Okay, we’ve decided to escape for Christmas again to somewhere warm. This time we chose Thailand, where we flew from Vienna. And since I haven’t been to Vienna yet and we have an 8-hour layover in Beijing, we set out a day earlier. Check out the first 10 days of our Thailand travelogue, where we also spent Christmas.
First stop Vienna
At 1 PM we arrived by train in Vienna, threw our things in the hotel, which cost about 2k, and set out to walk around the city center. Since we only had less than a day, we decided to just wander around. It’s more than enough if you’ve never been there before. Their architecture is really great and there’s always something to look at.
In the evening we looked at the Christmas markets and went to bed. On Tuesday at 1:10 PM we had an almost 10-hour flight. We moved to the airport and took off with Air China. I have to say, I haven’t seen such a clean plane in a long time.
No longer to China
After just under 10 hours we landed in Beijing. And that’s when the “fun” began. At 5 AM it was -12 degrees in Beijing, but we still went to apply for temporary visas. Unnecessarily. If you don’t have a booked tour or other “compelling” reason to go there, you won’t get the visa. Why? Because that’s just the way it is – that’s kind of how we could translate what the lady between 15 and 40 years old at the counter told us.
Finally in Bangkok. Where’s my Zippo?
Okay, our plane is flying, so let’s quickly get to Bangkok. We arrived in Bangkok around 7 PM, took the metro from the airport to the city center and then a tuk-tuk to the hotel. Bummer – the discovery after opening the suitcase was that the Chinese had been rummaging through it. Yep, they found my Zippo lighter and replaced it with a scrap of paper. Thanks.
Markets, markets and more markets
Just a stone’s throw from the hotel we had the ตลาดกลางคืน night market, where you can eat well, buy clothes and even chill out. The Rod Fai Night Market 2 is another market we visited. Anyway, it’s probably not absolutely necessary to see…
Golden Buddha and Christmas
The next day we set out to see the typical sights, went to Lumphini Park to see the “Thai dragons”. Then we moved on to the Grand Palace and its surroundings, where you’ll find several more temples and especially beautiful buildings, for example the Ministry of Defense is housed in a really nice building!
Ko Tao. Why are they handing out those bags on the boat?
Okay, change of plan, we’ll go to Ko Tao. Have you heard of it? In True Crime? Well, we have accommodation and we’ll get the transport in the center. 25.12. Oops, another mistake, a few days before our trip, a boat sank due to the waves, so the next few days were all booked up. Fourth travel agency and 2 spots we have. “It will just be more expensive,” the lady said. Instead of 1,250 THB per person, it cost us 1,700, but what the heck. We’re heading back to the hotel to pack our bags and hurry back so we don’t miss it. At 6 PM we have a meeting and get on the bus towards Chumphon, from where the boat was departing. At 2 AM the bus stopped and all those going to Ko Tao started getting off. What, so early?
At 6 AM the boat sets sail. Okay, we’ll take 4 hours on plastic chairs. What else can we do, right. Okay, it’s 26.12. 7:20 AM, we’re all up, we have our vests on and we’re pissed off, so let’s finally go. Yeah, when the lady said: “Go take a break now, the waves are really big,” we should have done it. That bag they offered us about 3 times probably wasn’t a bad idea either. Over 2 hours on the boat with another 400 people with waves like a truck. According to unconfirmed estimates, more than 50% of the boat vomited. I’m not surprised? Not much. Laughed at them? Like a pig! Did we vomit? No! I even enjoyed it later when I got over the fact that the boat might sink…
And what next?
The next day we wanted to spend quietly on the beach. So we chose Tanote Bay, a beautiful beach with coral for snorkeling and a great rock for jumping. Of course I had to try it!
So we start snorkeling, see turtles, sharks – one almost stepped on Terka… And we also experience the Thai New Year. But more about that next time. You can look forward to the next installment soon.
