We actually wanted only to post the pictures from Thailand, but somehow a part of the story would be missing, so here is a short report of what we did between Nepal and Taiwan.
\nAfter all the cold weather in Darjeeling and Nepal and a mild flu, we were really looking forward to a week on the beach in Thailand. So we flew over to Bangkok, stayed in a hotel over night, organized SIM cards and took a very comfortable bus to Hua Hin the next morning. Unlike the typical tourist destinations on the islands, Hua Hin is on the main land and is way less visited by western party crowds and is more of a weekend hide away for the Thais living and working in Bangkok. When we arrived at our AirBnB there, we were positively surprised, that most of the tourists are families with kids and the place in general is quite empty. To avoid the extreme heat, we stayed inside until the afternoon and then enjoyed the empty beach for ourselves. The week passed by quickly and we moved back to Bangkok. First thing there, we went to the tailor, I\u2019ve been to when I was there last time and ordered new suits for both of us \u2013 taking the risk that they won\u2019t fit when we come back in a year. \ud83d\ude09 Another thing we decided to get done here was getting visas for Myanmar. We wouldn\u2019t really need them if we knew, that we\u2019ll cross the border at one of the international airports where you can get a visa on arrival. But as we wanted to keep the chance to cross the land border from Thailand or even from China, we decided do get it done here. After that, a visit at the grand palace was on our list. We went there in the midday sun. It was the combination of the extreme heat, our collapsing circulation and the hordes of tourists, which made us leave the place quite soon. Especially the Chinese groups, being always in a hurry, rude, pushing everyone around and ignoring basic rules of behavior, always being under military command of their guide were so annoying, that we didn\u2019t regret not spending more time there. The other annoying thing in Bangkok were the taxi drivers, who would refuse to drive by the meter and always try to charge us ridiculous amounts. When one agreed to drive us for the price, we thought would be fair, he dropped us of at a completely different place, than we asked to be driven to (which was only half way), just annoying! We know that the agreed on prices with the taxi drivers are still a rip off, but they still charge way too much. On our last full day in Bangkok, we wanted to visit the Chatuchak market, an absolutely immense market (it has a map!), where one can buy anything they desire. But this time, we trusted Google maps too much\u2026 The opening days were wrong and we looked quite stupid standing there with all the shops closed and only a bunch of people selling trees and office plants. Luckily, if Bangkok has more than enough of something, it\u2019s shopping opportunities, so we headed back to the city and spent some time in a mall looking for some new cloths and presents to send back home.<\/p>\n
And before we forget.. we also bought a new backpack for Michael as his old one\u00a0showed some disintegration and there was a risk of it breaking mid-way. We planned\u00a0to buy one at the Chatuchak market, but as it was closed we looked everywhere for a suitable replacement and found one\u00a0pretty much last moment! So Michael’s luggage\u00a0was safe again…<\/p>\n
The suits situation became more stressful than expected as Alice\u2019s suits had to be fitted more often than Michael\u2019s and in the end weren\u2019t ready before the post office closed. But the tailors promised to finish them properly and sent them to our parents after we left \u2013 we still hope, they\u2019ll fit when we\u2019re back \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
On our last evening we treated ourselves to some drinks with a view and delicious Thai food before we headed to the airport for our overnight flight to Taiwan (departure 3 AM!)<\/p>\n