Penang Island (with its historical Georgetown).
From Chiang Rai (about a month ago) we took a long tail boat to a sleepy town near the Myanmar boarder: Tha Ton. Most notably were the stunning surrounding scenery (that made one wish to simply hold on and take some time out camping within the mountains and forests on either shore), an elephant range (that allowed feeding to and picture-taking from these all-time sublime creatures) and, once having settled in Tha Ton, discovering a rather complex Buddhist temple and stairs complex including a very curious young to-be-monk boy and a sunset view beyond the river and vast forests.

Next morning we headed on South. Next target had been a place celebrated with the following description in our guide book: "Pai is something of a traveler's mecca, a little corner of the world that happens to be in Thailand that seems to attract artists, musicians and foodies [having a] live-music scene". That actually hits it pretty much, hence the quote. If you happen to be around, don't hesitate - come and visit! It's one of these places you might actually get stuck in (very much like Don Det in the Mekong archipelago) and we met several people who did. Granted, the hairpin curves on the way up were rather devastating (and might actually be one more reason why people don't fancy leaving). However, there is much to do around town and it is actually doable by bicycle (even though the waterfalls might be horribly far away - so start early and ignore all distance scales (inaccurate and hence frustrating) as well as yelling old women on the side roads, they likely want to sell you opium (but maybe you actually wanna try some? In Thailand? Nothing's impossible, it seems). We saw more elephants on the way (which keep being abused for pointless riding around on the countryside - still better than making them work on construction sites or the-like), fed them with tasty bananas in exchange for tons of gorgeous photo material (check on the upcoming picture gallery!) and, again, got stuck - enchanted by their striking presence.
We heard about a monthly art/music/fire exhibition/gig from a fellow traveler who happened to be from Berlin (hi there, Philine!), got the flyer and found our way there by walking through nightly dark roads off town. That place worked as some kind of festival-foreboding for me, we fancied it a lot and soon decided to stay longer than originally planned. Rightly so: Old friends from Sweden joined us on our last night and we made it a blast - there is basically one major street filled with bars that connects to a bridge and two more clubs on the other side and we again ended up playing our own electronic music favorites) one time, later simply hanging around at a lovely fireplace, sipping cheap and tasty beers, exchanging perceptions of mind-thrilling musical moments (this will destroy you and pbx funicular intaglio zone) and wondering about life and love.

Chiang Mai (pop 150,000), also proudly known as Thailand's Capital of the North, was next and we basically did the following: getting lost on night markets, in several excellent book shops and while riding bikes (definitely being worth it) - ending up strolling around the Foreigner's Cemetery in the South East and certainly buying too many books (can there ever really be too many of 'em, though?). It was massively hot! - and no wonder, only days away from the annual lunar New Year celebration (called Songkran) between April 13 to 15, which will undoubtedly used to get you wet (and everyone everywhere around you. Sadly we missed all the fun... at least we didn't get all those books watered. However, we also chatted with monks, met and hang out with the Swedish one last time and I even considered taking a meditation course in one of the temples, but discarded the idea due to lack of time (how ironic).

From Chiang Mai it meant long-distance bus again (since we decided against the train hassle at this stage), mission: avoiding to get stuck in Bangkok and getting further South as quick and efficient as possible, precise target unknown. And we managed. Right after a real smooth and very comfy night trip (which always saves up money for accommodation - not that it would be too expensive, anyways) we got on a cab and made our way to the Southern Bus Terminal. Still not having any clue where to go we decided for what seemed furthest away (and closest to the Malaysian boarder) and this happened to be the island of Phuket, once "an important centre for Arab, Indian, Malay, Chinese and Portuguese traders" (LP) where we spent a whole lot of time walking around at night just after arrival, seeking a reasonably cheap room (knowing that it would be harder in the South and on the islands), indeed struggling at first, but eventually being rewarded by quite a cheapie (the Thavorn Hotel at Thanon Rasada). After some more-than-necessary hours of sleep it was Kuta Beach the next day (March 29). Just as a reminder: the whole Andaman coast (the one towards West/the Indian Ocean had been hit by a magnitude 9.3 tsunami on December 26, 2004, reaching as high as 10 metres, killing at least 5,000 in Thailand (many more in surrounding countries). I later watched the Spanish film Lo Imposible (starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor) dealing with a more personal approach to the disaster, telling it from one family's perspective - highly recommendable.

Just another night bus carried us further South, to Hat Yay. While waiting there for the sun to rise and the first bus of the day making its way to the Malaysian frontier we got to know Brandon, a mid-twenty U.S. American who was just on his way to Kuala Lumpur (better known as simply KL) for visa purposes, an impressive source for blasting stories that makes one think of Bret Easton Ellis' The Rules of Attraction, just loads more likable. Hope our ways will cross again one day, life might just be long enough.
After having walked over the boarder we managed to get on a local bus to the next big city (Kangar) where our ways split after one tasty lunch break; cK and I took a Butterworth-bound bus, Brandon one to the Malaysian capital. In Butterworth, where they're just building a new railway station, we immediately booked tickets for a sleeper carriage back up into Thailand, then got on the ferry to long yearned-for Georgetown on the island of Penang, "affectionately known as the Pearl of the Orient, one of the best-known an most-visited corners of Malaysia [and] the only one of the country's 13 states to have a Chinese majority population" (LP). My sister had been here various times whose stories left me more or less biased on whether I would like Georgetown. I, indeed, fancied it a lot - we both did. Its architecture is delightful, no doubt - better even are its food choices (we went for everything Indian mostly - incredibly tasty, hot, cheap and vegan. What more could one ask for?). Transport on the island is fairly straight-forward - buses to anywhere leave right from the ferry terminal and prizes are okay, too (about a €1 on average). We stayed one night in a guest house opposite of famous Love Lane, the remaining two in a reggae place owned and/or operated by a guy called Jim (a little further North in Lebuh Chulia) - probably the cheapest place in town. I soon connected to some fellow travelers (two German girls called Alice and Patricia, another German couple and a French girl) and spent my nights talking and consuming, erm, beer with them. Excellent place, excellent target audience. Unforgettable. We spent one long afternoon reading on quite a boring beach near Teluk Bahang (North coast) and another exploring the Southwest (beyond Balik Pulau) - Pulau Penang clearly isn't much of a place for water-related activities and I didn't spend much time swimming (even though the beach at Batu Ferringhi is supposed to be acceptable, even if likely crowded). Apart from watching On The Road, shortly considering a life in Bali, Indonesia I feel the urge to mention a thunderstorm over Georgetown - not at all unlike one I've witnessed with my beloved friend Rita on a far-off farm in Guatemala, two years ago. Some unique magical moments keep adjunct throughout time and space.

The sleeper train towards Thailand had been more than we could have wished for: delightfully comfortable - just the right thing after a severe hang over from three intense nights. They dropped us in Chumphon, a city mostly known to travelers as the ferry port to the island of Ko Tao. We weren't going to the Gulf yet, though, and spent quite some time wandering around in darkness, one more time seeking the proper bus station, again realizing how tricky things can turn out if you simply don't speak the local language (I indeed wish I would have put more efforts in learning phrases at least). It had been a pure mess, but not too long after passing through a huge inside food market we found ourselves on the bus to Ranong from where we hopped on a ferry to an island named Ko Phayam that had been recommended to us by both Philine in Pai and the German couple in Georgetown, Malaysia. Both parties mentioned a Thai guy called Juppi who would evidently speak fluent German with a strong Berlin accent (how very fetching!) who happened to be the owner of one of the bungalow places on the island's very South. Once arrived we indeed found ourselves speaking German again - plus a very beautiful, reasonably empty long-stretched beach, just what we were dreaming of. The season, now in early April, had already been quite low and so had been the general amount of foreigners in the surrounding beach bars. We stayed another two nights and used one of 'em for quite an adventurous walk crossing the island in utter darkness (wouldn't it be for the torches), only to end up at a half-moon party. And then I can't help it but wonder why it is that so many Thai people handling money seem to be incapable of counting it correctly... however, lay back and relish is the motto.

The return trip from Ranong to Chumphon turned out slightly more complicated than we expected, but nothing could stop us now. One more island to come, one last time beach-bumming in South-East Asia for, possibly, a very long time indeed. Ko Tao it was. LP describes it as a "lush, pistachio-coloured island blessed with crystal clear water and trippy coral reefs shallow enough for beginners to explore" (it's also one of the world's cheapest places to learn diving). We decided against staying in Hat Sai Ri, but headed South again: Ao Chalok Ban Kao it was in the end and we didn't regret it (not for the two days and nights we had left). However, that major bay actually wasn't the nicest place for a swim (and neither is the West coast in general). After getting on a boat to do some snorkeling on Ko Nang Yuan (certainly alright, but nothing special really), we spent a whole day devouring Ao Leuk which also happened to be our final place to swim in: brilliant water quality, pleasant and very relaxed traveler folks, real nice coral reefs. Perfect place for some ultimate sunbathing. (I dare-say that any of the East-side beaches might be as blissful, so if you get the chance...)

Food and all kind of shopping naturally happens to be noticeably more expensive on any island than on the mainland, hence we waited for Bangkok to get things done shopping-wise. And we did, indeed! After a mellow ferry ride back to Chumphon (again!) we got on the train right after revisiting our personal most favorite Vegetarian food stall. The train hadn't been as charming as the last one, but clearly much cheaper. And now everything was happening reasonably swift - cab to good ol' Thanon Khao San - dropping our backpacks in some guest house - breakfast (Pad Thai without eggs and way too hot) - parting ways from cK - trying to figure out how much additional money would be needed - strolling around until the shirt stalls would open up - getting as many as I could justify with my conscience (and wallet interiors) - getting back with cK again and doing some shopping together - sarongs still being unbelievably expensive, wifebeater shirts reasonably cheaper in turn - buying a fake brand day-pack just to transport all the novels that happened to catch my attention - negotiating prices - savoring a last fruit shake and one very final Pad Thai for each of us. And that was it. Missing our plane because of the cab we got stuck in traffic... nah, not quite - but not far from it! I can't stress enough how very exhausting and annoying it might turn out when being under time pressure before a flight departure: Bangkok traffic is notorious, especially in rush hour and we should have known better. In case you're reading this, still being on the road: make sure to give it a rather generous spare hour (or maybe you want to miss your plane, by pure accident, of course - then never mind, it's not your fault, it's the traffic's. Enjoy an additional month of traveling in the area - or how long it will take ya to get off, maybe forever. Either way: You will be back. I will, we will.

Young monk in Tha Ton, Northern Thailand.


Elephants near Pai, Northern Thailand.


Buddhist figures on a Chiang Mai market, Northern Thailand.


Statue in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.


Playing pool in a Chiang Mai hostel, Northern Thailand.


Street art in Georgetown, Malaysia.


Hornbill hawk on Ko Phayam, Thailand (Andaman Coast).


Fighting with a water refill-machine in Chumphon, Thailand.


Last day on Ko Tao, Gulf of Thailand.

#3: LAOS
March 19 | Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand.

Listening to funky guitar riffs, watching the leaves fall around me in front of a tranquil river passing by the Akha Guesthouse in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand. It feels like the sun just got up a minute ago. However, I'm slowly getting hungry and surely cK will come by soon, reminding me of that very tempting looking vegetarian restaurant that we came across while exploring the city last night. I'd be in!

We left marvelous Laos behind some two days ago and are now about to start the slow, but steady (hopefully rather literal) decline towards paradise beach country in the South. However, before that I will tell our very personal account of the last two delightful weeks in what probably is the most-devoured country in the region. Our itinerary basically looked like this: Don Det (Si Phan Don) - Tha Khaek - Vang Chiang (Vientiane for the French) - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang. We originally planned to further explore some villages in the North, but decided against in favour of Northern Thailand (one just can't have it all, even though a mere one more month would be it..!).

I guess, cK would agree that the times on that river island paradise Don Det had been among the best overall - many of the people we got to know there either got stuck in memory or on further travels along the came-true Banana Pancake Trail northwards, among them the English boys Robert & James (who we knew since Phnom Penh), two girls from Israel and another two from Stockholm (hi there, Kajsa and Josi!). The mighty Mekong River, shaping the so-called Four Thousand Islands right at the boarder to Cambodia seems to be a highly unlikely place to swim in, considering the millions of people living around it, sadly seeming to not considering for a moment it might be somewhat unhealthy to pour in it buckets full of wall colour - overall using that life-granting stream as a mere natural waste basket. The curious looking Irrawaddy river dolphins with some surviving 7,000 individuals likely won't last too much longer. However, fellow travelers reported that you can still see (and come close to) them around Si Phan Don and also in the Greater Kratie area in Northeast Cambodia. Good luck!
Things to do on magnificent Don Det: kayaking, tubing and sunbathing at the beach, once in a while watching amiable water buffaloes descending to the water, thereby spreading sand over the dozen or so books and towels on his way down and later enjoying to be refreshed and petted by daring travelers. Renting bikes and make a day trip down to equally lovely Don Khon and swim next to some stunning waterfalls. If that's not enough: there are rather ancient French railway tracks to be discovered within the jungle (after all, this is Indochine and its history is abundant and virtually ubiquitous!). Later in the evening it's bar time (our favorite being "1 More Bar" on the sunset strip), thereby connecting with fellow sun worshiper, consuming little to loads of pretty acceptable local happy herbs and devouring yummie garlic bread, fruit shakes and either Nhamkong or Beerlao (for usually 8,000 to 10,000 Kip, which translates into either $1 or €1). At one stage, cK and I found ourselves to supply our favorite bar with electronic music, made in Berlin, later heading to the only dance floor we were able to find and, after all (i.e. past midnight) heading down to the beach with many others, circling around camp fires, sharing spliffs, spirits and guitar sing-sang. Socializing: apart from the English boys we also bumped into a befriended couple that we got to know while couchsurfing in Bangkok some four weeks earlier (Salut, Sophie and Fred!). Purely enchanting. If one has the chance: make it to Don Det!

We could have stayed long, very long - and therefore decided to leave before it might be too late... next stop on the way up North had been the not-overly-sexy port town Tha Khaek (about half way to Vang Vieng). I didn't fancy that place much, but that might in part be due to missing the islands a lot. Additionally, we had bad luck with finding the right place to stay: our preferred hostel had already been full (we were arriving too late, ending up walking along barely lit side roads, kinda getting lost among nervously barking street dogs). We stayed two nights, using the one day to discover the seriously stunning surrounding landscape (which absolutely made up for the rest) by bike, thereby crawling into quite a magically looking cave with a pretty ambitious Siberian girl and finding our way to the famous Buddha cave (Tham Pa Fa) that had only rather recently appeared on the tourism agenda due to its discovery in April 2004. Lonely Planet writes, the local discoverer "was hoping to make a dinner of the bats he'd seen flying out of the rock cave mouth and, stepping into the cavern beyond, was greeted by 229 bronze Buddha images", some of the more than 600 years old.

The journey continued by local bus to the capital of Laos, Vang Chiang (a.k.a. Vientiane, I don't really fancy the French altering, though). We originally planned to simply keep on going to Vang Vieng, but eventually got stuck and it wasn't for the worst, really! The guesthouse we ended up staying in was right at the center (next to Nam Phu) and happened to be a combined little restaurant with cheap and tasty meals and fruit shakes. Naturally, there had to be a downside to that: only after returning from quite a shopping fit at the Night Market by the river (cK really goes for shirts, man) we discovered certain (pretty large) writings on our room walls: "BED BUGS! Don't stay here, move on. / She's [the owner] a bitch! / Bed bugs, attention. 2013". Mhm, yeah, great. We decided to stay nevertheless, used as much bug spray as we saw fit, completely wrapped ourselves in linen (at least I did), kept all fingers crossed already being utterly paranoid - and still got bitten. However, it wasn't nearly as bad as in an Upper West Side guesthouse in NYC, summer 2009 and the bites quickly disappeared. It's all good, we're fine. Also, some people simply don't seem to react at all, lucky bastards. (At least I do.) Before heading on to the bus station we, surprise!, met Robert again. Always one step ahead...

Good old Vang Vieng (some 150km further North) had been visited by friends of ours beforehand and we kind of knew what could await us. Apart from an utterly (hmm... what attribute to use now - what about - yep) entrancing surrounding scenery (you need to check on the pictures once I finished sorting them out, don't just use the web, will ya!), Vang Vieng seems to be the spot for the legendary tubing: "(also known as inner tubing, "bumper tubing" or even toobing) is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow or through the air" (as all-knowing Wikipedia explains it). And so it is! Youngsters mingling together, getting drunk and stoned on heavy rubber rings, floating down the Nam Song River, just sweet. Masses of backpackers seemed to flock into town only some months ago, getting on the tubes and crisscrossing the river-surrounding bars. And then news came up that the local police would finally close everything down since it became simply too big, too intense, too crazy. Well, it's true: less bars, less backpackers, emptier streets and everything. But that's just it: beautiful! Vang Vieng light, so-to-say. Apart from saying hello to the people from Don Det, we teamed up with Josi and Kajsa, the Swedish girls, kayaked and cave-tubed together, simply having a blast. At night we would all gather at a bar called "Fat Monkey" and after some drinks and funky dance moves head on further to "Moon" club (which stopped playing popular Western songs at around 2am). Everything beyond would be clearly up to what one makes of it, I'd describe it. Go for it - it might sound a little uninspired and dull, but it's everything else!

We figured we'd been very lucky to see the never-ending mountains, valleys and all that fruity verdant green outside the mini van that brought us from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang (for 90.000k), our last stop in Northern Laos. That place, however, is among many people's top priority list and right so: apart from being known as Laos' former royal capital ("Luang" means simply 'royal') it is indeed "an enchanting place to idly watch the day glide by from a riverside bar-terrace" (L.P.). It's also an Unesco World Heritage site and hence lacks buses and trucks in the old town (hell yeah). We spent much of our time in thefetching night market and simply strolling along the rather calm and almost relaxing streets, at one stage visiting the Kuang Si waterfalls, but missing out on some others (again, one can't have em 'all), maybe returning day - who knows? Of course we would also meet up with known faces: this time dragging us to the famous "Utopia" bar overlooking the Nam Khan River that either invites to relaxed times reading and sipping soft drinks or getting to know other travelers after sunset while dancing to known Western tunes. Again, once midnight is approaching the whole setting closes merciless and if still not having enough there is only one solution: on with you on a shared tuk-tuk, it's bowling time! No more words to be lost on this, pictures will explain better.

I shall not end this third entry without mentioning our beloved baguette woman across the post office (where the market starts) that served us well with delicious bread, filled with fresh avocados, tomatoes, cucumber and the like (I'm clearly starving by now) for a mere 10,000k (€1). Anything else? Ah well, when it comes to money: it's true that Laos is more expensive in transport, but it varies in accommodation - throughout the trip we never paid more than $10 for a shared room (double or twin), mostly between €3 and €6. However, food is indeed cheaper in Thailand, it seems. Good on us! Here we are, making our way down that country now. Starting tomorrow. Also, neither Laos nor Cambodia proved considerably recommendable when it comes to wearing contact lenses and as a result (from all that dust) I found myself wearing glasses (instead of sunnies) at least on travel days, fair enough.

Just today cK purchased quite a curious copy of a book bearing the title "The Lost Art of Travel. A Handbook for the Modern Adventurer" (by Vic Darkwood - what a name!). The following quote and then good-bye for now:

"Increasingly nowadays there is a trend for travelers to set out on journeys overseas totally alone. This is done for a variety of reasons: some adventurers maintain that travel companions are a hindrance to engaging with the local population and indigenous culture; others [...] travel alone merely because they have not developed any capacity for making friends and to prove to themselves that they are not the freakish loner that everybody makes them out to be. Solo-travel, in my opinion, is a highly over-rated sport, and chiefly the preserve of the utterly foolhardy and those with personal hygiene problems or personality disorders. [...]
Travel is never easy, and the adventurer should not imagine that traveling with a large company of comrades and servants is necessarily the easy option. If anything, it makes the enterprise far more challenging. The most natural course of action when selecting a travel companion is to chose somebody with whom you share a mutual interest. Whilst this does not necessarily rule out spouses, it does not necessarily rule them in either."

EDIT: Okay, I just need to mention one more thing. Yes, Laos is the most heavily bombed country of all times. Just for the record. Despite that being a most regrettable and truly sad fact, it kinda transformed into a running 'joke' over the weeks. However, never literally walk off the beaten track, right.

#2: CAMBODIA
March 7 | Don Det (Si Phan Don), Laos.

Midday sun on Don Det (Si Phan Don, which translates from Lao into 'Four Thousand Islands'). Whiel cK's having his quiet hours reading Garland's all-time classic The Beach, I use the time to hide in the shades of an internet cafe, feeding you from the content of my journals. Right after this is done we will consider either heading for the tubes or a kayak, no-one can tell. Then again, for the moment it feels like we will simply get stuck in this incredibly delightful and laid-back island paradise... why bothering with the world's allegedly most boring capital and a fading Vang Vieng? Well, because we can. XD

However, this second blog entry will be covering adventures from some two weeks traveling through Cambodia and starts right where the first one ended: at the Thai boarder in Krong Koh Kong (who wouldn't wanna live in a town bearing this name?). After two hot nights and one day bicycle exploring we headed straight on to the country's capital, Phnom Penh ($8 with a local bus). The highway proved fairly stable, almost smooth - unlike concerned reports of fellow travelers. Phnom Penh! After having spent your fair share of time in Bangkok or Hanoi you might either get bored quickly or simply relax and enjoy the sights, wondering how the city must have looked like under Khmer Rouge control some 30 years ago plus how it will look like in the near future! Massive new construction sites are on the way, Cambodia's blooming. Slowly, but unmistakably. However, I just need to mention the incredible amount of waste lying around virtually everywhere and it proves true (far from merely being a Cambodian issue - Southern Italy often doesn't look better): the people completely lack the education and consciousness to take care of their environment; it's just not something you happen to be concerned with. Then again, just yesterday we've encountered a group of some 30 local children collecting waste on one of these islands), probably as part of a school project. Might there be change on the way? Give it some 20 more years and one can tell.

Phnom Penh to us meant fighting for a good-value guesthouse (literally crowded with backpackers!) and after having found one heading on to see the city. We loved it! Not only were the rooms among the best and luxurious we ever had, we wonderfully got along with the locals and teamed up with two Norwegian girls to see the Killing Fields and the S-21 prison the day after. (The Khmer Rouge dictatorship technically lasted 'only' from 1975 to '79, but it didn't seize influence until the 1990ies. Millions of people were killed by their fellow countrymen and -women. Watching the 1984 film, The Killing Fields by Roland Joffé is highly recommended.) Other then that we got lost in side streets, purchasing way too many fancy things on both the Night and Russian market.

We found a $6 bus connection from the capital to the wonderfully countryside town of Battambang (arriving on February 27) which had been my favorite so far. The main activity is clearly to rent bikes and cycle around, thereby catching just another (but less painful) sunburn, discovering ancient temples (Wat Banan) and meeting a rather delightful German/Spanish individual randomly in front of a cookies shop. I had a blast of a time in some way or the other. We later took the speedboat to Siem Reap: since it's dry season now the trip proved rather strenuous, but the surrounding Floating Villages and later entering the "Great Fresh Water River" (Tonlé Sap) covered up for that! Already on the bus to Battambang we got to know two lads from England (James and Robert) who seem to share (the Banana Pancake) track with us since, it's all just one big youth adventure, isn't it? (Welcome you soon to Don Det, boys!)

Siem Reap literally means Siamese Defeating and hence woudn't sound too appealing to anyone of Thai origin, I figure. However, it's high style on any visitor's list simply because it's the gateway town to the magnificent as completely overcrowded Temples of Angkor. Many, including myself, often only think of the one most famous temple among the many there are (which is, clearly: Angkor Wat - literally translated: "City Temple"). However, there are in-numerous more, so there clearly is a reason why they sell 1-day, 3-day and 1-week passes ($20/40/60 respectively). Now, after having seen (and incredibly enjoyed) Tikal in Guatemala some 2 years ago I dare-day that I do fancy big ancient religious buildings, but more than two days would prove a little too much for me, personally. However, that is most likely due to the amount of tourists of all kind and I therefore prefer the morning hours, getting quickly fed up at midday. As a result, cK and I bought our 1-day pass in the afternoon, walked to Angkor Wat in order to experience the sunset, crawl around the outside walls only to eventually get chased away by the guards after darkness hit (altogether just grand entertainment!) and come back the day after for the full, lengthy experience. We did it by bike, opposing the idea of hiring a tuk-tuk driver that we would just feel weird about waiting for us to get on to the next temple (the Temple area covers an incredibly huge amount of square meters). And bikes proved clearly just the perfect choice! (Go for it, Stefanie!)

Consequently, one of the best and most exciting things had been hitting the dark and poorly lit streets of Siem Reap to make it to the temples before sunrise (I should hereby mention that the whole city was without electricity, including our guest house which not happened to own its own generator), so we did without lights and fan in cute, but basic bamboo huts with fly nets. Since I turned a little sick by then, I really didn't have my best moments then. As a result, we didn't actually see the place we stayed in daylight often). However, we decided to make Ta Prohm the one temple to enjoy the sunrise in and indeed managed to arrive right in time, with only one other guy before us. Sharing the magic moments with loads of bats and purely adventurous spirit when entering the overgrown ruins. Highlight! Only moments later somebody would steal cK's daypack plus entrance ticket and it heavily started raining for the first time since months, even leaving the locals stunned and rather confused. But that story is to be told when being back home...

We originally planned to directly make it from Siem Reap to Laos (for a mere $22), but didn't count on an extremely unorganized company that would not only take a longer route, but also failed in informing us about the boarder opening times and a necessary overnight stay in Stung Treng (close to the Lao boarder) where we could at least spend the last riel (the Khmer currency) and refresh ourselves in a $5-luxus guest room, overlooking both the grand local market and the mighty Mekong. Superb. Nothing went on smooth really, but that's exactly what one can expect here and since it wouldn't be the same without infinite delays and boarder hassles and stories evolving from it - who would complain? The end. For now. Beach time coming! It's 8am in Berlin, I hope you will all just have a lovely day, where-ever you are reading these lines.

All the best and much sunshine (you can have it, take it all, we have too much of it).

#1: BUSTLING BANGKOK / MEETING DONNIE / KO CHANG BEACHLIFE
February 23 | Krong Koh Kong, Cambodia.

And here we go again: one more time shredding sunburns on paradise-like palm-ridden beaches, exotic food choices and traveler-harassing salespeople, willing to do anything with you and your luggage/back/conscience; more time South-East Asia. Now as back on a rainy fourth October in 2006 the whole story starts in what Lonely Planet describes as the "nexus of Thailand's past, present and future [being] a superb subject for any urban connoisseur": Bangkok, or Krung Thep as the locals say. The city of angels that is. For (way too) many people the beginning and end of it all. Seatbelts fastened, on we go. It's a different travel mate this time and we also have way more time to spend in Thailand than some five years ago. Back then Donnie ("that special someone") and I only made it to Ko Samet, quite a lovely island not too far away from Bangkok, maybe half way to the Cambodian boarder. However, we just had a week then, now it's eight of them.

Meanwhile used to the idea of using Couchsurfing not only for European hitch-hiking trips, my wonderful long-time companion and close friend cK arranged a host well in advance with whom we spent the first four nights (a Thai girl, living together with her mom and sister, basically using a spare room in her house for a steady stream of coming-and-going surfers from anywhere. By the time we were there we met a guy from Belgium, a French couple, a girl from Belarus, another guy from Ukraine, three lads from the States and a Russian "yogi", many of them real characters). Right from the start we found ourselves thrown in a melting pot of nightclubbing, wicked taxi rides and a conjuncture of other travelers from all over the world as it was Valentine's Day and our host willing to party away the fact of not having any lover around. Fair enough! The next days were used for excessive sightseeing and long strolls all around the "new" Bangkok (since Donnie and I were kinda covering palaces and temples last time): relaxing in Lumphini Park, riding the sky train, virtually getting lost among the side streets of China Town, making intense use of the river ferries and catching up with good old memories from Khao San Rd.

Donnie came into town shortly after we met up with cK's flatmate Sven and his girlfriend Laure who just returned from their own four weeks of exploring Northern Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, supplying us with proper information about the current situation. Nothing really can beat the sensation of excitement to see and team up with a real good old friend after a long time: hard to put in mere words how beautiful it is to finally meet Donnie again - having seen him for the last time in July 2011, shortly before heading to Central America while he prepared for his own South East Asian experience. After long hours of talking and catching up the five of us finally relaxed with some delicious Pad Thai and cold-enough Chang and Leo beer in Thanon Rambutri.

None of us was too keen about spending much more time in Bangkok, so we were all happy to leave behind that massive bulk of a city soon. Sven and Laure did leave meanwhile (funny enough to undergo this Berlin buddy experience in Bangkok, anyways) and we quickly decided to hit some Thai islands before our ways would separate again (cK and I were about to travel towards Cambodia, Donnie rather wants to explore Thailand's north). Apart from Pattaya and Ko Samet the only reasonable choice could have been Ko Chang were we would indeed spent another four rather lovely nights: Chang, by the way, is Thai for 'elephant' and who doesn't love those amazing creatures? We arrived there in the afternoon of February 18 after getting through quite some stressful minutes of Bangkok morning rush hours (certainly NO fun to end up with a Thai cab driver who doesn't speak a single word of English when under time pressure - e.g. to catch an already-paid-for bus). The three of us shared a wooden hut including bathroom on the island's Western side at Lonely Beach for 450 Baht (about 11 euro) altogether and connected with other like-minded traveling souls right from the start, among them a lovely German couple (named Miriam and Stephan, their wonderful Saxon accent is clearly missed!) who we basically spent every night (and some daytime on the beach) together with. First swim in the Gulf of Thailand after many years: check. Snorkeling trip around quite some lovely spots: check. Heavily sunburned for not having worn a t-shirt: (sadly) check. Having enjoyed enough free buckets of wodka and accepted a free beer from my favorite Pad Thai food stall lady: check! Our last night together certainly ended up pretty excessive, still being worth every second of it...

Just last morning (on February 22) we left Ko Chang behind, finally - leaving Donnie and the German couple behind, making our way over the (typically way-too-annoying) Thai/Cambodian boarder and now settled for two nights in a rather relaxed and still very unspoiled Cambodian town called Krong Koh Kong (or simply Koh Kong City), paying $7 a night in a shared room (Cambodia basically uses the U.S.$ parallel to its own currency, the riel, thereby avoiding annoying coins. Also, the 100 riel note - worth 2,5 cents - makes for good bookmarks). My sunburn didn't really get better after a long day of riding bikes along the countryside, thereby meeting a young Buddhist advocate who showed us around in a local pagoda (or temple) and a middle class family from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. This is going to be our next target, the story to be continued rather soon. Stay tuned. Oha, snow in Central Europe, eh? Well, maybe I should just stop worrying for sunburns. Especially after having read Loung Ung's personal account about the Khmer Rouge regime: First They Killed My Father.
Pictures will follow. Time for a real cold shower now...