Thailand ราชอาณาจักรไทย

Western Standards? Well, you better forget about them as soon as you step out of the bangkokian Airport. They definitely do not apply on this part of the world. But if you can go without them you can easily travel thru Thailand even on a tight budget.

And forget about English, too. You may find a handful of Thai in Bangkok and the tourist hubs who do speak English but their vocabulary may just enough to get you something sold. The most common phrase you will hear is „where you go“. haha

I‘ve used the time I had there as best as I just could. After one night in Bangkok I took a slow train ride up north to the former ancient capital of Ayutthaya.

The sacred city, the sacked city, Ayuthaya is complexly intertwined with Thai nationalism and religion. As the former royal capital of Siam and an Unesco World Heritage site, Ayutthaya really deserves an visit, even if it‘s just one day.

Touring the ruined temples on a bicycle and staying at a small guesthouse directly at the river puts you really close to the Thai psyche. Finding food was also an adventure for it‘s self. Sitting down in a street eatery and not being able to speak or read any Thai I could only use gestures in order to order any food. So I just noded on the first thing the owners suggested me, in their language of course. lol Well, at least I was lucky everytime and the dishes were yummy. The food was one of the highlights in Thailand for me.

Leaving Ayutthaya, I headed then southeast to the tourist region of Pattaya. Pattaya, a heavy-breathing and testosterone-fuelled testament to holiday hedonism, a place I usually would never even mind to go near on my backpacker trips. But, as I wanted to do some scuba diving and due to the lack of time there was no other choice. I stayed at a backpacker hostel in Hat Jomtien, just south of Pattaya. Well, actually a quiet nicer place to stay than the overcrowded Pattaya with it‘s even more crazy traffic. If you ever get there and you dare to, get a motor bike. Thai‘s put the word traffic chaos to a whole new level. And don‘t forget to wear those useless helmets you get with the motor bike, otherwise you will be fined. Speaking out of experience! lol

Lucky feeling about leaving Pattaya I waved down a bus heading to Rayong. From there I took the ferry to Ko Samet. A small island blessed with more than a dozen of white-sand beaches. To explore the island via it‘s rough dirt roads I rented a motor bike, again. It takes quite a while to drive the just 7km long island from north to the south tip. But you get magnificient views and pristine beaches as you go further south.

P.S. And no! I’m definitely not missing snow! :)

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