1) Our 4 week south east asia trip - start partying in Bangkok

The first time that I go on a SOA-trip with a big group - 5 guys to explore treasures of Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar :)

Tob, Jan (friend of Tob's from his studies), Ben and I drove to Frankfurt (15.03.) and took the flight with scary Gulf Air - which wasn't bad in the end, at least not the Frankfurt - Bahrain connection^^.

Flo (Ben's house mate) flew with Emirates instead, as he planned to stay a month longer than we intended to. Surprisingly, we manged to meet and greet him at Frankfurt airport anyways^^ Then we arrived more than an hour earlier than him at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport and welcomed him when he arrived. We took a taxi to our hotel Majestic Suites, but didn't stay long as it was morning (16.03.) and the Bangkok newcomers (Ben, Jan and Flo) were to do the sightseeing stuff. Tob and I took them on a ride over the Chao Phraya river towards the palace. There our group split: Ben, Jan and Flo went with a tuktuk sightseeing around the old center while Tob and I went for shopping at Pratunam market. The latter was a bad idea tho - never go shopping in Bangkok at weekends! The hordes of shoppers kinda killed us. Thus we just enjoyed a coffee at central world and went to have a nap at our hotel. Ben, Jan and Flo later joined us for a rest. Then we got ready for the evening. My old friend Christian, who I knew from my time when I studied at Chulalongkorn University, came over and we decided to have some all you can eat to be ready for a heavy night out.

Jan (l), Tob, I, Ben (r) and Flo (front). all you can eat with partial self cooking :)

With our bellies filled, we went to have some beers and buckets at Khao San road. Then we paid the Gullivers a short visit before we joined the models party at Mixx Club. Always funny to have your bottle of whiskey or vodka with some ice, cokes and redbull at your table. The drinks were good and the girls pretty and naughty without being hookers - best combination to enjoy the night :P

Tob, Ben, Flo, Christian and I - let's party :P

The next morning (17.03.) I took the guys to J.J. weekend market. But everyone was still too wasted to enjoy shopping, so we just chilled at the nearby park. Later we rode the canal boat, had lunch at Siam Paragon and finally a short rest at our hotel. We enjoyed grilled duck for dinner at a street restaurant in china town. Then we went to the lebua state tower (sirocco sky bar), enjoyed the view over the city and felt like the wolfpack of hangover^^

I, Ben, Tob and Jan at lebua state tower

Later we joined Christian and his friends at Q-Bar and enjoyed our evening with drinks and dancing. When the others went home, I continued partying with Christian and Emmy at Titanium till morning^^

(back) Beenie, I, Flo, Ben, Tob and (front) Emmy and Christian.

The next day (18.03.) we went shopping to Pratunam market again... this time more successful as there were way less people on monday :D Later we checked out at our hotel, took the BTS to MoChit and from there a taxi to DongMuang airport catching our plane to Saigon - Ho Chi Minh city :) Time to catch some sleep after these exhausting first days^^

9) Lopburi - playing/fighting with the monkeys

At the evening of 02.12. I arrived in Lopburi and met an english couple on the way. Later I picked up Rose from the trainstation and we went to Lopburi festival which offered quite a big market :)
Already at night we could get a glimpse of some ruins and saw a few monkeys. But most was to be discovered the next day.
We were lucky that because of the upcoming King's birthday all admission fees were screwed and entry was free :D After some good breakfast we visited Prang Khaek, Wat Sao Thong Thong, Chao Phraya Wichayen and the Phra Narai Ratchaniwet palace.
After enjoying the atmosphere at this places we went to monkey's part of the town to Wat Nakhon Kosa, which unluckily no-one takes care of anymore. And furthermore to the real monkey havens at San Phra Kan and Prang Sam Yot. At the latter we were feeding the monkeys which turned into a fight :P Unbelievable, but the monkeys conquered whole hotels and the streets around this area are theirs. People try to fight them with long poles and catapults because the monkeys are everywhere. And if the think you have food somewhere, they will come after you :P That was a lot of fun^^
Later we enjoyed sunset from Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat.
The next day we went back to BKK with memories of many monkeys, haha^^
And 2 days later (the night between 5. and 6.12.) I had my flight back to Germany.

Phra Narai Ratchaniwet palace

Feeding the monkeys

And playing with them^^

Simply too many!

Little Casanova :P

Who is it?

Sunset at Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat

Monkeys rule the streets here!

8) Phrae - off the tourist track, small but charming

My train from Chiang Mai arrived at Den Chai with a usual Thai-railway-delay at 7:30pm. Unluckily the first I was told that no buses are running to Phrae at this time anymore :(
But I was very lucky as the ticket officer of the trainstation called his friend, then called me on the back of his Vespa and drove me to the next gas-station where his friend was waiting with a pickup giving me a ride to Phrae :D That is the friendly charm you meet at places where not many tourists are around :)
The next day I explored the small city. During my time in Phrae I saw 3 other tourists, which is nothing in Thailand^^
I started with breakfast at the small morning market and then visited the Vongburi house, the residence of the former king of Phrae. Furthermore I payed Wat Phong, Wat Phra Non, Wat Shusun, Wat Luang, Wat Phra Baht Ming Meuang and Wat Sa Bo Kaew a visit. Wherever I went, people recognized me with "oh! farang" before they greeted me with a friendly "sawadee kha/khrap" :)
After a few hours in town I made my way back to the railway station to catch a train towards Lopburi.

Wat Phong

Wat Shusun

Wat Luang

Wat Sa Bo Kaew - as you see now-a-days technology is higher than religion...

7) Chiang Mai

At the evening of 29.11. I arrived in Chiang Mai. My first impression was rather good. But overall I'm missing a bit of a profile of the town.
It is the second biggest city in Thailand, but it is no comparison to Bangkok. Chiang Mai's center is packed with tourists. Every are guesthouses, bars, restaurants, cooking school or outdoor adventure companies. Tho I stayed in a guesthouse with best value for money ever :D
On 30.11. I made my way through the city. Wat Chiang Man - the oldest, Chiang Mai city cultural center with the 3-kings-monument, Wat Phra Singh - the most famous, Wat Thung Yu, What Chail Phra Kiat, Wat Pan Tao - big teak building, until Wat Chedi Luang. On the latter I had a nice conversation with a 16 year old monk before heading for lunch and eastwards out of the old city.
East of the old city Burmese style temples were waiting. I found Wat Bupparam very beautiful. Then visiting the small Talat Tonlamyai (flower market) and the huge neighbored Talat Warorot which is the most famous market in town and sells anything from fresh food to textiles.
Then I made my way down the river towards the night market. Which is where I was able to find quite some nice souvenirs :P
The next day I took the 3pm train to Den Chai (Phrae)^^

Overall Chiang Mai did not really leave any special feeling for me. Shopping was great and the talk with the monk was fun.

Wat Chiang Man

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Chedi Luang

Wat Bupparam

Dogs "protecting" the entrance to Wat Bupparam :P

6) Chiang Rai - chilling northern city and the stunning white temple

At the evening of 28.11. I arrived in Chiang Mai. I enjoyed some shopping at the great nightmarket before I went to sleep.
The next day I visited the city starting at Wat Jet Yot, further to the clock tower and seeing the morning market which was not really worth it. After the morning market I saw a parade on the streets. Looked like Students from University made up a big parade with mixed topics. One was the traditional Lanna culture. Other were worn-out topics like global warming, aids, drugs, etc.
After watching the parade I continued my way to Wat Phar Kaew, which houses some fine Buddhist sayings: "The most miserable act in ones life is jealousy", "One can maintain peace of mind is happy", "The most of suffer will build a stronger you". Unluckily most sayings were not translated... While pondering about the sayings on my way down I was suddenly shocked to the heart as a next to my foot a 1m long green snake rises and goes "ssssss!"... just before my heart stopped beating it turned around and made it way down the stairs where it came from, and I followed it slowly :P
After that shock I made my way to Wat Phra Singh and Wat Klang Wiang.
Then I checked out and caught a bus towards Wat Rong Khun - the white temple. And wow... it is by now the most beautiful and bizarre temple I have seen. In sparkling white it can shock you with some bizarre sculptures of hell. But most stunning were the paintings inside the temple: 11.09.2001 in the fangs of oil industry, more scenes of terrorism, sex trading and that mixed with spiderman, neo, batman, superman, transformers, star wars, saw and many more. Unluckily not allowed to take photos inside :(
After seeing the temple and the nearby galleries I flagged down the next bus and wanted to go to Chiang Mai... but unluckily the first bus just went until Mae Khachan, where I jumped on the real bus towards Chiang Mai^^

Clock tower

Parade

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Klang Wiang

Wat Rong Khun - the white temple

2) Ubon Ratchathani - enjoying temples and the Loy Krathong festival

A 6h train ride (57 baht) brought us from Korat to Ubon Ratchathani. Due to the Loy Krathong festival most hotels were fully booked. But the 3rd hotel of choice luckily still had rooms available, tokyo hotel.
The next day we rented a motorbike and explored the city. After some troubles of orientation, the fire department provided us a tourist map of the city :D So we started at the old temple Wat Tung Sri Muang, where friendly peopled offered us free drinks and food because of the festival. Next temple on the route was Wat Suphatanaram, a nice place to feed fish and watch the Mun river.
A bit further out of town the most stunning temples were waiting for us. Wat Nong Bua is a sparkling white and gold temple. With totally blue sky and strong sun the temple was nearly to bright to look at. Unluckily the pictures hardly can tell how stunning the temple looked to us^^
That was followed by the great Wat Ban Na Mung, which actually were 2 temples. Both having the structure of a boat shipping the temple. The smaller one even had rowers and guards :D The bigger one was actually sitting on a lake. I saw quite many temples already, but Wat Nong Bua and Wat Ban Na Mung are clearly outstanding. A drive along the Huai Wang Nong reservoir, where we later would celebrate the Loy Kraton festival, before we visited the cities Trung Sri Muang park.
At the evening we went to the Loy Krathong festival. First we visited the Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University and later went to the more stunning Huai Wang Nong reservoir. Some great fireworks, many floating Kratongs and flying Poms made up the scenery. The festival provided too many great snacks :P Later we sent our own Kratong floating and Pom flying :)

Wat Tung Sri Muang

Wat Suphatanaram

Stunning Wat Nong Bua

suay mak mak :)

Wat Ban Na Mung

Ship housing the temple with rowers and guards^^

the second part of Wat Ban Na Mung

Candle sculpture in Tung Sri Muang park

Big Krathongs, only for watching, all made from Banana

our little floating Krathong (right)

Sending a Pom flying :)

1) Phimai - a friendly village with lovely sights

On friday (19.11.) we took the bus to Korat (198 baht, 4h) and connected there to Phimai by bus (36 baht, 2h).  After arriving in the lovely village, we checked into Boonsiri Guesthouse who provided us with a map to explore the sights next day. A good streetfood dinner with some talks to the locals before going for a sleep.
The next morning (20.11.) we started walking around the village. First explored the Phimai Historical Park that hosts an old Khmer temple, which supposedly was an early concept version of Angkor. But of course it can not compete with Angkor, still the old ruins are a lovely sight. Then we walked to Sai Ngam, an old Banyan tree. Supposedly more than 350 years old it was an astonishing sight. The tree is huge and I'm still not sure it if were many trees or just one^^
On the afternoon we went back to Korat and by train on to Ubon Ratchathani (57 baht, 6h).

Prasat Hin Phimai

Nice park surrounding the temple :)

I like the carvings^^

Sai Ngam

Stunning nature

Train from Korat to Ubon Ratchathani

Ko Samet - busy island with sparkling white sand

On Tuesday (15.11.) I made my way from Bangkok to Ko Samet until Thursday (18.11.). First a 3.5h bus ride from Bangkok's Ekkamai bus station to Ban Phe, a tiny port town. A 35min ferry ride brought me to Ko Samet... finally sun and beach again :D
After checking some guesthouses, I decided to stay with Jep's Bungalows at Ao Hin Khok beach. The beach was rather quiet, compared to it's neighbours, the biggest and busiest beach - Hat Sai Kaew - and the second busiest one - Ao Phai. I also walked to Ao Pudsa, which is nearly as quiet as Ao Hin Khok... that is what activities on Ko Samet are about: Beach^^ Walks along the beach and swimming are the only physical activities. But sunbathing and chillaxing are good too before you enjoy the evening on one of the busier beaches.
I enjoyed to have quiet beach time during the day at Ao Hin Khok followed by dinner at Hat Sai Kaew and party at Ao Phai, Silver Sand Bar. Met a crazy group of English guys there and we had a lot of fun on Wednesday night :)
Over all I'd say Ko Samet offers the best beaches close to Bangkok. The sand was astonishing... white powder you were walking on. The water quality was so so... not good for snorkelling (though I doubt there is much to see anyway), but they might have been due to the storms around the islands and other parts of the gulf. Swimming was great there and so was sunbathing^^

Ferry to Ko Samet

Mermaid statue between Hat Sai Kaew and Ao Hin Khok

Ao Hin Khok beach

Awesome white sand

like sparkling powder :D

Kanchanaburi and the death railway

Saturday (13.11.) morning we jumped on the train towards Kanchanaburi province, which is famous for it's natural beauties as limeston hills, caves, waterfalls and jungle as well as the dark times during WWII when Japanese forces used Allied prisoners of war and conscripted Southeast Asian labourers to build a rail route to Burma - the death railway. The 7:35 train from Bangkok arrived in NamTok about 12:40. At NamTok a Songthaou (small public bus) brought us to the Sai Yok Noi waterfall. At first I was very disappointed due to the mass of tourists at this place. But if you walk pass the wide waterfall and the swimming pool (just 50m), you get to a more lonely second waterfall, which looked much more impressive to me. It was much fun to walk on the stones, which were covered by falling water. It looked extremely slippery as a thin layer with a few centimeters of water was running over the limestone rocks. But you could walk perfectly on it. We left our bags with a nice old lady who we met on the train and made our way to climb the waterfall a little :) It was much fun, but we had to be careful not to get wet due to carrying electronics.
Then we caught a northwest bound bus and continued to the Hellfire Pass memorial. The museum is set above a particularly gruesome section of the Death Railway, Hellfire Pass was a cutting that was said to glow in a hellish colour under torchlight. The memorial remembers of 100.000 civilian labourers from Southeast Asia and 15.000 Allied prisoners of war that died due to the gruel conditions they had to work under. But we were a bit short on time, so we only watched the museum and postponed the walking trail to the next day.
After a bus ride to Kanchanaburi city we checked in SugarCane guesthouse and stayed a night on the river Kwai. The city and river are famous due to the movie "Bridge over the river Kwai".
Sunday morning we went sightseeing the famous railway bridge over the river Kwai and the Allied war cemetery. About 12:30pm we made our way to the Hellfire Pass memorial again, arriving 2:30pm. But unluckily that was too late to do the whole 4 km walking trail which should last about 3h, seeing that the museum closed at 4pm. So we only took a short route to see the actual Hellfire Pass, or Konyu Cutting, and finally enjoyed the view from the lookout over the Kwae Noi Valley towards Myanmar.
The trip to Kanchanaburi was awesome. Great weather and awesome views helped to bear digging into dark, gruel history.

Sam Yok Noi Waterfall

Sunday morning on Kwai river

enjoying weather and view :)

The famous bridge over the river Kwai

Everything connected to the death railway gets a lot attention here.

Allied war cemetery

View over Kwae Noi Valley from the museum

Hellfire Pass - Konyu Cutting

View from Kwae Noi Valley Lookout towards Myanmar