Thailand and Laos, Feb-Mar 2018

After having been to Laos in 2016 I immediately decided to come back. And I have been. And I will be back again.

I can't begin to describe how much I adore Laos (and parts of northern Thailand). But wait.. let's start from the beginning.

As nobody wanted to join me for this trip I set off by myself. And I could hardly be happier about having done this journey by myself. I have met so many amazing people that made this trip unforgettable - as you might know: If you travel as a couple or in a group you don't really meet people as easily. You're an own little closed group.. your own tiny eco system. But on your own.. you reach out to people, you make connections and socialize with the ones around you.

And after a quick explanation of the route this is where I want to start: An introduction to the amazing (!) people I crossed paths with.

I flew from Kuwait to Bangkok via Abu Dhabi, landed in BKK in the evening and spent my first night there. Then I took the over night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and by van from Chiang Mai to Pai. This was my first real stop. From Pai I went back to Chiang Mai and from there to Chiang Rai, where I had an over night stop. The next morning I took a local bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong and crossed the border to Laos from there. I spent one night in Ban Houayxay and then set off to the Laotian jungle for 5 nights. For the final part I crossed the border back to Thailand, spent one night in Chiang Rai and then flew off to Bangkok, where I rented a car and drove to Sai Yok National Park, spent few nights there and then headed back to Bangkok. One more night in Bangkok and back home in the morning. All in all I had 14 nights. NOT ENOUGH. I would really love to spend a few months in this area.. explore the crap out of Laos.. Myanmar.. Vietnam.. maybe Cambodia and Thailand.

Anyhow. Here's the introduction to the awesome folks I have met. In order of appearance.

Tim from Belgium and Orla from Ireland

I met these two during my first night in Bangkok. We shared a hostel and met on the cozy terrace of said hostel. There is not much to say about these two as we just shared a few quick chats. Orla is a young, extroverted Irish girl who was just about to start a new life. Kind of an 'might just stay in SEA (South East Asia) for good' kinda attitude. Brave!

Tim was just about to start his journey too. A tattooed young guy from Belgium. He made me realize that people sometimes look intimidating but once you get to know them they're amazing people. Do I have that effect on people too? Weird hair, piercings, tattoos? Maybe. Luckily most travelers don't care about such things and just see the beauty in people.

Severine and Kim from Belgium

These are two weird girls that were traveling through Thailand together. I met them on the over-night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, together with Curtis from the UK. Again - I didn't have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with these guys as we were heading to different locations after arriving in Chiang Mai.. but I would have loved to as their craziness made the train ride fun! Two beautiful people making the most out of life with a positive attitude.

Chaz (US), Molly (US), Victoria (UK) and Danielle (UK)

So when I arrived in Pai I was too early to check in to my hotel (why did I even book a hotel instead of a hostel..? Especially here?!), so I went to 'Jazz Café' right next door, an outdoor café, all bamboo, hammocks, cheap food and drinks. While waiting for my order this dude, Chaz started chatting with me. An outgoing, extroverted and easy-going guy! He invited me to join him and his friend Molly (whom he had met a few days earlier) for brunch. So I sat at their table and these two are just amazing. So laid back, easy to socialize with and making the most out of their trip. I spent quite some time with these guys, especially Chaz - as I met him by coincidence quite a few times within 24 hours in several different locations.. weird. Molly is a friendly, open-minded girl from D.C. - and as we discovered in 'Valhalla Bar' - together we're Bob Molly (just say it out loud and you'll hear it..).

Victoria and Danielle are two girls from London, traveling together. They joined Chaz, Molly and me on occasion, mainly in the evenings during our strolls across the amazing night markets of Pai. Both seemed a little shy (or introverted?) but really friendly and lovely people. Victoria and I lost a Beerpong match against Chaz and Danielle (I blame her as when I was playing Chaz by myself I beat his butt).

The only thing I truly hated about this group were Chaz' shoes. He kept on wearing these weird toe-shoes, which made me highly uncomfortable just looking at them. Jokes aside - amazing people!

Chloe from the UK

There's not much to say about Chloe. I just met her twice, she was working in the beer-pong-bar in Pai. But I loved her outgoing relaxed hippie-vibe. Just one of the people who make you feel a little better because of the way they are.

Elodie from Belgium and Holly and Lucy from New-Zealand

I met these three on the bus from Chiang Rai to the Border of Laos. All three were about to join the Gibbon Experience in Ban Houayxay - unfortunately non of them were on my groups! Elodie is a relaxed and easy going girl with beautiful eyes, traveling through SEA by herself. After parting at the border we met again twice or thrice during the Gibbon Experience when our groups briefly met. I didn't get to know her very well but she seemed to be a person you'd like to hang out with in 'real life' (meaning not just while traveling).

Holly and Lucy joined the Express Tour in Houayxay, joining Oran (who'll be introduced in a sec). I didn't manage to chat with them a lot but they did seem to be easy-going and good to be around.

Vilde from Norway, Manuela from Colombia and Oran from Israel

This is too big - I have to split this up. But I met these three while crossing the border from Thailand to Laos and managed to convince all of them to join the Gibbon Experience. Unfortunately Oran decided to join the two-day Express tour (joining Holly and Lucy), while Vilde and Manuela joined me on the Waterfall Tour. We spent an evening in Ban Houayxay together (wow, I didn't know this town had so much to offer!) before heading off into the jungle.

Vilde. My floss buddy. My soulmate for the short time. A hyper.. crazy.. weird.. and totally amazing girl. This beautiful purple-haired weirdo managed to make an unforgettable trip even more unforgettable! I spent both evenings in the tree house with her after everyone else had gone to bed and she taught me how to play 'Casino' (an addictive card game), got drunk with me on the second evening and celebrated my birthday with me when the clock hit midnight. Vilde also taught me the importance of the word 'freaky' and what a dude-man is. Such wisdom! She truly is a person I'd love having around me in 'real life'. She also is the first Norwegian I have ever met on my travels! I really do hope to get a chance to meet up with her again one day! Everything's better with a Vilde.

Manuela. I don't think I've ever met a person who lives the 'why-not'-attitude as much as she does. Her positivity and happiness (together with Vildes) spread through the whole group. Manuela is only 22 but probably more mature than myself, who's ten years older.. yet hasn't lost her inner child. Still interested in everything in life, sucking up all the experiences and making the most of everything. Simply enjoying life to the fullest. She's very green (eco-friendly, zero-waste, vegetarian) - we can all learn from this amazing girl and I am really happy that I met her and she joined the tour! Would be great to catch up again with her some day somewhere!

Oran. Well as Oran did not join our Gibbon Experience tour I did not get to know him very well. We just shared a hotel for one night and one afternoon in Ban Houayxay. He's a really relaxed, quiet type of guy. Just an interesting person to be around - and he has traveled a lot - I met him in the middle of his amazingly long trip through half the world. He's been to so many countries already on this trip. Amazing! Actually all Israelis that I have met over the past few years during my travels are really laid-back and easy-going. And they sure do love traveling!

I am truly grateful for meeting this crazy bunch of people! Freaky!

Philipp, Peggy and Matthias from Germany

As some of you may know I really don't like meeting Germans on my travels. I Don't want to go to the end of the world just to hear my own language. It's just plain wrong. Sometimes I even hide my identity when there are Germans around. I'd just say I'm from the UK (which actually is kinda true, due to my father being Scottish). Anyhow, I decided not to hide anything from these three as we spent three days together. All three of them are great people, very different characters. While Philipp is an outgoing guy, very interested in getting to know people, languages (and has a horrible pronunciation), Peggy, his girlfriend, was more of the quiet kinda person. Maybe due to her being insecure regarding her english skills. Matthias is a cool, funny and relaxed guy - and a doctor in real life. He seemed to be enjoying every moment of our adventure and nurtured his inner child on the zip-lines.

Nicola from Italy and Thun from Laos

I met Nicola, Thun and quite a few other Laotians in the small village of Ban Toup (which is the starting point of the Gibbon Experiences Classc Tour and Waterfall Tour). Nicola was living there for two or three years, helping to plan and construct the tree houses and building the 'dome', a new socializing center in the village. He's a really interesting person and I admire his courage to start a new life in the middle of nowhere, giving up on almost everything (Internet, cars, cellphone reception at most times, a comfortable bed,... etc). He was really happy about this simple life. Him and Thun shared their home with me for one night, before I went on my second tour with the Gibbon Experience. I shall explain more later about this day/night.. Thun is the Gibbon Experiences photographer and a total beast at 'Rattan ball' (similar to volleyball but you play it with a ball made from rattan, only using your head and feet). I was truly honored to have met these two and the other Laotians around. Being kinda integrated in their daily life was an amazing experience (and the weirdest birthday I have ever had..)

Ståle from Norway, Angelica from Sweden and Emilie and Laura from Denmark

These four I met on the second tour (the Classic Tour) of the Gibbon Experience. It was off to a bad start as Angelica (Ståles girlfriend) was feeling terrible, probably due to some food she had eaten two days earlier. She really did suffer, especially on the first day - almost on the brink of blowing it off. I am very happy that her and Ståle stayed with us (and she got better every day) as it was amazing having them around. Ståle is a photographer too and had his two analog Leica's with him. I'm not quite into analog photography but I have to admit this is pretty cool! Him and Angelica were really fun to be around - plus they played Casino with me (as Vilde got me a little addicted..). Both of them are really nice people and I had a great time having them around!

Emilie and Laura are two friends that were traveling together. They were their own little team, laughing a lot, having fun. As Ståle, Angelica and I are all in our thirties it was refreshing to have some young blood around (both, Emilie and Laura are only 21).

That's about it! I did meet a few other people, but just briefly. And without wanting to sound harsh.. but all the others I will probably forget about very soon. These folks that I wrote about (some of them anyway..) will be remembered - maybe not for ever, but for a long time. They made my trip happy, adventurous, fun, freaky, amazing and memorable.

Bangkok (23.-24.02.2018)

I never really liked Thailand. I have been to the south (Krabi in 2015), which was beautiful but overrun by tourists. Everything was just about tourism. The prices were pretty high and you couldn't step anywhere without hearing german. Bleh! Don't get me wrong, I loved the trip, but mainly because of the guys I was traveling with. They made it fun. Then I've been to Chiang Rai for a few days in 2016, which was better. Not as many tourists (still a lot though..) and some nice nature too. And temples. Yet.. it just didn't give me that true vacation-y feeling. Especially as I had just come from Laos, which was so much nicer!

Anyhow, so I arrived in Bangkok and took a local bus into the city to reach my Hostel. A beautiful little place in a back alley with a terrace right by the canal. I noticed that I had forgotten a few things (such as flip-flops and a towel), so I used the 24 hours I had in Bangkok to do some shopping. Luckily (?) Khaosan Road was in walking distance. If you haven't been to this road.. it's highly touristy. Everybody tries to sell you stuff. A taylor-made suit. Some scorpions in soy sauce. Laughing gas. Tattoos. And then there are loads of stores that all sell the same stuff. Sunglasses, bracelets, comfy clothes, souvenirs. In the evenings it turns into a party zone. Loud music blasting everywhere, ridiculously cheap ethanol (or methanol?) sold by the bucket,... you get my point. As I prefer a quiet, remote place with lots of green and fresh air.. this was terrible. Although I must say I did enjoy the people-watching. The standard german tourists with sandals and socks to their knees, hippies walking around barefoot, elderly couples clinging onto their rucksacks.. and loads of Chinese taking selfies. So many stereotypes.

So I did my shopping, had some (actually pretty decent!) food on Khaosan Road and then just spent some time on the terrace of my hostel with Tim before heading to the station. We actually saw a few huge (!) iguanas in the canal (about 1,50m long), one of them even approached to us an sat on the terrace for a bit.

Train-ride (24.-25.02.2018)

I arrived at the station early (yeah, typical German) but luckily the train was already there and I embarked. My (first class!) cabin was on wagon one, room one, bunk 1. The 'room' was ridiculously small. About 5 square meters for two people and their luggage. I shared my cabin with Otto, a guy from the UK with a mild chest infection. He slept most of the 14 hour ride.. so I didn't get a chance to talk to him a lot. Instead I occupied the corridor (which wasn't even wide/high enough so I could stand straight) and chatted with Severine, Kim and Curtis (Cur'is from Brigh'on.. if you know the accent). The train ride itself was pretty uncomfortable, the bed was hard and in some way kinda convexly shaped.. and the constant movement and rattling of the train was annoying when trying to sleep. Long story short I didn't sleep much that night but was looking forward to getting to Pai as I had only heard good stuff about it!

We arrived in Chiang Mai in the early morning and after a brief 30 minute wait I got onto a van which would take me to Pai!

Pai (25.-27.02.2018)

Calling the road from Chiang Mai to Pai curvy is a slight understatement. Actually I believe there is not a single straight bit of road. The whole 3,5 hours were curves, bends and serpentines. 762 of them to be more specific. Someone must have counted as there were signs and fridge-magnets sold in Pai saying "Chiang Mai to Pai - 762 Curves". Yet I arrived safely and walked to my hotel (again. Hotel.. why did I book a hotel instead of a hostel! Especially here a hostel would have been the better, cheaper option!). I was a bit early so I couldn't go to my bungalow yet. Instead I went to Jazz-Café, where I met Chaz and Molly. This café is amazing! A bit hippie-y, great shakes, good food and the prices are really reasonable (curry with rice and a fresh fruit shake together for 3 or 4 Euros).

After having checked in to my room I rented a scooter (again: cheap. About 3-5 Euros per day) and drove to a nearby bhudda staue, parked my scooter and walked up the 300 steps. Just to realise I forgot my phone on top of the scooter, easy to grab by anyone. So I just walked back down (the Bhudda wasn't that impressive to me anyway.. Just a Statue wrapped in bamboo planks (probably under construction). Luckily my phone was still there and I drove off to a waterfall where I coincidently met Chaz again. After having checked out this 'bad boy' (as Chaz would say) we drove to something called a bamboo bridge. Basically that gives it away. A bamboo bridge, about one kilometer long over rice terraces. Unfortunately the rice was already harvested when we came so it was just plain brown fields. We still walked it down to its end and back. Followed by the constant noise of our footsteps on the squeaky, rattling bamboo. And the terrible sight of Chaz's weird shoes, which are the stuff that nightmares are made of. After this we drove back to Pai, each to our hotels. I had a quick shower and then walked across the amazing night marked for a few hours. I grabbed some food here and there and enjoyed the relaxed vibe of Pai. Later I met up with Chaz and Molly and then was introduced to Victoria and Danielle. Together we walked along for a bit and then stopped at a bar to play beer-pong (Chaz insisted.. and who am I to say no?!). Basically I destroyed him most times - just the one time I teamed up with Victoria to challenge him and Danielle he had his 5 minutes of fame. At last I teamed up with Chaz to play two young canadians who seemed to be semi-pro at this.. but we beat them. By now I was pretty drunk (all the beer.. plus the winner got a free shot after every game).. and so we decided to head back home - after s short snack on the night market which was just about to close down. This first day in Pai felt like it was about a week long!

The second day started very early for me as I wanted to see the sunrise from Pai Canyon. I arrived at the canyon by 6am and just sat on a bench, enjoying seeing the milky way. Soon later the darkness faded and the sun rose. As it was a little hazy the sunrise wasn't that impressive but the canyon itself was! Narrow, sandy paths, an abyss on both sides and a beautiful view on the mountains. At some sections a little climbing skills came in handy. I walked around for about two hours - hardly any other people to be seen! What an incredibly beautiful place! I then drove back to my hotel and had breakfast. After that I drove off to some nearby hot springs: Several pools to bathe in - the further from the spring, the colder. I enjoyed the heat of the 35°C pool (ouch.) and then set up my hammock to have a nap. After a while Chaz and Molly joined me and we hung out at the springs together. There even was a pool that was 80°C hot - hot enough to boil eggs in it. Freaky! On the way back from the springs we stopped at a tiny bar called 'Valhalla'. A little bamboo hut in the middle of nowhere, just a few benches and a pool table. The owner greeted us as if we were old friends - what a warm welcome! Next time I'm in Pai I will definitely stay in this place (they do offer overnight stays for 60 Baht = 1,50 Euro per night). We had a game of pool and a beer, then drove off to the canyon to meet Danielle and Victoria and see the sun set. What a difference to the morning! Hundreds of people were there to see the sun set (which was more beautiful than the rise.. but all the people kinda killed the mood for me). Once the sun was gone we drove back to Pai, each to their own hotel. I just had a quick shower and then walked back to the beer pong place. I sat down, had a beer and then met Molly. When Chaz, Danielle and Victoria arrived an hour later I had a chat with a young german dude as he was asking loads of questions about different places that he wanted to see and that I fortunately already have been to. I also had a short chat with Chloe again, the bartender from the last night. She was pretty drunk today but did draw some of her art into my little travel book - appreciated! From there we collectively walked down the night market for a bit and then split up. Chaz dragged me to another bar (just for one beer!) that he wanted to check out while the girls headed 'home'. This bar called 'Hakuna Matata' was.. nothing special to me. The only thing I remember was a drawing of Serj Tankian (the lead singer of SOAD) on the wall. Then Chaz and I said our goodbyes and went home.

The next morning I left my hotel after breakfast and drove back to Chiang Mai by van. Unfortunately I had to wait for over 3 hours there before I could get a transport to Chiang Rai.. so I just sat around, did nothing, ate and minded my own business. Unfortunately Severine and Kim were out for the day, otherwise I could have had met up with them as they stayed near Chiang Mai.

Chiang Rai (27.-28.02.2018)

The van to Chiang Rai was on time and I reached my hostel in the evening. I just dropped my stuff (I had the whole room to myself) and then rented a scooter to drive to the center. I stayed at my favorite café (Cat 'n a Cup) for a bit and enjoyed the company of about two dozen cats while having a fruit shake and then walked across the night market. I already knew the place but still enjoyed the stroll.

Then I headed back home to get some sleep.

The next morning I drove straight to the bus station to catch a local bus to the border of Laos. This is where I met Elodie, Holly and Lucy. The bus ride was about two hours and not too interesting. In Chiang Khong, right next to the border I disembarked, bought a bottle of vodka (to have something to celebrate my upcoming birthday with) and then crossed the border. Right in time to meet the amazing 'trio infernale', Vilde, Manuela and Oran. Just imagine I wouldn't have stopped to buy vodka or would have taken an earlier bus to the border.. I might have never met these people! Freaky.

Ban Houayxay (28.02.-01.03.2018)

The four of us shared a tuktuk to get to the town - while waiting I managed to convince them to join the Gibbon Experience. They signed up (unfortunately Oran just went for the two-day-tour) and then we checked into a hotel. After a quick repack we met up again, had dinner and then Oran led us to a viewpoint. We enjoyed the sunset over the hills of Thailand from an old tower and then walked past a 'bhuddist monks secondary school'. We heard chanting so we stopped and were invited by two monks to join: Due to the full moon (and probably some other event) they had a little festival going on.. with food stalls and little games (such as throwing darts at balloons. The prize were some drinks). We had a chat with some monks who were really interested in us and asked the most random questions ('do you like orange juice?'). They all were incredibly polite, hospitable and friendly. Oran and I were allowed to go inside the temple and have a look around while the monks kept on talking to the girls. From there we headed out to look for a pool table (Vilde insisted on playing! And quite frankly I enjoy playing too..) but although we found out that there was one.. we did not find it. So we had a beer in a laotian karaoke bar (I have never heard anything as terrible) and then had dinner in a little restaurant by the street. From there we headed back to the hotel.

The next morning started early as we had an invitation from one of the monks to join their morning meditation at 6am. So we were at their temple at 5.50am but unfortunately there had been a misunderstanding - we were not allowed to join. So instead we had another chat with some of the monks and then saw the sunrise. After breakfast we packed our stuff and walked to the Gibbon Experiences office. After the standard safety videos and signing the we-are-not-to-be-held-reliable-in-case-you-die form.. it started!

The Gibbon Experience (01.-03.03.2018 and 04.-06.03.2018)

After a 90 minute ride on the back of a pickup truck on paved roads we had a short stop (to eat the papaya of doom) and then kept on driving on a dirt track for another hour. We reached the village of Ban Toup and then headed into the jungle.

Compared to the tour in 2016 quite a few things had changed. There was no walking through rivers anymore - small bamboo bridges were built. Although it was a lot more comfortable I didn't quite appreciate that. I liked the whole shoes-off-walk-through-the-river-shoes-back-on thing. Apart from that: No leeches this time! Hardly any mosquitos, less rats, more spiders. I even saw a group of gibbons on the second tour! And on both tours we were able to get some beer (the guide had to walk to the village and back to get them but we paid him accordingly), which is amazing. It wasn't cold and it lost a bit of its fizziness.. but it was a decent beer in the middle of the jungle. In a tree house. How awesome is that?

I am not going to go through this day by day as every day was kinda the same. Hiking, zip-lining, hiking, zip-lining, hiking.. and so on. A lot of the hikes were uphill and quite exhausting. But the tree houses made up for that. Amazing views, fresh air, colorful birds.. and the most amazing people around.

We had quite a party on the 2nd of march as we had quite a few beers and the bottle of vodka that I brought. The three germans brought a bottle of rum too.. so long story short - by 10.30pm everything was empty and we were quite tipsy. While Manuela and the Germans went to bed Vilde stayed up with me to satisfy my addiction of playing Casino and to be the first to congratulate me.

The second group (the Classic Tour) started off bad as Angelica was sick. But we fed her some medicine, carried her rucksack for her and motivated her to go on. I think she's glad that she didn't turn back as it was an amazing experience for her (and I was glad to have her and Ståle there too!). On this tour we saw the gibbons and Ståle was able to spot quite a few amazing birds - photographers eye I guess.. Apart from that we had our pet rat in the tree house (we called him Ingolf), which wasn't as shy as I'd have expected. It came out while Ståle and I were still sitting around and came really close. The second night we saw quite a few bats in the 'bathroom', swooshing through, not caring about us being around.

So to summarize these two tours: Lots of hiking and zip-lining and the coolest people around! If you're not too scared of heights, spiders, rats and other creepy crawlies and love being in nature you should definitely join one of these amazing trips some day! It's worth every penny.

Ban Toup (03.-04.03.2018)

So the night between the Waterfall Tour and the Classic Tour I had the choice to either stay in one of the kitchens or stay in Ban Toup with some of the guides (or go back to Ban Houayxay, which I really didn't want). One of the guides convinced me to go to the village - and boy am I happy that I took his advice! After saying goodbye to Vilde, Manuela and the three Germans I went to my 'home' for the next night: A shed with a few thin mattresses on the floor and a bunch of power tools in a corner. I was told to just chose one of the mattresses and dump my stuff there. Then I met Nicola and Thun. After having a chat with them we had lunch (basically just a bunch of guys standing around a table, eating sticky rice and veggies with their hands (I love eating with my hands..)) and then they went off to work on the dome.. while I had a nap. I was still a bit hungover from the drinking on the night before. Nothing so say against a good birthday nap.

After the nap I watched the construction for a bit and then had dinner with the guys. Same food. Amazing.

Now this is where the weird part starts. I was invited to join a shamanic ritual this evening (as a spectator). Of course I agreed as I was quite keen to see that - as the second non native ever - Nicola being the first. To be honest I did not quite understand what the ritual was about, the only thing I understood was that it was something about receiving a blessing from the spirits of the ancestors.

So here's what was going on (just imagine being there and you'll see why it was weird..). I sat in a shed with a bunch of locals, beside me a group of people sitting around a little open fire, in the opposite corner an old guy smoking weed with a bong and in the middle of the small shed: the ritual. A pregnant woman sitting on a bench, a tied up live pig underneath the bench. And an old shaman playing different instruments while singing, mumbling, making funny noises, dancing and walking around her, taking water from a bowl on the altar into his mouth and spitting it out over the woman, drawing circles into the dirt around her with a sword, burning papers with writings on them.. and throwing bones and horns onto the floor, looking at them, picking some back up and throw them again. Then a group of guys took the pig from underneath the bench and sacrificed it with a knife through the aorta while the shaman was still singing. Wow.. this was intense.

(no pictures of the ritual posted, as I feel it would be disrespectful)

While the guys took the pig outside to prepare it the whole ritual started from the beginning, the only change being a little boy on the bench this time. And a second pig. After this I sat outside at the fire with Nicola and Thun and watched the two pigs being prepared. Thun explained which part of the pig has to be consumed by the shaman and which part has to be consumed by the pregnant woman and the boy. Once the meat was cut up one of the guys disappeared into the forest with a torch and came back a few minutes later with a bunch of herbs and spices - doesn't get any fresher than that! The shaman was still dancing and singing inside (blindfolded now), while standing on the bench. This guy was completely in trance.. mumbling, singing, shouting, making noises. We had a few shots of Laolao (Laotian whisky) from a freshly cut bamboo cup while some kids prepared the liver and kidneys of the pigs over the open fire. After a while I got really cold so I decided to head back home and call it a night. I unfolded my sleeping bag and fell asleep. I woke up when the others returned home and one of them covered me with a second blanket.. how sweet!

The next morning I slept in and while the guys went back to work on the dome after breakfast (same food again) I packed my stuff and headed to the meeting point for the second tour. This was one unforgettably weird birthday.. from the first minute to the last.

Chiang Rai (06.-07.03.2018)

My whole group of the second tour was heading towards Chiang Rai so we deiced to stick together. After a quick shower in the Gibbon Experiences office we got a tuktuk to the border and then a van from the border to Chiang Rai. Ståle, Angelica and me went to the same hostel where I was before and shared a room while the two danish girls found a different place. After I did some repacking the three of us headed out to the night market and had some food and fruit shakes there (coincidently meeting Laura and Emilie). Then we went back to the hostel and went to bed.

I had to get up very early the next morning to catch my flight to Bangkok. A taxi took me to the airport and with two hours delay I flew off to Thailands capital.

Sai Yok (07.-09.03.2018)

After arriving in Bangkok I got my rental car - a huge pickup truck. What a beast. Driving this in Bangkok was an utter nightmare, it felt like driving an Airbus A380. Yet I managed and got out of the city. As soon as the roads were smaller and the amount of traffic decreased it started to be fun driving this monster. The 220km to Sai Yok were easily done and I checked into my hotel. A beautiful remote place, bungalows scattered over a wide area, trees and huge bamboo everywhere and the noise of cicadas ever present. I just dropped my bags and headed out to Sai Yok Waterfall, which was nearby. It was not that impressive but I enjoyed the absence of people. So I just sat there, minding my own business when a little Thai guy approached me and held his phone towards me, while Skyping with some woman. I thought he wanted to show her that he met some weird-looking tourist so I smiled and waved and then kept minding my own business. But after a few seconds I noticed that the woman was speaking english to me, saying that I need to leave as it was about to rain and the park closes. Oh well, so I left while the first big drops fell from the sky. By the time I had reached my car it was pouring down torrentially and I was soaked. I just sat in the car doing nothing but waiting for the rain to stop as it was dark by now, my windows were tinted so I couldn't see a thing to the side or back and the rain was so heavy that even with the wipers on I couldn't see properly. As I was in no hurry I just sat there for an hour until the rain had almost stopped and I drove back to the hotel.

This is where I found out what a hellhole my hotel was. Hundreds of huge ants all around an on my bed. I thought I'd be okay with that and just removed the ones from my bed and tried to sleep. But every time I had one of them on my face I woke up.. so after a while I got angry and started spraying mosquito repellent all around the bed. The ants didn't like this.. but neither did I. I got a head ache and when I read the instructions on the bottle saying 'only use outside and only small amounts' I decided to sit outside for a bit and let the fumes dissolve. Anyhow, at some point I did go to bed and did fall asleep.

After a disappointing breakfast on the next day I headed out to Sai Yok National Park. I actually just chose a random spot on the map and drove there. I found out that this is how you find cool places. On the way I stopped at a rotten bridge over the river Kwai (Khwae) and at 'Lawa Cave' - quite a cool cave, full of bats and quite impressive stalactites and stalagmites. But no lava! From there I headed to 'my' spot. Which was in the middle of nowhere, I was happy to have a decent car. Unfortunately the place was not as cool as I had hoped, so I decided to drive off to the next national park, called 'Erawan'. The drive through Sai Yok was pretty cool as I found out that I'm quite a decent rally driver. Fun! I reached Erawan Waterfall and although the place is really cool (7 main terraces of waterfalls over a length of about 2km) I was a bit disappointed by the amount of tourists. Hundreds and hundreds of them.. not what I was looking for. So I hiked all the way to the top, hoping that most people would be too lazy to go all the way. And true, is was less crowded up there and I found a little spot where I was by myself. Just sitting around, enjoying the waterfall and nature.. and stacking stones. You know, I love stacking stones! Then I headed back to my car, treated myself with a fruit shake and drove back to the hotel to have a quick shower. After all that Thai- and Laotian food i found it was time for some western food. So I discovered this little place near my hotel, it was completely deserted but I sat down and ordered a burger and a small pizza (I was really hungry..). Everything was handmade and tasted delicious! What a great place! The prices were really reasonable too, amazing discovery! After that - back to the hotel, catch some sleep (after fighting off the ants again..).

I left early the next morning and drove back to Bangkok, just had one stop at a 'monkey feeding place' near the 'Death Railway'. Luckily a farmer had just stopped and offloaded a bunch of sweet potato and corn. A few dozen macaques came running and had a feast, nice to watch!

Bangkok (09.-10.03.2018)

I reached Bangkok after an exhausting 300km drive (I took a reroute to avoid going through the city center), partially through some of the heaviest rains I've ever seen. The roads turned into rivers within few minutes and it was hard to see a thing. The windscreen wipers could hardly hold up. But I did reach and luckily there was no rain in Bangkok. My hotel was near the airport so I decided to just drop my belongings in the room, leave my car and take an Uber to the center. I had a walk around the streets and had some tasty curry and fruit shakes.. and then decided to go for a massage. After this physically exhausting vacation I had a desire to treat my body. What started off as a 30 minute foot massage (yeah, I know. Me? Foot massage? But hey, I really enjoyed that!) ended in a nother 60 minute head and shoulder massage (I was really comfortable so I just told the guy to keep going). Completely relaxed I kept on walking for a bit before heading back to the hotel by Uber. Off to bed (no ants, yay!)

The next morning started off early, I checked out, drove to the airport and dropped my rental A380 there.. and off back to Kuwait (via Abu Dhabi)..

(didn't take any more pictures here..)

One incredibly amazing vacation had come to an end. I can't even begin to describe how much I loved my time in SEA and how happy I am to have met these amazing people and seen such beautiful places.

I will definitely go back. With less stuff and more of a hippie attitude.