Chapter Fifteen: Thailand, a little bit relaxing

Thailand part II

Koh Lanta, this one of the nicest places/islands I've been so far. The island is not that special compared to other islands of Thailand, but it's the atmosphere that makes it so special. 
My first 2 nights I stayed in a hotel near the harbor, from there i explored the island by scooter and looked for my next destination. 
I found a place 50 meters from the beach a little hippie town with some, lets say, gypsy characteristics exactly what I love. I had a low budget house, but that's all I needed. During the day I was lying at one of the many beach clubs. All made from wood and with a direct view on the sea. During the night there was always somewhere a party; rock, reggae, house, . If i go back to Thailand it will be definitely that place. There are more backpackers, more people between 30-50, not the young drunken lads on Koh Phi Phi. I met a Dutch guy, an alcoholic, weird guy, he managed to drink a bottle of rum every day. He is 47, looks like shit, but travels already for 3 years through SEA on a budget of 20 euros a day. Fun meet for a few days, but no more than that. 

I did a little bit of island hopping, snorkeling, swimming under a waterfall, entering a cave, going to another bay, all again. I must be cautious there is not a sense/feeling of fatigue....nnhee, just kidding, you never get tired of doing these things. Though one very thing was nice, we approached an island and I needed to swim 80 meters through a dark tunnel to reach a bay surrounded by rocks, like standing in the crater of a volcano. True story about this island, it has been used by pirates to stores their treasures. When the tide is high it's impossible to see the entrance of the hidden bay. 

I celebrated Christmas on Koh Lanta, a little bit than. Christmas is not a Thai thing, kinda of strange, no Christmas trees, only palm trees. On Koh Lanta there are many Swedish people for some reason, they celebrate Christmas Eve. The way I did it was lying in a treehouse and watching the quiet sea, with some islands towering above the waterline. Yep, way better than be in a cold, misty country. I can live with these Christmas celebrations, nice to experience it in a different way than I'm used to. After a couple of days I decided to go to Bangkok, although it's in the same country, it will take me roughly 10/12 hours to get there...bus, ferry, bus, airplane, bus again to my hotel.

Bangkok:
Of course large, traffic jams, usual night markets and the nightlife. Sounds a bit strange, but I've seen it before. I went there to get my visa for Vietnam and to celebrate New Years eve. What else did I do, watch a movie, so nice to do a something what I did back at home, enjoyed a river cruise, did a tour throughout the city. Bangkok has not that much to offer so how to differentiate my journey? Well Bangkok has a massive river, nice to go through with a long boat. The river is very rough due to the high traffic and a ride with a speedy long boat was very cool. I wanted to go to the grand palace, but it was so extremely busy plus the fact that I didn't wear the proper clothes. The king died and still many people came here to bring him the last honors. Everybody was dressed in black and with long sleeves etc. I didn't want to go in my white tank top and flip flops, to inappropriate. Besides, it would definitely take me several hours which i didn't have, needed to pick up my passport at Vietnamese embassy. Still it was impressive to see the number of people, they came on their own initiative instead of being forced. Thailand is not North Korea.

After a boring New Years eve (Thailand celebrates new year somewhere in April) festivities at a square were canceled and at the nightclub there was only a little countdown and no fireworks, i made my preparations for Cambodia. No idea what to expect.