Bali again and again and again and again.....

Bali is beautiful and has probably a lot to offer culture wise. But it's just so tempting to do nothing there. And so we did..again. Well, we did do some shopping. Using the Australian winter as our excuse to finally spend a lot of money on proper clothes.

We also tried to arrange a visa extension. That turned out to be exhausting and didn't work out for us. So we got back to doing nothing. Enjoying the hotel pool, a brand new one with a great view over the green and the sea. Wonderful.

We just noticed that the title is almost longer than the post ;)

Mantas?

The boat trip ended in Labuan Bajo, Flores. A small harbor city that lives on tourism and has more Italian restaurants than an average Italian village. Tourists come here for two things; komodo dragons and manta rays. The last ones being the reason why there is one business that tops the amount of Italian restaurants; diving. With so many dive shops it's difficult to choose. Going for the one closest to the hotel seemed to be easiest.

Running into our American and Canadian friends we made on our boat trip made them decide to join us for another day on a boat together. The diving day we had great fun together but the diving was the worst we ever had. Although the shop looked nice and organized the boat was the opposite. But a crappy boat was not going to give us a bad experience. Our dive guide did! It was an angry man without the necessary experience for diving in those waters. Which resulted in chaotic and for some moments even a bit unsafe dives. Besides that, diving at Komodo national park was amazing.

The next day we changed to another dive company and had a great time. The dive sites were superb and challenging. The main attraction for this day was manta point. The chance to see manta rays there is about 90%, unfortunately we were part of the other 10%. Unpredictable nature. But we have something to console us with, we saw some of the creators on the surface, which was already really amazing. And don’t forget the sharks and dolphins...

The day we left we took two motorbike taxis to bring us to the airport. Which we found out is just at the end of the street. The airport of Labuan Bajo is like a bus station or actually more like a bus stop. It's so small it's just funny. The plane we had to catch landed in front of us and opened the doors. We could hop on to discover it was already half full. It turned out to be coming from another part of Flores and only came for a few extra passengers to fly together to Bali.

A good start!

To get from Lombok to Flores we booked a boat trip. 4 days sailing with as highlight seeing Komodo dragons.

The wooden motor boat was a little less than 20 m long. It had an open deck with a solid roof. After the first 2 hours we came across some heavy rains. To protect us from the rain the crew closed the open structure with tarps. It kept us dry but had one side effect. The captain's view was blocked. This is no problem for an Indonesian captain who just put his head out of the side window of the wheel house ones in awhile. A bit funny looking but it seems to work till the moment we almost hit an island... The captain was lost.

Under the dark sky at an island he didn't recognize it was time for the navigation instruments. Which was a wooden table with NO map of the area and a compass which he looked at if he was waiting for the moment it started to talk. In the age of I phones someone could show a map and our location. Unfortunately the crew didn't seem to know how to read a map. Turning around and crew members on each side in the pouring rain made us find our way. The first night was a bit longer than expected but we made it to save place to stay overnight. This was a good start.

The rest of the trip we were lucky with beautiful weather. From the water is for sure the best way to enjoy the amazing views with all the little island, deserted beaches, crystal clear water and beautiful colored reefs.

The third day we made it to Komodo island. An island famous for its equally named inhabitants. The Komodo dragons. These giant lizards are known to be the biggest and baddest of their kind. We went for a hike through their territory guided by a park ranger. They are for sure massive, up to 3 meters, but actually look a bit lazy. According to the ranger Rinca island is where the action happens. This smaller island where food is more scarce also inhabits dragons. Several reports of attacked rangers and tourists exists. 

The next day we went to Rinca island for the real deal. It was now about 11 in the morning. Close to the hottest moment of the day, when cold blooded animals are most active.

From the boat to the ranger's office we already saw a few dragons. They all seem to hang out around the rangers camp. This day we got protection from three rangers. As we started our walk we understood why. While watching the first dragon and taking photos two other dragons sneaked behind us and a few smaller ones were approaching. We were surrounded by the deadliest lizards in the world. The dragons didn't look like they were planning to kill but just observing and considering their chances. The rangers, armed with forked sticks, directed us to move slowly. They needed their sticks to drift the dragons apart so we could walk away. We were followed for another 20 meters till they gave up. Rinca is were the action happens.

Lombok

How can we tell you how awesome it was and at the same time explain why we felt uncomfortable. We will try.

Sopi was in Gerupuk so we decided to go there as well. Gerupuk is a little village near Kuta Lombok. A small crappy maintained street leads along the beaches to there. Unfortunately the nicer hotels were fully booked so Meli and Caro went to look for a nice place to stay. Walking around in the streets showed how poor this place is. We have never seen so many street dogs in our whole journey as here. The dogs had all rashes and open wounds on their bodies. The kids were playing naked in the waste water. The town was dirty and smelly. The room we were in for a few days was really hot, I think we never had it as hot as there, the whole atmosphere was bad. We tried to get used to it but after a few days we decided to move to a different place.

During our stay there we tried to learn surfing. You could hire a boot, that brings you to the good places, and a board for little money. The first time Meli and Caro joined. We were sailing to the beginner spot, the view from the boat was incredible, you could see the big volcano Rinjani in the distance and we were surrounded by green hills and cliffs. For Caro it was the second time on a surfboard and she fast figured that this spot isn't really the spot to learn surfing, the waves were to harsh and the water was to shallow so you could get easily hurt.

The following days Jeff and Sopi went surfing and Caro and Meli hired a scooter and explored the surrounding.

Meli and I (Caro)woke up in the early morning, when the heat is still bearable, so we could go for a walk in the hills. We were Cruising around for a while looking for a nice hiking spot. As we found one we parked the scooter next to street and went steep uphill. The sun was broiling and already after 200 m we had to stop and turn around. It was just to hot. We decided a scooter trip is nicer, than we have the wind that cools us down. While getting some gas on our way we were asking some locals for a nice view point. One of the guys offered us to bring us to an empty beach surrounded by green hills. They way to the beach was steep and muddy, with a lot of concentration and panicking we made it to the top of one hill. It was a construction area where the guy brought us and he was the supervisor. Meli and I felt a bit uncomfortable there, it was unbelievable hot and the workers had to work really hard for their money. We felt stupid standing next to them and looking dumb. Also the older people were starring and looking angry, because we were in really scanty shorts. (and yes it is offending but we really hadn't waste a thought on that earlier). We fled to another beach, where the women and old of the town were sitting in a bamboo hut near the sand and enjoying the shadow. The kids where playing in the water and as soon as they saw us they wanted to play with us. We played tag and threw them in the water. Giggling and screaming of all the fun. As we packed our things to go back to meet up with the boys, we got invited into the bamboo hut. The women were curious, larking and friendly. 

Islands

Bali

On the way to Bali we stopped in Kl for 2 reasons. 1, renewing our Visa and second shopping for some new wardrobe at the airport. The second reason was hardly possible, you would expect that such a big airport as KL has a lot of shops. But no, its almost empty. At least we got our visas done. We arrived, still looking like homeless people, on Bali and headed to a hotel near Ulu Watu, where Meli, a friend from Austria was already waiting for us. The hotel was luxurious and we felt happy and comfy. The next few days we have to admit we did not do that much, we were just enjoying our room and the conversations with Meli. And of course our first surfing experience on the Padang Padang beach, the hip surfer point on Bali. Surfing is really hard work but great and exciting.


Gili Islands

Beach, sun, crystal clear water and a good atmosphere. That is Gili T, it is one of the 3 islands between Lombok and Bali. Gili T is the biggest but you can round it within 2,5 hours by foot. The tiny islands are free from cars and scooters instead they have horse wagons. Along a stretch of 2 km are hotels and a lot of bars and restaurants. If you ever want to visit paradise come to Gili T. all 3 of us did some diving there and we saw many turtles and beautiful fish schools. One night after having a delicious dinner at one of the restaurants we met Sopi, one of the volunteers of the Cambodian school. We decided to go for some drinks, lucky us it was party night on Gili T. All the dive shops and bars were playing loud music or hired a live band. The vibe was great and we danced and drunk a lot.

Helllooooo Miiiiiisteeeer

With local buses it took us only! 7 hours to cover 120 km. This is mainly because Indonesia doesn't have bus stops and the buses have no aisle in the middle. So in every little village with about 10 houses it stops 5 times where everyone has to get out of the bus and the new passenger climbs in all the way in the back before the driver continues the journey for another 50 m where the ritual repeats.

But our destination, Bukit Lawang, was worth it. This small village located on the riverbed of a fast flowing river looks right into the jungle. The other side of the river houses primary forests with one of the highest densities of orangutans in the world. The reason we came.

As we arrived in the little town we came a long a phenomenon that we have heard before in another Asian country, Cambodia. Every single local person is greeting us with HELLOOO MIIISTEEER, hooow are you tooodaaay and a big smile. They do not make a difference between gender, everyone is just simply a Mister. We love this kind of welcoming.

We hired a guide and went for a jungle trek to see the apes. We were stunned. Saw like 20 of these beautiful creatures which are so human-like. You could see the difference in their characters like shy, curious and naughty. Some of them came as close as 2 meters to check out.

One of the babies was a curious little thing. Caro was swinging on a liana, the little one came closer to check out what she was doing. He decided that it looks like fun and wants to try it out. He firmly hold the swinging liana and was making giggling noises as Caro swung faster. Both of them had a big lol and did not want to stop. Caro changed her mind as soon as the guide told that orangutans like to give humans warm showers.

Although the orangutans were the highlight of the trek. The Thomas leaf monkeys, gibbons and long tail macaques also deserve to be mentioned here. And a bit smaller but (one of) the largest in their kind 4-5 cm long ants were also impressive.

After the whole day hiking, using the river to get back was a welcome refreshment. Rafting like they call it with truck inner tubes was perfect. 

Volcano, clouds and a strong old lady

A few weeks ago a volcano on Sumatra erupted and 11 people died. They made a danger zone of 10 km, where you are prohibited to enter. A lot of people told us that it is save to go to one of the villages near the danger zone. After hearing from several people that it will be fine to stay in the neighborhood, we went to Berestagi. The first night our host took as near the danger zone, so we could see the volcano from a distance. Unfortunately it was cloudy and we couldn't see that much. Once in a while, after a growling sound, we could see some red lava glowing up through the fog. The sound was impressive though.

The next morning Caro woke up with bad back and stomach pain. She crawled from the bedroom to the dining room of our host to get some tea and painkillers. As soon as they saw that she was not feeling so well, our hosts tried everything to help her. She got some weird and strong smelling tea but they swore that this is the best thing you can get, it cures everything. Our host let an old lady come to give Caro a healing massage. As the lady arrived they put a blanked on the kitchen floor, heated up the oven and commanded Caro to get undressed and lay down. All really weird but we thought why not.. if it helps. They heated some banana leafs on the stove and put some oil on them. As the leafs were hot enough they put them on Caros back. After the hot banana leaf treatment the granny started to massage. Caro was hoping for some relief, but it was not granted her. Without pity and really strong hands Caro got kneaded. Screaming, crying nothing helped, they were so unperturbed by Caros begging that our host did not even stop with cooking meals. They promised her countless times that all the knots have to be released and then she will fell like newborn. 1000 felt hours later the torture stopped and Caro could go back to her bed. Trying to sleep and forget.

The next few days were so cloudy we couldn't really check the highlights of the area. Berestagi, the city we stayed is not the most beautiful one but with only gray tones from the clouds it was just depressing. Time to move on!

 

The biggest volcanic lake

Medan would become our hub. We took a local bus from there to lake Toba, central Sumatra. Local buses in Indonesia is a new experience. They are cheap as chips but so small. The chairs are half the size as we have it in Europe, they squeeze as many people in as possible and hardly no one smokes. The lake itself is actually a super volcano creator filled with water. In the middle of it is an island called Samosir. We checked for a place to stay at a village called Tuktuk. We found an awesome spot, next to the water front that rents bungalows. We got a basic one for less than 4 Euros. At this place were a lot of travelers and in the evenings we were sitting all around a campfire and BBQed our food. We have to say that we had the best fish ever at this place. The whole atmosphere was fantastic.

One day we rented a scooter and tried to go around the island, which are approx. 130 km. We underestimated the distance a bit in according to the quality of the roads and in the end we were totally exhausted. On our way we visited the must see from the island, the stone chairs from the Batak people. A few hundred years ago they offered people at this spot, it has a mystic vibe. Along the way around the island, we also saw some spectacular graves, churches and the traditional Batak houses. The last few km we had to go up in the mountains, it was freezing cold and we were only wearing shorts. The view was awesome, on one side you had the lake and you could see the shore with its volcanic hills and on the other side there were steep valleys down the mountains, in the middle there were terrace rice fields. We liked it so much at lake Toba that we stayed 5 days longer than we intended to.

Sumatra, Indonesia

Our Indonesia adventure started in Medan, Sumatra. After reading the Lonely Planet we expected the worse but for us it was actually like arriving back in Asia. The Asia we experienced the beginning of our trip. Medan is definitely not the most beautiful city of them all but its charm are the people and numbers of crappy food stands with basic but delicious food. It wouldn't be our last stop in Medan.

We took a flight to Banda Aceh in the north of Sumatra to make our way to Pulau Weh. This island is a small paradise for divers. We took some Indonesian motion sickness pills before we started the 3 hour ferry journey. The ferry was an old and rusty ship that was definitely overloaded but before we could really worry about it the pills started to kick in and we both fell asleep. The pills turned out to be way stronger than we needed. We woke up in the harbor and the rest of the day we were terribly tired and walking around like zombies.

We got a a tuktuk to one of the diving resorts, unfortunately it was fully booked, so we checked-in in one of the bungalows next to it. What turned out to be a good decision, it was cheap as chips. The beach was of course beautiful, and a favorite for locals. There were only a few restaurants, but the food they serve was delicious. We did some dives there and it was unbelievable. The water was so clear, and so rich on fish. We saw some large tunas in the blue, an octopus hiding between stones, fabulous corals. It felt like swimming in a aquarium.

We went back to Banda Aceh to catch our flight to Medan. (don't underestimate the size of Indonesia, it's huge) Banda Aceh is also one of the cities where the Tsunami in 2004 had a really big impact. We read stories from locals survivors where they were telling their experience about it. near Banada Aceh are also two mass graves and a monument, a big fishing boat on the top of a house. The city is almost completely rebuilt, thousands of houses were newly built within months and streets were new planned and built. All of this gives the city a vibe that you can't put in words.

The big cities

It was getting closer to Chinese new year so we headed for Kuala Lumpur, which is known to have a big Chinese community, hoping to see some fireworks. By the time we made it to China town we one only saw a handful of Chinese. There were Chinese signs everywhere so it was clear we were in the right place but all restaurants and shops were closed and no Chinese. It turned out (almost) all Chinese leave the city to celebrate year of the horse with their family and friends in more quiet places. China town is closed for 2 weeks and we booked a room in this deserted place. Maybe doing a bit of research sometimes has it's benefits. But we didn't, so; no party, no fireworks, no delicious Chinese food but a good time.

KL is a modern city with metro, monorail and lots of skyscrapers. With the most famous being the Petronas towers. The two round towers over 500 m tall which are halfway connected by a sky bridge. They are on every picture of KL and probably the first thing you think about when you here the city name. 

Standing on the foot of the towers is amazing. It's an awesome view. We like!!

On the bottom of the towers is the most luxurious mall we've ever seen with brand shops of stuff we can't effort. Here we found the wealthy part of the missing Chinese community. After spending some time between chic shops we wanted to get more of this vibe. We found a sky bar at a 5 Star hotel near the towers. As we reached the top we were speechless, it had a swimming pool and a superb view over the city.

From KL we went straight to Singapore by bus. After a few hours drive, our bus driver just kicked us out in the middle of the city. We had no idea where we were, looking around for a street sign or a metro sign and then we run into a Subway restaurant It is unbelievable how excited we could get for a proper bread with cheese and ham. After the best sandwich in months we stopped a taxi to bring us to the hostel we had booked. As we were cruising through the city we realized how clean and organized Singapore is. We think we have never seen such a clean Asian city before. Also the hostel we stayed was super clean and modern. They even had waterfall showers! Next to the hostel there were some food courts, serving mostly Chinese food. Caro was so happy to get her favorite soup again, WanTan soup.

After a comfy night in our hostel we went to the famous Singapore zoo. It took us almost 2 hours to go there because the city is just huge. We don't have to tell you what we did in the zoo, it is pretty obvious  ;). After walking around for hours we almost reached the exit, one of the last “attractions” was the leopard. As we passed by, a big stork fell out of the tree directly in front of the leopard. The predator was so surprised that it just looked weird while the stork had probably the most exciting minute of his life. The animals looked each other in the eyes when the stork spread it's wings to defend itself. The moment the puma started the attack, the bird, who still looked disorientated, was barely fast enough to fly away.

During an evening walk through the city, we found out you can cross Singapore via its 1 mio malls, not seeing the outside of the buildings. We exited the mall-infrastructure an were suddenly standing on a river front. A long the river were lots of beautifully decorated restaurants. We walked for awhile next to the river, till we reached a big square. Due to the Chinese new year everything was decorated with a lot of giant Buddhas. In the middle was a stage where kids were dancing a ballet. In Singapore they also have the highest Ferris wheel in the world. Of course we had to try it. It was pretty expensive but it was worth it, the view over the skyline was stunning.

Kapas

When we arrived at the pier to catch a ferry to Kapas Island, it looked abandoned. Some people told us the island was closed because of monsoon season. Disappointed we walked back to the bus stop when a local asked us if when wanted to go to the island. He explained he was the owner of one of the guesthouses and planned to sail there the day after to prepare the place for the tourist season. He told there were 3 places already open for costumers but there weren't any tourist at the moment. If we wanted we could go with him to the island. We decided to stay overnight and embark his ship the next day. The captain was 2 hours late but we made it to the island.

The guy showed us his bungalows. It was clear they were not ready yet for the season. The bathroom was so dirty and food from last season still laying around, we decided to check one of the other places. We found a bungalow build against a cliff on a small private beach. The owner was a local lady with 2 children, the daughter was her trainee because she should soon take over the business. This was really good for us because the girl got cooking lessons from her mom and we always had to try her new creations. In the evenings we got a romantic decorated table from where we could watch the sunset. To make this idyllic picture complete, they brought some kittens from the mainland, which Caro fell in love with. The proud father of the cute kittens, got a rival from the neighbors. Jeff got truly unlucky getting between them while they were fighting. By accident he got bitten by the neighbors cat. He was stressing out, afraid of rabies. The next day he went to the mainland to see the doctor. Thankfully the Doctor could calm him down by telling him that there isn't any rabies on the island.

The women from the bungalows told us that there is a beautiful jungle trek to the other side of the island. After a few days of doing nothing we decided that it is maybe a good idea to get up and do the jungle trek. We walked along the beach to get to the trek. Suddenly we heard some rustling noise. We looked around and saw a huge lizard, it was more than 1,5 m long. It was starring at us and we starred back, it took us a while to get out of our trance and as we grabbed the camera, this huge animal was already running away. 

After 15 minutes we stopped and turned around because we were attacked by mosquitoes. It was not like here a mosquitoes and there a mosquito, no it was a swarm following us, stinging through our cloths and sitting in our faces. We figured out that maybe it is better to stick to our laziness.

East coast

After a few days of relaxing at this beautiful place we decided to move on to Kota Bharu, a city near the Thai border on the east coast of Malaysia. Buses were rare and overly expensive, so we decided to hitchhike the 300 km to Kota Bharu.

Hitchhiking started well and by the third ride it became really interesting. A car, with a local brand, the size of an old fiat 500 stopped. The driver, a sweaty and bit over weighted man, which made the car lean over a bit to one side, made a gesture to get in. Of course we didn't want to be picky and were thankful for his kindness to stop. We got in and together balanced the car out a bit more. From the moment he started the engine it was clear he felt like Michael Schumacher himself. He cut every corner and took them way faster than the car was ever intended to do. During our trip we have seen some crazy drivers already but never in combination with such a small and crappy car. When the hills got steeper his driving skills proofed to be to much for the car. Going full speed uphill without shifting back when we slowed down overheated the engine. He had to make a pit stop on the side of the road just before the highest point of a long hill. This was our chance. We said thanks to the driver and walked away, happy to be alive.

Not even 500 meters further we ended up with 5 young Thai guys in a pickup. Their English wasn't that good but we could communicate with hands and feet. In our lunch break they invited us for tea and a photo shoot. They were so proud to meet us, we had to make around 100 pics with them, changing sunglasses, hats and posing as cool gangsters.

We arrived in Kota Bharu and were looking for a place to stay. We found a little guesthouse in the city center where the rooms were really cheap and clean. Because it was so cheap we met there a lot of other travelers. 2 German guys who are already 9 months in Malaysia and trying to start up a diving shop on an island near by, an old man that just hangs around this place for already more than a month and some other people that are at this guesthouse because it has a television.

After all the city was not such a highlight, but it had a nice night market where really strange things happen. Every little food stand had a big television, all the chairs were in this direction and no one ever talks. Normally you choose the food stand were the most customers are because then it must be good. In this case the food stand with the most customers had the best show on TV.

British leftovers

We left Langkawi on the 13th of January, with the shortest flight ever. A 20 min flight to George Town, Penang. It was so short the stewardess could only stretch her legs before she had to 'Prepare for landing'. George Town is a truly fantastic, it's full with cafes and little places to eat. It has a cozy, welcoming vibe and we really enjoyed staying there. We did not do that much, walking around the city and enjoying the vibe, food and drinks. 

Someone recommended us the Cameron Highlands, totally unprepared we went there. As we hopped out of the bus we noticed that is really cold, it must be like 5° or so, we thought. Hurried to our hostel we met the owner, a really friendly guy from Bangladesh, who gave us a fleece jacket and cooked 10 l tea for us. Warmed up by the tea and able the move again we checked the outside thermometer: 19 degrees. Wow,!After having temperatures over 30 for 4 months, 19 feels like winter.

We stayed for 3 days and every day we did a hike through the jungle. We saw a lot of wildlife, like squirrels, every kind of birds and insects. In this region also grow wild orchids but unfortunately they were not flowering at the moment. One of the hikes was really tough, it was more climbing then hiking. Mud till your ankles, a steep path where you had to climb over roots and rocks. As we were at the peak we were sitting in a cloud so the view was a bit disappointing.

In the evenings we sat with the other guests in the living room of our hostel and enjoyed home cooked dinners, a cup of tea and movies on television. The things you do in winter.

Langkawi

We arrived at Langkawi by ferry and we were amazed how modern Malaysia is. Lots of flats, malls and modern office buildings.

The next day we started our second workaway experience for the next 2 weeks. We should help building and rebuilding a house for a dutch couple in return we get food and accommodation. We arrived at their house, which was on a hill in the middle of the jungle. We had a nice view over the valley and the mountains. Their house was a palace and it's only the guesthouse. They were busy building the real house next to it.

Overall we have to say that we did not feel comfortable with the people and we could not get along very well. After 4 days it was clear that they too and told us to move out. Although we shared the feelings it still felt like being dumped. Which is of course never a nice feeling. We left and moved to a little guesthouse next to the sea.

Our rental scooter made it easy to explore the island on our own. We were driving up one of the higher mountains of the island, when we spotted monkeys walking on the power lines. The next half an hour we just enjoyed watching the monkeys playing and relaxing on the power lines and hopping into the trees.

One of the 'must do' at Langkawi is the rope-way up the highest mountain. It was really windy when we went up, the gondola was swinging and  looking down scared us a bit. But our trust in Austrian designed and built rope-way is big so we relaxed. The view from the mountain was stunning. We could see the whole island and the little islands next to it. We haven't count if we saw all of the 99 islands but we definitely saw a lot of them. In the harbor you could see the big and expensive yachts. Big and fancy resorts on one side of the island, we were tempted to spent there a night.

For Caros birthday we spent a day on a catamaran, cruising between the islands, drinking wine and enjoying the comfort and rest. The biggest surprise was a shoal of dolphins, they were playing just a few meters away from the boot, we could watch them for 15 minutes. We have never seen wild dolphins, this was truly a good birthday present for Caro.

Holiday from travel

We just realized that its over a month ago that we posted something on our blog. But we have a good excuse, we had holiday from our travel.

Our first stop in Thailand was Bangkok, where 2 friends from Austria were already waiting for us. Janet and Johannes. We were so excited to see them again and spend a bit more then 2 weeks together. They also brought our new camera with them, our own X-mas gift this year.

Our Hotel was a bit outside of the city center, even Tuktuks and Taxi drivers had problems to find it. The lady from the reception told us that it is easier and cheaper to take the water taxi. Waiting for the boot at the boot stop, hop on it and 15 min later you hop of and you are in the middle of the city. We have to admit, a great way of travelling.

Of course we did all the touristic stuff in Bangkok, visiting the Wat Pho with a huge golden Buddha, checking Koh San Road, which offers over priced drinks and food, the malls, which are huge, night markets, street food and visiting a sky bar.

The sky bar was one of the best things in Bangkok we experienced. As we arrived, we were a bit confused about what to do and where to go. No signs nor direction anywhere, just a serious looking security guard behind a counter. We tried the first elevator we saw, 8 floor, mhh ok this can not be it. Went down again, ran around like chickens, till we saw a young girl standing alone next to typical access office gates. We didn't notice her at first. She stamped our wrists with a stamp, just like they do in clubs and discos! When the elevator doors opened on the 47th floor we had a bit of a surprise, the size of this rooftop was really massive and presents an impressive 180˙ panoramic view of downtown Bangkok.

The views are spectacular in all directions. It is just amazing to stand next to the edge and look down, the whole city looks like a Christmas tree. Live music and beer did the rest. Janet and Johannes had a little Walz and we all enjoyed very much the stunning view.

We wanted to show Johannes an Janet how we travel so we booked a ticked for a night bus to Chiang Mai. Because we had one day over in Bangkok and we had a bit enough of the city (it was full with police, because there were some demonstrations going on), we decided to go to Ayutthaya, the city of temples. We booked a tour at the same travel agency where we bought the bus tickets to make sure we come back in time to catch the night bus.

it was a hop off hop on bus tour, checking more then 6 ancient temples. It is pretty impressive but sorry Ayutthaya, nothing can compete with Angkor Wat.

Nightbuses are awesome. You get on sleep a bit and wake up at your destination. Well in theory it should work like that, but not the one we had. The bus stopped every 1,5 hour which is okay but our driver felt the need to turn the lights on on every stop, which is NOT ok. Not if falling asleep in a bus takes you a bit more than an hour. Doing the math gives you a full 2,5 hours of sleep for the whole night. At least it's cheap and Chang Mai made it all worth it.

Chang Mai, is one of those cities that has nothing really special but just a good vibe. In the few days of our stay we fed, washed and rode elephants, flew like dare devils through the jungle hanging on zip lines and bet are money on Muay Thai matches (Thai boxing).

After having enough action for our travel break we took the fast way, the airplane, to one of Thailand's nicer islands, Koh Samui, for total relaxing. Staying in a beach resort is a good start to relax. But hopping onto the neighboring island, Koh Pangan, made us really find our inner rest. Bungalows on a cliff with the sea almost under you. Laying in a hammock, with a drink, to see the sun disappear in the water at the horizon. While the only sound you hear is the surf.

This is paradise on earth and we had to stay as long as possible. After our friends needed to go back home we stayed another week before the high season started and the place was fully booked. Forced to leave we headed north to the next island, Koh Tao.

Koh Tao's economy is build on diving schools so diving is THE thing to do. We went for our open water license. From the first scary breaths (well at least for Jeff) in the pool to the beautiful underwater world in the open sea. After finishing the course we were hooked and went straight on for our advanced license. Where we extended ours skills diving down till 30 m and even did a night dive. Being weightless in total darkness accept the light of your torch is so cool. Covering the torch and seeing plankton lighten up by the movement of your hands is even cooler.

In between the courses it was Christmas eve. With a sushi dinner and a beach party it was good but it doesn't really gave us the cozy feeling like being home with our family. Next year it will be Europe again!

For new years eve we traveled to the other side of Thailand to an island called Koh Lanta. For a “fully” booked island it was remarkable easy to find accommodation. Being loaded with western tourists new years eve was rather tame but still really nice.

Because we had an appointment in Malaysia on the 4th January we left Koh Lanta, we booked a bus ticked to avoid the 6 hours ferry trip (Jeff and ferries are no friends :)). But unfortunately the bus driver was insane. He drove like a maniac through the traffic. A little girl at the front seat vomited non stop, after 3 hours of being worried about our lives he stopped at the gas station. Everyone wanted to get out of the bus for just a few minutes, but the maniac locked the doors. After an older lady yelled at him he unlocked it and let us go to the toilet. 2 more hours in the bus of hell and we arrived a city near the ferry port. After waiting for 2 hours, a crappy little bus appeared and took us to the port, the guy was driving so slow that we missed the ferry, only 5 min before we arrived at the port the ferry left. You could see the anger in the peoples face and the questions, why the fuck did the first driver almost kill us, why did we wait 2 hours, why was the other driver to stoned and why do we have to wait 3 hours for the next ferry? Lots of questions and we will never get an answer. This is one of the things we learned on our travel, don't have expectations in transports, it's always worse than you think ;).