Thailand

September 4 2017

My stay in Bangkok

Tobias Stricker Travel Log Bangkok, Floating Market, Palace Khaosan, Temples, Thailand

Exploring the capital of Thailand, it’s markets and temples – Travel log no. 91

In the morning at 4 am the bus arrived in Bangkok. Together with two friends from Slovenia I went to the famous Khaosan road close by. Unfortunately by that time even here most of the places were closed. Never the less we found a restaurant where we could sit out the night. At 8am we left the luggage at the hostel and explored the city.

Floating Market, Bangkok — The floating market in Bangkok. Here you can find all kind of seafood specialties cooked right on the boat.

Kitchen, Bangkok — In addition a close up of a little floating kitchen. Do you see all the fish next to it? I am still wondering if this is also one of the main ingredients.

Kids, Bangkok — On the way to the next stop we came by this bus with sister and brother on the way home from school.

Temple of Dawn, Bangkok — Finally a close up of the temple of dawn.

Palace, Bangkok — From the temple we made our way back to the palace.

On the next day I left to explore the Wa Saket, the Golden Mount.

Wat Saket, Bangkok — To start with a random street on the way to the Golden Mount. Actually you can see the Golden Mount already coming up to the right.

Before I could make it there though a friendly Tuk-Tuk Driver on the street offered me to drive me around the whole day for 50 cents.

Tuk-Tuk, Bangkok — According to the driver this cheap price was only possible because of a holiday. I sensed a trap but still joined him for the sake of adventure.

Buddha, Bangkok — He brought me to a giant Buddha statue. There another random stranger talked to me again about the holiday and how cheap it would be to get tailored clothes.

Temple, Bangkok — The inside of the second temple we visited. Here my Tuk Tuk driver showed me how to pray on a holiday like the one.

Without asking me we stopped at a Tailor shop next. I went in to check it out and ended up buying a tailored shirt for around 30 bugs. I ended up running into the trap they sat up for me. Back at the Tuk Tuk my driver explained me the reason why it was so cheap today. There was actually no holiday. The whole thing was just a scam to get the people in the tailor shops. Later that night back in town I realized my mistake. Tailored shirts are around $20 here. Never the less I didn’t spend too much money and was still driven around the city the whole day. Even though I got scammed I felt people here were nice!

Golden Mount, Bangkok — Sure enough I would run into my friend Niko again whom I first met in Malaysia. He had taken a different route but fortune or coincidence brought us back together.

Khaosan, Bangkok — Back in town we explored the way more busier Khaosan road and had some food.

Traveling had required it’s price from both of us. Niko had to even stay in the hospital for a couple of days because of an infection in his leg. I was still struggling with an ear infection after diving on Koh Tao. Never the less I had a real good treatment in Bangkok which cost me all in all less than $20. It is hard to imagine but good treatment for that price is possible.

Night traffic, Bangkok — Finally our ways had to part again. I left to explore the Kingdom of Cambodia the next morning. Excited to discover the lost temples of Angkor Wat.

August 30 2017

Learning Scuba Diving on Koh Tao

Tobias Stricker Travel Log Beach, Diving, Island, Koh Tao, Thailand

Exploring the underwater world as well as the beautiful island – Travel log no. 90

Early in the morning I left Phuket excited to see a different place. Especially because the trip was just supposed to take 6 hours. Finally when boarding the ferry I realized something must be wrong.

Ferry, Koh Tao — When I saw the bunk beds I realized they were probably not just meant for a more comfy way of transport.

In the morning at 6 am I finally arrived. Nearly 24 hours later. Nevertheless I checked into Davy Jones Locker to start my open water dive course the next day.

Afterwards I used the rest of the day to explore the island by scooter.

Main Beach, Koh Tao — Walking along the main beach of Koh Tao is really relaxing. Don’t judge it on the first sight though the beach turns into a party strip at night.

Freedom Beach, Koh Tao — The beautiful Freedom Beach on the other more remote side of the island.

Mission Beach, Koh Tao — Always blessed with the best weather, pointing out the dark blue sky on the horizon.

Viewpoint, Koh Tao — Sometimes kind of hard to get to by scooter, but the viewpoints on the mountains are truly amazing. Here the view into the valley were I stayed.

Twins, Koh Tao — The Twins, a little island off shore from Koh Tao. Not only photogenic on the surface, but also one of the main dive sites.

After a day of exploring the island I spend a whole week on my dive education. Definitely the most exciting part of my stay on the island.

Diving, Koh Tao — A little introduction saison on the bottom of the ocean.

Group, Koh Tao — A picture of the group. From left to right: Fish, Lana, Jeremy, myself, Liv, Ehsan and our instructor James at the bottom.

Diving was so much fun that I directly started my Advanced right after my open water course. All in all it is just like exploring a completely different world down there. But what could better describe it than animated pictures, so see for yourself:

(Password = “scuba”)

A big shout out to Jacob Hunter from Koh Tao Provideos for creating these awesome videos. Finally a big thanks goes to James, Fish, Ehsan and Nick from DJL!

August 25 2017

The island of Phuket

Tobias Stricker Travel Log Nightlife, Patong, Phuket, Thailand

Driving around the island and checking out the nightlife– Travel log no. 89

After my trip to Maya Beach I directly boarded the next boat. Together with Philipp I sailed to the island of Phuket. On board we met up with two of Philipp’s friends from Russia. He had just met these girls the night before. When we arrived on Phuket the girls mothers was able to give us a ride to Patong.

When we arrived it was already late so we got ready to check out the nightlife. Together with Maria a girl from Germany I had met in my hostel we made it to the famous Patong Beach.

Patong Beach, Thailand — The entrance into the streets of madness.

Walking through the streets was truly crazy. Every second person tried to sell something. Thai girls who would hold on to you trying to drag you into their shops for “Thai-Massage”. People who would hit the floor (or pedestrians) with latex tubes to advertise their “Ping-Pong shows”. Lastly a surprisingly high amount of visitors seemed to be old man holding hands with young Thai girls and often not only one. With some open-minded attitude it was fun to experience this culture once.

Riding around the island with the scooter the next day was definitely more fun though.

Elephant, Phuket — A caged elephant with it’s calf. Unfortunately I didn’t see any in wild life, but not sure if they are native to the island anyway.

White Buddha, Phuket — At first we checked out the big Buddha overlooking the island.

White Buddha, Thailand — Philipp posing right in front of the White Buddha.

Chaithararam Temple, Phuket — My highlight of the island was probably visiting the Chaithararam Temple.

After exploring the island I am kind of surprised that so many people travel to Phuket. Even though there are so many more beautiful beaches and sites in Thailand.

Nevertheless after this short stop I was even more exited to sail over to Koh Tao to take my first scuba dive class.

August 15 2017

From Krabi to Koh Phi Phi Island

Tobias Stricker Travel Log Beaches, Hiking, Koh Phi Phi, Krabi, Maya Bay, Thailand, Trails

About hiking to remote temples and sailing to idyllic islands – Travel log no. 88

Back on the mainland I took a bus to Krabi. Around 5 pm I arrived at my hostel. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t welcoming at all. Still I drove out to explore the Tiger Temple on top of a near by mountain. The only barrier between me and the temple should be the 1200 steps wet after hours of rain and the setting sun. Never the less I made it up there and the view should be definitely worth the risk.

Temple, Krabi — Before going up I explored this temple next to the 1200 stairs.

The way up was treacherous and long. Especially because the steps were wet, steep and with different heights.

Tiger Temple, Krabi — Finally at the top I was still able to grasp the sunset over the cloudy peaks.

Tiger Temple, Thailand — Another view from the other side of the Tiger Temple.

In the morning I left to Koh Phi Phi. A little bit to early since Krabi is really worth staying longer. It is less touristy, has beautiful beaches and cool hikes.

On the trip to Koh Phi Phi I met Philipp with whom I traveled the next days.

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand — Koh Phi Phi is coming up on the horizon.

After checking into our hostel we explored the island together.

Viewpoint, Koh Phi Phi — Philipp and I sitting on a viewpoint overlooking the island of Koh Phi Phi.

The island is just inhabited due to the tourism. Never the less if you open yourself up to the idea you can still have a great time. We made some friends and went to the Banana bar to watch an open air movie. Afterwards we went to see Muay Thai boxing where everybody can compete in a fight for a bucket of booze.

Early in the morning I explored the small island by boat.

Ko Phi Phi Lee, Thailand — Ko Phi Phi Lee with it’s famous Maya Bay comes up on the horizon.

Pileh Lagoon, Thailand — Here a view from inside the Pileh Lagoon.

Pileh Lagoon, Koh Phi Phi — And another one facing the exit.

Loh Samah Bay, Thailand — Passing through the Loh Samah Bay.

Maya Bay, Thailand — Taking the last turn to the famous Maya Bay know from the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo Di Caprio.

Maya Bay, Koh Phi Phi — Finally the view from inside the Maya Bay.

Limp but still happy I left the island to explore Phuket together with Philipp.