In Bangkok for the third time. By midday at the latest, it’s pouring with rain every day. The rainy season arrives just in time for my departure from Thailand. The thunderstorms don’t bother me much. Humidity was higher before, temperatures anyway. And in the morning you can at least breathe for 3 hours halfway free of smog. I throw myself into the last few days.

The most important thing: visa for Vietnam. The embassy needs two days for this and wants a rather uncommunist 65 euros for the visa. That’s why I’ve already sent in my passport with an agency from Krabi, which really made my stomach churn. I don’t have a place of residence in Germany at the moment. If the passport gets lost, that means massive problems. But the passport is there, with a visa. (more…)

Krabi is the first reasonably large town in a good week. As soon as I arrive, I grab a motorbike and ride around looking for laptop shops. What I don’t want is large displays. The prices are almost at European level. But I have no choice. I have to buy a new one now. Repairing the old one would take a month and cost the same.

After a good day of searching for the best deal, I decide in favour of an Acer Aspire. Keyboard: English with Thai. Up to five characters per key. Definitely a good reason to improve my blind typing. The laptop runs Windows Vista. Nice bollocks. You have to confirm four times to delete an icon in the start menu. (more…)

On our last day on Ko Lanta, we treat ourselves to something special. For a good 20 euros, we take a speed boat across the Andaman Sea to Ko Rok. Ko Rok was recommended to us by Lanta Fun Divers. They were right. At last the water is what you imagine paradise to be like: Turquoise, 20m visibility, hundreds of thousands of fish, white sand.

Despite the calm sea, the crossing is quite rough. I’ve never driven a speedboat before, but now I understand why these things need 100 litres of fuel over 50 km. A lot of energy is lost just by the constant hard impact on the water. At 70 km/h, the wind becomes a wall. The idea of taking my kiteboard and a rope with me was absolute rubbish. (more…)

We continue on to Ko Lanta with a broken laptop. The arrival is beautiful: we are showered with flower necklaces and powder on our faces for the Songkran New Year celebrations. After missing two of my clients, one of the many pushers takes us to the Blue Andaman Beach Resort. The journey there is the longest waterfall of my life.

Tom shoots a picture with the camera of his life. Can’t show how wet it was. Open TukTuk. A new bucket of water every 10 metres. Despite the rain cape, everything in the rucksack gets wet. Tom splashes a gay man in the face, but gets a kiss from a whore. I love incoherence. I’ll add something about his parents now: Tom had a water pistol. (more…)

Wir setzen über nach Ko Phi Phi. Auf der vollen Fähre läuft billig-Techno aus Notlautsprechern. Gute Einstimmung für einen Ort, über den jeder nur hörte, er sei das verlorene Paradies, nachdem hier “The Beach” gefilmt wurde. Der erste Eindruck ist gar nicht so schlimm, Keine Wolkenkratzer, und auf den Bergen gibt’s noch Bäume.

Es gibt wenig ebenen Platz auf dem größtenteils steil aus dem Meer aufragenden Ko Phi Phi. Aber der ist maximal genutzt. 2000 freiwillige Helfer für den Wiederaufbau nach dem hier recht glimpflich verlaufenen Tsunami 2004 leisteten ganze Arbeit. (more…)

The Shanti Lodge in Phuket is beautiful, but also far away – from the airport, from the city, from the beach. I arrive quite exhausted and enjoy reasonably stable WiFi for the first time in weeks. I was expecting Tom and Christiane on the 10th. There’s a big hello when they suddenly turn up today. The food is great – and very expensive. Just like everything else in the lodge.

On the second day, we hire scooters and drive into Phuket City. The whole island seems to be one big settlement. Everything looks the same. Perfect for getting around. We get ferry tickets to Ko Phi Phi and go shopping. A 3-month parcel to Germany would cost 40 euros. So I carry my winter clothes from New Zealand with me until the end of my trip around the world. (more…)

Unrested, Chiangmai Adventures picks me up early in the morning in a minibus. There are only five people in the group. I’m happy about that. It’s a two-hour journey north to a remote mountain valley near Mae Taeng. The track is insane. I’m not at all surprised when a bulldozer makes a makeshift levelling of the road in front of us.

After 10 kilometres of washboard, we head out onto the river. Small inflatable rafts for two people, each with their own private guide. The water level is low, difficulty level 3, there are lots of rocks and little water, so it’s not without danger. After half an hour of leisurely paddling through the jungle, the first nasty rapids appear. (more…)

I’m back on the banks of the Mekong just in time for sunrise. The local longboat club is paddling their hearts out. Just 10 kilometres to the north, I’m finally in the middle of the Golden Triangle. Thailand, Burma and Laos meet here. Advertising signs advertise opium museums. A few expensive resorts pay homage to the old days in the middle of nowhere.

Many Thais here drive conspicuously fat off-road vehicles. Life still seems to be more lucrative than elsewhere in Thailand. The local police stations look like small temples, all the policemen have new uniforms. Justice is also worthwhile here. I pass through a good two dozen checkpoints by the evening. (more…)

Somehow I always end up having long nights before long tours. Early in the evening, I’m standing outside my room door and want to go to sleep. Then I hear Thais playing reggae in the bar 20 metres away. Good, a beer. The band looks like the Gorillaz crossed with Japanese anime characters. Weird, very weird. A Tyrolean woman on permanent holiday comes to my table, then four Americans. Whoosh. Two o’clock.

The skull from last night’s house-fuelled rum is still gigantic at nine o’clock. Six o’clock was the plan. After an emergency breakfast, I go to the bike hire shop round the corner. He changes the oil, for which I am grateful. Then it’s off on the motorbike to the Mekong. Chiang Mai only knows one riding style: kamikaze. No problem with the hangover. (more…)

The journey to Chiang Mai is stressful despite the deluxe VIP bus. The road has more potholes than tarmac. I sit right at the back, where it rocks the most and the backrests can’t really be folded down. What the hell, I’m used to travelling almost without sleep. The sunrise behind the mountains in Chiang Mai is bombastic. After a short search, I find a nice guesthouse.

Chiang Mai is built like a Roman legionary camp and has some parallels to Regensburg. Two meridians meet in the centre of a square fortification consisting of a city wall and moat with four gates. There is not much left of the walls, but the old town has some beautiful corners and of course plenty of temples. (more…)

I can do almost everything I need to do in Bangkok. My walking boots have taken me halfway round the world. But now I’ve had enough. Getting size 46 sandals is quite difficult in the land of small feet. The first street vendor wants a photo of my feet. Web design is a little quieter at the moment, and that’s a good thing. My fingertips are still bleeding from Australia.

I make the most of the time. After two days in Smogcity, I take the Skytrain to the Victory Monument. From there by minibus 80km north for next to nothing. The biggest problem: at most 10% of all Thais speak English. And of those, 90% speak only rudimentary English. Should I learn something? Phrases like “Mai mai mai mai?” Put me off. The differences in intonation alone mean “New wood burns well, doesn’t it?” (more…)

I sleep through the afternoon. Then I’m hungry again. There are lots of tourist hotels on Silom Road. Food is more expensive, but still cheap. There are not just 1000 different Thai dishes. There is everything. Worldwide. I go to a Lebanese restaurant. Four huge courses, endlessly delicious plus drinks for eight euros. How much does heaven cost?

Red light is just round the corner, ticked off under “as expected”. Beautiful yellow women, ugly white men. On to the Lumpini Stadium. Tuesday night is Thai boxing night. The prices are steep, doubled since last year. I arrive at half-time and see three more fights. Tough but fair. The most interesting thing: the bookies with their hectic sign language. Black Tuesday in Bangkok. (more…)

I arrive at Sydney Airport three hours before departure. Forgot a traveller’s cheque two months ago, run from pillar to post and back to get it back. Qantas only found it again at the gate. I have a crash landing before departure: British Airways has changed its baggage rules again. Drastic. I knew about it thanks to HP, but didn’t want to believe it.

I bought my round-the-world ticket a year ago. Because I was allowed to take 23kg of kite luggage for free. Now British Airways prohibits the carriage of any boards. Halfway round the world and then you’re allowed to leave half your luggage behind. Unimaginable for normal travellers. For kiters, everyday life from now on. Read the whole story at Oase. (more…)