When you travel to a place like Bangkok by yourself and stay in an area as touristic as Khaosan Road, you will soon start to wonder about the real Thailand. I've been to a few different districts, like Thewet or Chinatown, and it's all different colors, but it's still Bangkok. Whenever I go out to eat breakfast or have dinner I hear people talk. They all talk about where they're from, where they're going next, same stuff over and over again. And one thing I heard got me thinking. They say, Thailand is so much more than Bangkok.
So today, I left Bangkok. I found out that there's tons of tours and packages being offered. I asked a friend about Myanmar and Laos, but soon had second thoughts about it, because a flight might be stretching my budget a bit too much. I followed a fellow tourist to a travel agency, which is also a coffee shop, and leafed through a pamphlet. Different people, people of all kind from different parts of the world, book seats in a limousine bus and go to places outside of the city. Well, why not, I thought, and booked a fare to Chiang Mai.
So today, I left Bangkok. I found out that there's tons of tours and packages being offered. I asked a friend about Myanmar and Laos, but soon had second thoughts about it, because a flight might be stretching my budget a bit too much. I followed a fellow tourist to a travel agency, which is also a coffee shop, and leafed through a pamphlet. Different people, people of all kind from different parts of the world, book seats in a limousine bus and go to places outside of the city. Well, why not, I thought, and booked a fare to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is situated about seven hundred kilometers north of Bangkok, it's the biggest city of northern Thailand. It was founded by King Mengrai, the 25th King of Ngoen Yang, in 1296. It is now home to nearly a million people and over three hundred Buddhist temples. Back in the days Burma was a constant threat to the city so they built up a defensive wall which is now marking the boundaries of the city center. Chiang Mai has long been a place famous for wooden handcrafts, jewelry and fabrics, and over time it has become a quite modern city.
The bus left this evening at six thirty. After meeting in front of the agency the group was led to a parking lot where a huge double decker was waiting. A bunch of people was already sitting in their seats, looking out the window, mustering their newly arriving companions. People with bigger bags get their luggage stowed away, I only had some clothes in a plastic bag and my rucksack. I was told it would take twelve hours, the same amount of time it would take a plane to get back to Germany, and I wondered why the bus needs a dozen hours for seven hundred kilometers.
I was worried a little bit, but it turned out to be quite a nice journey. I read a bit, wrote a bit, and watched Will Smith play Hancock again. After that they showed some fantasy adventure flick I wasn't interested in, so I listened to the Far East Project's Common remixes till the bus stopped at a rest station, a pretty big place illuminated by a strangely yellow light, offering noodles and snacks, fruits and bottled water. Twenty minutes later everybody was back on the bus. The lights went off and I finally fell asleep.
The bus left this evening at six thirty. After meeting in front of the agency the group was led to a parking lot where a huge double decker was waiting. A bunch of people was already sitting in their seats, looking out the window, mustering their newly arriving companions. People with bigger bags get their luggage stowed away, I only had some clothes in a plastic bag and my rucksack. I was told it would take twelve hours, the same amount of time it would take a plane to get back to Germany, and I wondered why the bus needs a dozen hours for seven hundred kilometers.
I was worried a little bit, but it turned out to be quite a nice journey. I read a bit, wrote a bit, and watched Will Smith play Hancock again. After that they showed some fantasy adventure flick I wasn't interested in, so I listened to the Far East Project's Common remixes till the bus stopped at a rest station, a pretty big place illuminated by a strangely yellow light, offering noodles and snacks, fruits and bottled water. Twenty minutes later everybody was back on the bus. The lights went off and I finally fell asleep.
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