After two and a half years I have had spent in Australia, the time has come to go back home. But, before that, I have decided to take a closer look at two very different Asian countries - Thailand and Japan.
First - the Kingdom of Syam, Thailand.
We will visit Bangkok, the capital city and the largest concentration of people in Thailand, then the old capital city - Ayuthaya, Chiang Mai and surrounding villages in the mountains, The Phuket Island, Krabi, Phi-Phi Islands, Koh Chang Island and many more.
Thailand is well known of the entrepreneurship of the people, also the love for the royal family as well as of the many exotic places all around the country.
We travel with Thai airlines; the flight from Sydney to Bangkok takes about nine hours.
The Suvarnabhumi Airport terminals are impressive from the first glance. The airport opened in September 2006. Modern, huge and very, very busy.
Only 30% of the construction costs were covered by Airports of Thailand, while another 70% came from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
This photo had been taken from the balcony located in the center of the hall, which spreads as far on the left as on the right side.
The first surprise was the outside temperature and humidity. If you have ever put your face into a bowl of warm pudding, you know the feeling!
In order to avoid finding oneself in a foreign country, in the middle of the night, with no place to go, it is a good idea to book a hotel room via Internet in advance. At least for one day.
We have found a decent looking room just to find that pictures shown on Internet not necessarily match reality.
From my experience, the less luxurious the place, the more interesting it turns out to be. At least most of the time.
Unfortunately, after two nights of breathing in the fumes of thousands of cigarettes, which had been smoked in the room before, we had to move somewhere else.
But before it happened, we spent some time on explore the Chinatown, where our hotel was located.
Chinatown is a busy part of town with very few tourists around.
If you are looking for fancy elevations, ivy walls or romantic balconies, forget about it. Dirty concrete and lots of wires tangled up, or steel and glass skyscrapers are what Bangkok offers if it comes to modern architecture.
On the other hand, there are also unique ancient monuments to find.
Chinese tidbits are being offered all around the area...
...and the social life takes over the night.
As it in Asia, childhood tends to end up quickly as someone must help supporting the family. This boy sells flowers.
Despite late hours (this picture was taken at 2 A.M.) people snacking at street stalls are to be spotted quite often.
Hotel window view. Bangkok is ugly for some and fascinating for others. I count myself into the second category.
Thai people are deeply religious - places of worship can be found even in such unusual places like rooftops.
Will or will not fall... Safety regulations are definitely more liberal from the ones in Europe.
A friend of mine is holding a bottle of Singha, one of the leading brands of beer. The other very popular brand is Chang. Both very tasty.
I haven't run across another brand - Cheers. Is this because the billboards, despite of their size, are not very effective? Or because they aren't properly washed?
Not washed and never will be as the cleaners are made of plastic.
Let's take a walk down the city streets.
Unlike in Japan, and almost like India, driving reaches the levels of chaos Europeans can't imagine. All kinds of vehicles stop wherever the drivers feel like to stop them.
Cats have no tails and if they do have them, the tails look somewhat trimmed.
The other day I asked a by passer about the subject.
- And your cats do have tails? - he seemed to be puzzled, although I suspect a subtle presence of humor in that question.
The matter of trimmed tails is a mystery to me even today.
Traveling in Thailand is relatively cheap. On longer distances (like half-hour distance) it is worth taking a taxi. The price should be around 2 USD. As long as you're a good bargainer.
Metro costs are pretty much the same as taxis, and definitely worth considering in traffic hours.
If you want to pay even less, city busses are widely available, although you need to know where you are going in order to get a ticket from bus conductor.
Main streets crossing.
Traffic is big and toxic emission restrictions are low.
In effect massive smog floats above the city.
Policemen regulating traffic try not to swallow too much lead by wearing masks.
The city develops constantly. It doesn't take long to spot another concrete tower rising.
Construction workers look like they just had been collecting rice on their farms. Hard hats are rare as well as steel cap safety shoes (if any!). Clothing is casual and I don't remember seeing any safety goggles or harnesses.
Above all their spirits are high.
Maybe it is because they can feel breeze on their faces while on the way to work.
City streets are full of life...
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