Hi
folks
Are you all “cool”? We’re pretty “hot”! (35 degrees)
Here’s what’s happened so far:
When we arrived whiter than white and cooler than cool in Bangkok, we were awaited by friends. During the first week we stayed in an authentic Thai place, which meant that we experienced the lifestyle right away: showers with cold water and toilets in the back yard. Until today we haven’t taken a shower with warm water, but who needs that when it’s so hot outside! In the 21 nights we’ve been here, we have tried out 7 toilets where you have to stand up when conducting your business, 10 toilets with a manual flush, 3 with a proper flush and 1 without a hoop. Some bathrooms had extras like toads, cockroaches or sinks without drains. But at least the prices were moderate: 6-20 Francs per night. The cheapest place was a hut directly at the beach!
Beer drinkers have to be quite rich here because it costs more than a whole meal! That’s why we eat to the max with none, or let’s say a few, ok fine, tons of exceptions. We have enjoyed some great parties and noticed that nights can end in the morning here too… The food is very tasty here, especially all the little street stands.
The host family has showed us Bangkok and it’s life. Thais are like Americans: even if their apartment is very low class, they all have a TV which is in use all day long. Our friends have showed us some insider places; a birthday party and the Kratong-Festival, which takes place every year. After the stay with our friendly hosts, we took a bus to north-west Kanachanaburi, where we saw the bridge of Kwai and the Eriwan waterfalls. We didn’t see much of the latter because Reto had one photo session after the other , which might be because of his blond hair and the colorful Nike symbol on his head. After that, we went south and visited one island after the other. Ko Tao was very relaxing and quiet with no electricity between 10 pm and 10 am. Ko Phangan is the island of parties with 24 hours of music. Ko Samui is very touristy and Phuket a major city. This is where we are right now, drinking a Chang beer which is the cheapest and best around. Thais are very friendly and hospitable: from every bar you can hear the words “hello, welcome”. They always keep smiling! No kidding, Thais are really friendly.
To all those who have eagerly awaited some incidents on our part: we have to disappoint you. Up till now the trip has worked out fine. The two chaotic travelers haven’t even forgotten anything, in the contrary, they brought too much. Bene has his military chain with him even though he got rid of all his military things before he left. I guess he hasn’t quite gotten over it yet!
Greetings
Bene Frei & Reto Santeler
annexes:
1 sunshine
5 grains of sand
2 1/2 litre of seawater
1 Thai smile
3 meter joy of holidays
