Hey guys,

it took me a while to get the time and a decent internet place to get up some more pics.. Also I will tell you what has happened the last few weeks!
For the whole gallery: here you go! (new pics at the end)

Finally I left wonderful Koh Phan Gan, but not without spending a more or less fun night at Haad Rin drinking. We tried to walk through the jungle to get some money out of the ATM, but because of the new built dirt road, nobody uses the jungle trail anymore. After 2 hours getting lost in the jungle (we had to make our way with sticks.. lots of ants, spiders etc.) and no more energy to walk 2,5 hours on the road we got a taxi boat. Lol.
At Haad Rin, some guys had trouble getting money (he didnt call his parent, who manage his account, so they decided to report him missing at Interpol. Wtf? The poor lad had to talk to some Interpol officer on the phone - hey Mom, I am still ok!)

So it was already late and we stayed for a few drinks, the fire show and.. yeah, a few buckets. Jono got really drunk and so we came back to our beach at sunrise. Well, it was fun, I guess.

Two days later I got on a boat to Koh Toa. Scuba Diving!

The Dive Shop Alex and I went with two years ago still exists, but all divemasters changed shop due to some internal management problems. I got this Info the first night on Koh Tao talking to a divemaster trainee, I met along with Rupert & V from Koh Pha Ngan. We had a great night, hehe…

So I went with the new shop, Siam Divers in Sairee Beach. I did an advanced course and some more fun dives - it was really amazing. So much to see and to do underwater. Also diving (and drinking) along: 4 scottish guys - we and divemaster-to-be Sheldon had a real fun time at Lotus Bar & Co :)

Koh Tao is also a really beautiful - and really small - island. I never thought I could spent so much time here..
xoxo,
ScubaMike

Hey guys,

I am still on this beautiful island - well, what can I do? The food is so good, people are nice, they have super shakes :)
But I think about leaving to Koh Tao in the next days.. I want to dive, and Cambodia and Northern Thailand is also waiting for me. These first weeks are gone so quickly.

I managed to get a few more pics online. The thumbnails are a bit off center, tho. Be sure to check out the full sized ones. More written stuff when the internets are cheaaper!

Jo. I made it. I am back on Koh Pha Ngan. Staying at the same place, the Sanctuary.

It is almost just like 2 years ago. Nothing has really changed. Prices are still the same (internet still 3 Baht per Minute - so I’ll be brief and post some more pictures the next days.

This place is just special. The first evening I walked into Eden Garden, a restaurant/bar directly at the rocks, King, the owner, remembered me. After 2 years he still knew me. What a great time. He also remembered Alex. So much fun.

It is so peaceful here. I think I’ll stay here for a few weeks.. Probably stay at one of King’s bungalows.

Take care, I’ll post a more detailed write-up with pics the next days..

xoxo,
Chill MacMical

Jo guys!

I am back in South-East-Asia. I arrived on 13th of June after an exhausting flight in Bangkok (we had to switch planes in Abu Dahbi, lots of screaming little children on the plane..).

Bangkok (BKK) itself didnt change that much. Everything is more or less same-same. On Khao San Road (KSR) there are still the same shops, TukTuk drivers still give you a hassle and try to drive you to PingPong shows and the frog-Frauen are froggin around as always.

Beer on KSR is great as always - I had a few after I arrived and thought about you guys (not really…). Alex, you know at which place :) Also I had a haircut, eat some of the best food in the world and bought a guide book for cheap.

Nex day, I went to the MBK shopping center. On the place before, there was some sort of japanese Comic festiva: Lots of Thai Teens dressing as comic heroes and performing on stage. Oh my, I had a good laugh! Thai girls screaming and totally freaking out - good times.

But I also got what I came for: CF cards for my camera: I bought 3 cards each holding 8GB storing space and paid about 90 euros. Thats ok, I think.

BKK is starting to get on my nerves, though. Constant hassle on the street, smog, noisy… Apparently there are only ugly Britains and Aussis around right now. The girls are chicks and the guys just tell me about this Thai woman and that women they had in Indonesia for 4 weeks - wtf? What is wrong with all those people? (I met some nice guys too, but still..)
I have to get out. Kho Phan Gan is my first choice - but there is a Full Moon Party on the 18th. I really dont want to see all the FullMoon-Druffis right now, so I decide to go west to Kanchanburi, near the border to Burma.

Kanchanburi is a little, laid back town on the river Kwai. And yes, there is also the famous Bridge over the River Kwai - although by day this bridge is not that impressing.
I have a little bungalow directly on the river, with a few on the bridge. It is cheap here, and not many people around. Apparently this town is a weekend party town for BKK Thais. I can imagine that, there are more bars than tourists right now.
I also decided to travel on as many public busses as possible- its just so much fun riding a bus on which everyone else is Thai, loud Thai pop music is played all the time and bumpy roads shake you into your slumber. All those “VIP” Minibuses can kiss my a.

I rented a bike to get around town. But you better drive slowly - it is raining season, but that doesnt mean its cold. About 35 C, 80-90 % humidity and mostly cloudy. I get into town to get something to eat, and the old american Vietnam veteran who runs the first (!) bookshop in town recommends a really delicious Massaman Curry across the street.
Later, I stop by for a beer (he also runs a little bar - you have to go with the flow..) and I meet his buddies: apparently all veterans who stayed after the war. Speaking Thai and all they still are super rude to their (Thai) wifes. I drink up and go back to my place.
On the veranda of my bungalow I finally find some peace and time to get rid of all the stress from the last days\weeks\months.

Today, I drove around town, visited the railway museum, the cemetery, some other museum (they didnt spell the word “railway” right once, but they had at least 10 different ways they tried..).
Esp. the Thai part of town was fun to drive through. I think I didnt met western people for most of the time, as the main sights of this little, dirty town are some waterfalls and stuff outside town. I probably will see some of this stuff tomorrow or.. well I ‘ll see :)

I had a bit of problem to get some pictures on this server, but it should be working now. I’ll try to add more pictures when I find some time and working internet connection.
Check out the gallery!

I am happy to hear from you, just drop me a line or leave a comment.
Oh, and one more thing: The best shower in Thailand is a cold shower!

xoxo,
Pad Thmaichael

Yes.. it is true.
wow. SE asia was really a hell of an experience. actually i cant really describe how AWESOME it was.

this was with alex on our last drunk night in bangkok. Yeah, i really enjoyed the time with you, mate!
I made about 2500 pics during this trip. and there are actually some fotos i really like. but you have to stay tuned for a couple of more days to be jealous. i need to get them sorted and resized and uploaded :) I think you probably will get all these little stories from our trip bit by bit - to tell the full 7 weeks at once would take ages..

well, what happend also? you also read, that the best dog passed away. R.I.P. Sally!
I just finished my university paper tonight, so i now i am really back. And happy birthday to marcus once again!

and by the way did you ever listen to Hot Chip? Yeah, i bet you did. But not only to their album The Warning, did you also get Coming On Strong?

That is a fucking good album! Get it now and listen to it at least twice. at least.

good night.

Fotos von Thailand kommen bald…

Tauchen auf Koh Tao war wirklich super. Die Fotos, die ich gemacht habe sind leider “nur” vom schnorcheln, weil meine Kamera nicht fuer so tiefe Tiefen gemacht ist, aber man bekommt trotzdem einen eindruck, wie geil das war!

Wieder zurueck in Bankok haben wir uns fuer 2 Tage getrennt, weil ich so schnell wie moeglich wieder weg wollte aus dem Wahnsinn.. Ich habe mich dann in einen Bus gesetzt und bin Richtung Norden nach Sukkothani gefahren. Die Busfahrt war schon echt ein Erlebnis: ich als einziger Westlicher, sonst nur Thais, die alle nach und nach irgendwo auf der Strecke ausgestigen sind, bis ich am Schluss ganz allein die letzten zwei Stunden Nachts unterwegs war. Aber ich bin im richtigen Ort angekommen. Sukkothani ist eigentlich relativ langweilig.

Ausser einem riesigen Areal mit alten Tempelruinen gibt es da nicht viel. Aber die Ruinen sind sehr geil! Fuer ein paar Cent kann man ein Fahrrad mieten und das ganze Gelaende erkunden. Die Ruinen stehen zwischen Reisfeldern und Seen im Dschungel, teilweise halb verwuchert.

Das Guesthouse wo ich war bietet auch Mountainbike Touren in der Gegend an, was sicher total geil ist, allerdings hat mir der Nachmittag in den Ruinen schon fast gerreicht. Bei ca. 38 Grad und 80% Luftfeuchtigkeit radln ist doch nicht soo unanstrengend..

Am naechsten Tag haben Alex und ich uns eh wieder getroffen, in Chiang Mai. Abends nachdem wir uns den Nachtmarkt gegeben haben, mussten mal wieder einige Bierchen und ne Flsche Whiskey sein.

Das war auch der Abend, an dem das Militaer in Thailand die Macht uebernommen hat. Wir haben das ganze in einer Bar mit einigen Thais mitbekommen. Eigentlich alle waren total happy. Nach und nach sind mehr Infos aus Bankok gekommen. Panzer fahren auf, Soldaten kontrollieren das Regierungsviertel, …

Heute schaut das ganze schon ein bisschen anders aus. Die Grenzen nach Laos und Burma sind geschlossen, wie lange weiss man noch nicht. Das ist ein bisschen bloed, weil unser Visa in 8 Tagen auslaeuft und wir eigentlich nach Laos wollen. Aber in einer Woche wird das scho wieder passen..
Inzwischen sind auch einige Soldaten in Chiang Mai angekommen. Der Flughafen soll von Panzern bewacht sein.. Aber die meisten Posten, die wir heute gesehen haben stehen nur gelangweilt rum, Telefonieren oder Snacken am naechsten Stand..
Die Schulen, Banken und Regierungsgebaeude sind geschlossen, die Medien werden kontrolliert (und zensiert), es herrscht Versammlungsverbot und ab Mitternacht ist eine Landesweite Ausgangssperre verhaengt worden. Wer danach noch auf den Strassen ist, “riskiert von der Armee erschossen zu werden”.

Ich denke nicht, dass das ganze so schlimm ist - es gab wohl schon einige Putsche in Thailand, und der grossteil der Bevoelkerung unterstuetzt den Putsch sowieso. Auf alle Faelle ist das ganze kein Grund, “in den Hotelzimmern zu bleiben (Hotel?? huh?) und notfalls die Deutsche Botschaft anzurufen (was koennen die mir sagen??)”, wie das Auswaertige Amt raet…

Morgen gehts eh weiter nach Pai, noch mehr aufs Land raus.

Nachdem wir endlich von Koh Phangan entkommen konnten (was gar nicht so leicht war angesichts der Haengematten-Dichte und des absoluten Wohlfuehlfaktors) sind wir weiter zur naechsten insel: Koh Tao.

Was macht man auf Koh Tao? Tauchen.

Wir haben ja beide einen Tauchschein, aber keiner hatte dran gedacht den mitzunehmen… Aber das war nicht so das Problem, wir konnten gleich einen Refresher-Tauchgang machen und sind seit dem voll geil auf die ganzen Nemo-Fische, Korallen, Felsen und was es da noch so alles gibt. Das hat sich echt gelohnt und ist gar nicht mal so teuer hier :)

Heute Nachmittag gehts noch mal raus zu einem Dive, und morgen werden wir dann die Inseln verlassen (leider) und ueber Bangkok in den Norden heizen. Wahrscheinlich wirds da eher Flutig, was wir hier so gehoert haben.. Aber dann gehen wir halt noch ein bisschen Schlamm-Schippen, bevor wir (wenns klappt) ueber den Mehkong nach Laos weiterschippern.

Immer noch auf Koh Phangan. Die Fullmoon-party haben wir natuerlich auch mitgemacht..

was macht man sonst hier? aufstehen, baden, was essen, in der sonne liegen, in die haengematte wechseln, was essen, ein bierchen trinken, baden, was essen, mehr bierchen trinken, an ofen anschmeissen, a flasche whiskey trinken, … was will man mehr?

morgen gehts (vielleicht) weiter nach koh tao. ist eh nebenan - da werden wir dann das gleiche + tauchen machen :)

gibt ein paar mehr neue fotos! die reihenfolge ist ein bisschen durcheinander wegen zwei kameras.. aber is eh egal!

Hallo!

jo.. da alex und ich sind gut angekommen hier.. Die ersten tage in bangkok waren schon mal so, dass ich mich gleich noch viel mehr auf koh pha ngan freu, wo wir jetzt gleich in ein paar minuten hinfahren werden.

Der urlaub wurde am erste abend gebuehrend mit whiskey saufen die ganze nacht eingeleitet..

hab schon mal zwei, drei aktuelle fotos hier - damit ihr auch sehts was ihr verpasst :)

… gehts los :)