Penang

I've lived in Penang for six months or so when I did my student exchange in USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia) back in 2008. So if getting to Bangkok felt little like coming home, getting to Penang definitely felt like it too. There is a taxi counter in the airport arrivals hall and they have list of destinations with fixed prices. It's recommended to use the stand instead of hailing a cab outside the airport, because some drivers easily "forget" to use the meter and you can get ripped off. So we got our taxi tickets for 44 ringgits and got to our hotel in George Town. After checking in and chilling a bit we headed out to find some food. After 5-10 minutes walking we hit the jackpot as we found a little street filled with different stalls selling all the local specialties. Penang is a melting pot of cultures and it also means a diverse and delicious food culture. I ended up ordering some Hokkien Hae Mee from an old Chinese lady who didn't speak English almost at all. The dish consisted of some noodles, chicken, prawns, fish cakes and some other not-so-easily-recognizable ingredients in a savory broth. I had some Dragon fruit juice to go with that which actually cost more than the food but 14 ringgits (2.9€) for the whole set was not bad at all!

Some of the food stalls

Slurping it

After the meal we continued our walk, the next stop being KOMTAR. It is easily seen and recognized from all around George Town, but as far as shopping goes there is very limited options and many of the shops have shut down. We spent some time there wandering around in few interesting shops we found and then continued our way along Jalan Penang towards George Town nightlife. It had been two hours since the food stall stop and we were getting pretty hungry so we went to Red Garden, a hawker center with dozens of food stalls to choose from. I went with roasted duck and Sini had some Nasi Goreng Pattaya, both dishes tasting delicious. Our stomachs full we walked to the nearby bar area to enjoy some liquid bread before taking a taxi back to our hotel.

The following day we went to Gurney Plaza, a nine stories shopping mall with 380 stores. Beats KOMTAR. Other than that we just took it easy and stayed at the hotel and later went to Red Garden again. 

There's a ton of street art scattered around George Town and we went on a hunt to find some on the third day. Chinatown was a good place to start so there we went. Sini had saved a screenshot of a art map which we used to find some of the paintings. Locals were very interested about the art pieces also and there were many groups doing some spotting around the city's tiny streets. We also spotted Chew Jetty across the street and went there for a walk. There are Chinese clans living in villages built on stilts above the water and Chew Jetty is one of the most visited ones. The jetties were formed in 19th century when Chinese immigrants came to Penang and worked near the port and nowadays they have UNESCO world heritage status.

After spending some time in the jetty we slowly made our way to a scooter rental place I had spotted earlier online. This time they actually asked if we had international driving licenses and after presenting them we got our scooter pretty quickly. It was a reputable company with plenty of good reviews but it's still always a good precaution to take pictures of the scratches and other damage the bike might have so they don't blame you later for those and ask for money. We made our way towards my old hoods in Gelugor. During my studies we lived in Sunny Ville and although I've visited Penang after that I've not been to our old place since.  Luckily they didn't ask us anything at the gate and we got to the premises for a short visit. The cafe had changed a bit but otherwise the place looked pretty much the same as in 2008. From Sunny Ville we rode to Bayan Lepas, Balik Pulau and took the curvy hill road back to George Town. After returning the scooter we had dinner in Red Garden. Yes. Again. Hey don't look at me like that, if Anthony Bourdain has eaten there they must have some pretty darn good food!

We still had one stop before going to sleep. We went to KOMTAR's bus station and got our tickets to Cameron Highlands for the next day. Across the station I spotted a place selling Cendol and that was on my list for dishes to try so I got a bowl of it. As weird as it looks it's actually very good even though I'm not usually a fan of sweet things. There's coconut milk, grass jelly, shaved ice and tons of palm sugar. Malaysian version also contained some red beans, yummy.

This might take a while..

Sunny Ville :)

@ Red Garden

Cendol

A short stop to Cameron Highlands

We were supposed to be in front of the bus ticket booking office 10.30 am, but being too optimistic about how long would it take to get there we were running late. Our Grab (similar to Uber) was there around 10.45 am and then we run with the guy we booked tickets from to the minivan and it actually took maybe another 15 minutes before we left the station. The minivan took us to the other bus station and it took over an hour before our bus got there. On top of that the bus ride took over four hours so it was getting dark already when we got to Tanah Rata in Cameron Highlands. We had only rough conception of where our hotel (Heritage Hotel) was located so it took some time to find it. We asked around and after a few missteps we found the place. It was getting late so we looked for a place to eat dinner nearby and called it a night.

The next day we had some daylight to explore the city. It definitely has some Europe vibe to it as the buildings look like they're taken from some village in the Alps. The climate is also cooler and it was a nice change after the hot and humid weather we'd had so far. We looked for a taxi and asked how much would it be to visit the nearby tea plantation. The driver said 20 ringgits for the return ride and a hour of waiting there. That sounded good so off we went to the Cameron Bharat Tea Estate. The views were nice and we took a walk down also. After coming back up we had some tea at the restaurant there. When we got back and paid the driver insisted that the price was 20 ringgits one way. The guy seemed nice and it might be that he wasn't trying to rip us off but nonetheless it was a good reminder to make sure you agree on the price beforehand. All in all Cameron Highlands was a nice place to visit but maybe not worth it if you're just visiting for a one day because of the long bus ride. Luckily we have time :)

- Matias 

Tanah Rata

Life is like a box of chocolates

Our route so far

Crossing the border to Langkawi

It was a beautiful, hot Tuesday when we packed our bags and headed to the beach.. though today was not the day to just lay there. No, it was time to go to the immigration so we could say our goodbyes to Thailand and hello to Malaysia.

We had booked our ferry tickets the day before from the company called Bu-ngha and paid 750 tbh each. We had read that bookings should happen at least the day before and before 6 pm. So with the tickets we went to check in, handed our passports and sat by the immigration to wait for them to call us by our names. After some time the moment came and we went to get our stamps and noticed that we didn't get our passports back just yet.. scary, but we figured (hoped) that we'll get them back on the ferry. Then after some more waiting we got to hop on a longtail boat and got a lift to the ferry. Koh Lipe does not have a pier so wear a pair of flip-flops and shorter pants so you won't get too wet when entering or leaving the island ☺️.

The trip to Langkawi took about 1,5 hours and the Malay immigration was quick and easy. Before we noticed we were sitting in a taxi, the local driver was speaking some Finnish to us and again we saw some monkeys on the street :) We stayed in Pondok Keladi Guest House. The lovely and funny host Dee lives also on the property with his partner and they were always ready to help. I was expecting some formal check in but no! Dee was so laidback and was immediately ready to show us around the property and also the nearby areas with his car. And there were even complimentary water and beer waiting for us in the fridge.. what a wonderful welcome :) The place is located approximately 1-1,5km from the beachfront and from the shops and restaurants. Dee had also rental scooters available (30 MYR per day) so it was easy to walk or drive to the busier area. After settling in we headed to search for the ATM and food. We found this small chain restaurant, I don't think you've heard of them.. umm it's called McDonald's 😁 Our food was mad cheap! I took a triple cheeseburger meal and it was 3€ (15.5 MYR). Whoa! I also learned quickly that Langkawi is like Åland for the Finn's.. tax free. So cheap beer, tobacco and parfume are available. The chocolate is also tax free and we did find this magical place which advertised to have chocolate from all over the world! Omg I got emotional just from the thought of chocolate and even more so when I thought that I might find some Finnish Fazerin sinistä (Fazer Blue (?)) from the shop.. I know myself and I am sure that I would have started weeping if I have found the best chocolate there is from there.. But this time I was out of luck unfortunately :( But! I do have one bar of Fazer Blue with me but I am saving it for 6th of December because it's a big day for Finland, celebrating 100 years of independence ❤️

Pondok Keladi

Fear factor

We were chilling in the common area of the guesthouse on our first day at Langkawi when we noticed monkeys like 10 meters from us.. they were climbing on trees and getting closer to us.. luckily Dee's dogs scare them away. Then when I went back in to our room, noticed some droppings on the bedside table.. quick Google search taught me that it could be gecko feces and it could get us ill. Gecko droppings contains salmonella and when inhaled.. well you get salmonella also. I was horrified. Then, just when we were heading out to eat, the thunder started booming.. and like that wasn't enough the toilet stopped flushing! "Omg!!!"

I guess it's good to clarify that I  am scared of monkeys, bugs, getting ill, bacteria and for example.. thunder. I like safety and cleanliness.. This night it felt like many of my fears were coming true and I was way out of my comfort zone, again! I was panicking. Luckily I am fortunate enough to have an amazing boyfriend who understands me and Matias said we could have dinner at the guesthouse (guesthouse has a shared kitchen and offers toast, eggs, noodles and coffee for free) and just chill at our room (our gecko poo room 😂). I got the immidiate fear out of my system and started soon to make jokes already about the dirty monkeys and the evening went nicely. We ended up to stay in this place for three nights because,  i dont know, it still felt like a good and safe place to stay.

Cruising around Langkawi

The second day we rented a scooter and went to the cable car which was around 17km away from Pondok Kelodi and Cenang beach. When we got to the cable car park, we saw that this was actually a big touristic place with different kinds of tax-free shops and fun things to do. We bought  the basic package which included the cable car ride and entrance to SkyDome, SkyRex and 3D arts museum. It cost us 55 MYR (11€) per person. The cable car ride was actually scary! Scarier than the one in Barcelona! If I understood correctly, the Langkawi one is the steepest in the world and it sure felt like it! :) A good experience! After getting back to the ground level we headed to the SkyDome where we watched some short films. It was ok but nothing spectacular. After that we went to the SkyRex which had a cart that fits around 30 passengers. We got 3D glasses and sat down with some scared Malay girls :D The cart rolled to an area with 180 degrees screens and some kind of platform that allowed the cart to move and all of a suddent we were a part of Jurassic Park type of a ride where the Tyrannosaurus tried to eat us! Fun ride and it definitely exceeded my expectations :) The 3D arts museum was cool too. A big place filled with 3D art that you could photograph yourself with. Here's some examples:

Later that night we ended up in a Korean restaurant called Haroo. It was top rated on TripAdvisor. The atmosphere was nice and the lady who was waitering us was absolutely wonderful! We ordered kimchi and she was in awe like "how do YOU Europeans know kimchi and how do you dare to order it?" It was out of ordinary I guess! She was happy that we knew their traditional dish and that we ordered and ate it :) We highly recommend this restaurant :) (I must add that it was thundering again but I found some courage somewhere and hopped on the scooter still.. a personal win for me :))

Our purpose was to stay in Langkawi for two nights and take a ferry to Penang but Dee said that we should think about the flying possibility also. So we checked the prices and found a very cheap Air Asia flight so that's what we booked. We paid 266 MYR with the value package (including 20kg luggage and a meal). We could have gotten it a little cheaper without the package and with 15kg luggage allowance but we hadn't tested how much our backpacks weight before buying the tickets.

On the third day on the island we hopped on the scooter again and went to Kuah to see the famous eagle statue and then back to Cenang beach to walk and wander around. We were surprised how many jellyfish we saw there! We didn't see any in Thailand so that was strange. After some wandering around we were heading back to the main street from the beach. I tried so hard to watch my step but then.. it happened. I stepped on to something sharp and started bleeding a lot from my heel. An old Malay man came to say that I have to push the blood out first rather than stop the bleeding. He was sure it was a rusty nail that I had stepped on to.. I figured it was a rock or a piece of sharp plastic.. either way I was not happy. Shit! (Ja paljon muita kirosanoja..) The man also said that I needed "a shot" and he wasn't taking about tequila alright.. but I had my latest tetanus shot on September so I was confused should I go see a doc or not. We went back to the guesthouse and I started my Google search.. Dee called his medical friend and he said that because my tetanus is ok, I don't need to worry.. well.. I worried. Again thanks to Whatsapp, I asked help from home and got the "ok" from there also and was able to breathe again. Just some Dettol cleaning liquid there and some bandaid and I was good to go. On Friday I felt that it really was time to get out of this island and see what else Malaysia has to offer. Off to Penang we went! Hopefully we (I)  have less scarier times ahead..

- Sini

Langkawi riders

The eagle 

Our route so far

A travel gem in the Andaman Sea - Koh Mook

If you have to define a paradise I don't think there is just one right answer. For me it's a small place with fine white sand on a beautiful beach, palm trees and sunshine and it's somewhere secluded and not too touristy. When our ferry took us to Koh Mook I instantly felt like I could stay there for a longer time even before we got to our bungalow and that this place fits my definition of a paradise perfectly. There were small restaurants and travel agencies next to the pier but you could instantly tell that tourism hasn't affected the infrastructure too much yet.

Arriving to the tropical paradise

Quiet streets of Koh Mook

Everything is basically within walking distance in Koh Mook. When you arrive to the pier there is a taxi service (motorbikes with carts) which costs 50thb per person and takes you anywhere on the island. We opted to walk and see the area as we go. Thailand is called the land of smiles and in Koh Mook it really holds true. Local people were always smiling and greeting regardless if you ate at the restaurant next to theirs and they were being nice and helpful without trying to sell anything or benefit some other way. When we were in Phuket and Phi Phi it could get annoying when there's constantly someone trying to sell you something, probably even talking your own language a bit ("Terve, mitä kuuluu?!"). There those famous smiles feel sometimes forced.

On the first day we went to look around after checking in to Village Garden Bungalows. We bumped into a nice bar on the beach (De Tara Beach Resort's bar) and had the place entirely to ourselves if you don't count the little snake that we saw a moment earlier. After some refreshments we made our way to Farang Beach on the other side of the island to have some late lunch. On the way we saw an adorable (and the only?) village and the nature was beautiful as well. Enjoying a good and cheap meal while the sun was getting down and the waves were hitting the beach gently was just perfect and one of those moments you look back to many times in the future. It can't get much better than this but our dinner in Yummy Restaurant later on made it a bit better still. A seafood hotplate served in a flavorful coconutty sauce was a wonderful way to end our first day in Mook.

De Tara's bar

Views from the road to Farang Beach 

Beautiful nature of Koh Mook

Farang Beach sunset

On the second day we did a snorkeling trip around the island including a visit to the Emerald Cave. Basically there's only a small opening and you swim through it and after a little less than 100 meters in the darkness the daylight starts to show and you arrive on this small beach. Our guide had a small flashlight with him but the cave is still really dark. Steep rock walls surround the beach and the story goes that pirates hid their treasures there a long time ago... The cave was definitely worth a visit and we saw lots of different fish while snorkeling so I really recommend doing the trip. We stopped in various locations and the guide was snorkeling with us and showing us best places to spot fish. The whole trip took us 3 hours and it was 1200thb for the boat regardless of how many people attended.

Next day we found a great place to eat breakfast (Sugar's Coffee & Restaurant) right next to a quiet beach with some beautiful scenery. We could have just sat there for hours. Later we headed to De Tara's bar for drinks and from there we took a walk on the beach around the sharp peninsula. There's an expensive resort there but the beach is free to wander around. Other than that we were just chilling the rest of the day, just as you should once in paradise :)

Getting to Koh Mook 

You can get to Koh Mook and the neighboring islands Koh Ngai and Koh Kradan either from Koh Lanta or from the mainland through Trang. Many travel agencies sell the ferry or speedboat tickets and they should also include the transport from the hotel to the pier. Our tickets from Koh Lanta cost us 600tbh per person and we bought them straight from our own hotel's travel agent.

Also remember to bring cash, there are no ATMs on the island. Some places change money though. 

The entrance to the Emerald Cave 

On the other side of the cave

Plenty of life under the surface 

A starfish

Breakfast at Sugar's Coffee 

Bumpy ride to Koh Lipe with Sunburn Express 

You can get from Koh Mook to Koh Lipe either by a speedboat or with a ferry. The high season in Thailand is just getting started so right now there's only the speedboat option. So we got the tickets for it (1300tbh per person) the previous day and woke up early so we had time to go to Sugar's Coffee again. We had a pick up at 10 am and the motorbike taxi took us to the pier. The speedboat was supposed to leave at 11.00. We waited. And waited. And then... we waited some more. This is quite common in Southeast Asia and you should try to just stay calm, because the conception of time is, umm, somewhat different here than in many western countries. Luckily our speedboat was only one hour behind the schedule and at noon we left Koh Mook behind us. I would definitely like to get back there and visit Koh Ngai and Koh Kradan also  someday. There were seats inside but we stayed in the front enjoying the sun. Our plan was to stay there for half an hour or so and after that get in the shade. But as the boat flew through the waves and the wind cooled us down we kind of forgot our plan.. And got, unsurprisingly, little sunburned. The ride was bumpy and fun though. 

We stayed in Koh Lipe for two nights but there's not much to tell about it. There should be some nice snorkeling and diving opportunities but we didn't take any trips there. Other than that it felt similar to Koh Phi Phi, tourists filling the walking street and restaurants selling western dishes and playing western music (if you do stay here try pizza or burgers at Elephant). All in all an ok place to visit but I would not want to stay there longer.

- Matias 

Waiting for the speedboat 

Our route so far

Phi Phi Islands and Koh Lanta - Kayaks and frisbees

On Monday the 13th it was time to set sails and head to the Phi Phi Islands. Our ride picked us up early in the morning and took us to the pier in Phuket town to wait for the ferry. Last time we were in Thailand we mostly traveled on the decks out with the sun but this time it felt nicer to chill inside and watch a movie. The boat ride took approximately 2 hours. Fortunately the movie ended before we got to Phi Phi so we went outside and had our first proper view of the archipelago of the Andaman sea. Wow!

Phi Phi Don closing in

After hitting the shore we paid the island fee (20tbh) and started to navigate towards our hotel.
I have been on a small island before (Koh Tao.. what a paradise 😍), but still the place amazed me.
I mean the narrow streets filled with shops and how there were no tuk tuks or taxis or anything like that (Ok the police had a scooter but other than that..). It was like a walking street all the way. Cool!

We left our stuff at the hotel and headed to the beach. As we got closer to it the more in awe I was. It's so beautiful! I mean Bangkok and Phuket are cool, but this is what I consider a piece of paradise and sights like this is what I seek.

Loh Dalum beach

Later on that day we rented a kayak from the beach. Matias googled that the price should be 200tbh per hour (two person), but the salesman said 300tbh/1h and 500tbh/2h. We did some bargaining and got the kayak for 400tbh/2h.

I got the front seat and off we went! I have kayaked only once before in the canals of Leiden (The Netherlands) so I was a little scared when we got closer to the open, more unsteady waters. There might have been a scream or two.. 🙈😁 The sun was getting low so first we headed to the Monkey Beach where we once again saw monkeys. This time I stayed far away because no monkey shall ever try to steal from me again! :D Matias on the other hand felt right at ease with his hairier mates ;) after awhile we kayaked a bit more to see the sunset. Ai ai ai.. I highly recommend kayaking, it's good exercise and you see and experience a lot. Big thumbs up!

Paddling

In the evening we were walking around and doing some cat spotting (there are so many cute cats on the island!) as we found out there was a fireshow in a bar called Carlito's. Off we went and it was not a disappointing experience! Guys were dancing to the music and spinning their fireball sticks with mad skills. It seems to be a quite popular umm sports (?) here in Thailand. I am beginning to wonder if they teach that also in schools and how could I learn the skills also. I mean a fireshow in Turku, on Christmas 2018, held by me. Could be a thing right? :) (don't hold me accountable for this, written under the influence of Sang Som) 

Carlito's fire show

We ended up staying two nights in Phi Phi, but the second day was just for laundry, chilling, reading and eating :)

On Wednesday we headed our ways to Koh Lanta. The trip took about one hour from Phi Phi.
We planned to carry on with our trip the next day so we stayed close to the pier in Saladan.
As we walked to our hotel, Matias noticed that the tide was low and there was a lot of open area just for us.. and what was the idea he got into his head? Well of course to practise some Frisbeegolf (disc golf)! :D this guy! Matias has taken few frisbees with him because you never know when moments and opportunities like this arise 😅
We watched the crabs on the beach for a bit and then started to throw the damn frisbees :D it was awesome! Barefoot, on the sand, the sun was shining and the temperature was reaching +30 degrees. And also it was wonderful to notice that my forehand has gotten some power (I mean, do not get me wrong.. not like Paul McBeth but! I may start to use my forehand next summer on the courses too 😋)

Practice time!

Doing some maintenance

Later on that evening we went out to eat and Matias had locked eyes with some mantis shrimps. They looked creepy but he wanted to try one of them (they actually do freak me out a little bit :D editor's note from Matias) . It cost 1000tbh/kg and Matias picked his dinner (one mantis shrimp) from the aquarium and sat down to wait. Later the thingy arrived with some deep-fried garlic. The shrimp looked weird but it actually tasted really nice. Matias said it was the softest shellfish meat he had ever gotten :) I also tried it and it was yummy. So thumbs up for the mantis shrimp then! :)

- Sini

Freaky things

A yummy thing 

Our route so far

Scootering around Phuket

One week ago we decided to leave Bangkok finally behind and continue our journey to Phuket. We searched for the flights one day before flying (I use Skyscanner almost always) and got the tickets with Thai Airways for a reasonably good price. We also booked a hotel near the Phuket airport because the most popular beaches are still a long way from there and our flight landed after 9 pm.

In the hotel we searched for what would be the best place to stay in Phuket and decided to go with Kata Beach first. Patong is the most touristy one with all kinds of attractions (particularly for single men...), Karon is a bit smaller and Kata's the most quiet one. When we got to Kata next day we stayed at Little Mermaid Guesthouse & Restaurant. It was budget friendly but we had to change rooms because of a bad smell in the bathroom and some little bugs all around the room. Also it was located a little further away from the beach. No thumbs up.

Kata Beach in Phuket 

When it rains, it pours

Our next hotel, Pro Andaman Place, was in Karon and it was a way better place to stay. It had an excellent location near the beach and some good restaurants (nice live music at Two Chefs, good Thai dishes in Schlusslicht and Ying to name a few), and the two always smiling aunties who run the place made us feel very welcome. Only downside was the noise coming from the street outside but other than that it was a bargain being a thousand baht per night. There was also a temple within walking distance, Wat Suwan Khiri Khet, that we paid a visit on the second day in Karon. Later that night they held also a night market there in the temple grounds. You can find some good deals there, we bought some clothes and a couple of sunglasses 100 baht per piece.

Wat Suwan Khiri Khet

The best way to see around in Phuket and many other places is definitely renting a scooter. It's cheap, it's fun, and you easily bump into places you would never otherwise see. 24 hours rental cost us 200 baht (~5€) plus gasoline. Considering that the local Tuk Tuk drivers charge 300 baht just to go from Karon to Patong, it's a no-brainer. We drove to Patong Beach and had some lunch in Nicky's Handlebar (good memories there, cheers Darab if you're reading this!) and then continued towards north until we noticed some food stalls and people gathered around so we pulled over. The sun was getting low and it turned out to be a wonderful place to check out the sunset. Around Patong Beach the traffic can get somewhat crazy so remember to stay alert at all times if you decide to drive there.

Cheesy deliciousness at Nicky's

Kalim Beach sunset

We had rented the scooter around 4pm, so we still had plenty of time to use it on the next day. After a late breakfast we turned on the ignition, fired up the engine and rode our 125cc beast to Phuket's Big Buddha, which was about 16 km away from our hotel. The views were nice, the buddha statue was big standing 45 meters high, and the monkeys near one of the viewpoints were trying to steal everything they could including our water. We won that battle, at least this time.

The Big Buddha

A monkey and the view

A cup of joe on our way back

Our route so far

Bangkok (not so) dangerous

I guess it's my time to take the wheel now!

So this is my second time in Asia and for me too it felt good to be back in Bangkok :) It's a vibrant city with lots to do and see. Also it's more western, comfy but exotic :) A good way to start this big trip. Also I didn't see any cockroaches 👍

On Saturday we went to see Thor Ragnarok in an IMAX teather in the Toyota Quartier. It was a cool experience! First we made sure that movie "with soundtrack" meant that it's in English with thai subtitles so we could understand it.. the movie was ok, but the quality of the sound and image was astonishing! Really good experience so we didn't mind to pay 9€ per ticket!

On Sunday the fifth was a big day, the birthday of Matias! :)
I had already asked him months ago what he'd like to do on this day and the answer was then 'floating market'.. so what else is there to do than just go for it,  right :)
We hopped on a BTS and went to the Bang Wa station. From there we took a taxi to the market (Khlong Lat Mayom). It cost only 100tbh and it took around 15min to get there. It was packed with locals and few Western people. We strolled around and looked at all the wonderful things there was to eat there (I wasn't ready to eat anything.. I mean I didn't see any fridgerators anywhere...how could it be safe😅). Matias saw this one snakehead fish stall and we both remembered seeing this in an YouTube video by our favourite Mark Wiens. Matias was excited about the fish so of course I had to get his bday fish for him :) So we sat down and ate it :D "the fish and the sauce was a very good combination and a cool local experience" said Matias. I myself wouldn't say it was a feast but I am happy I tried it and experienced it too :)

Snakehead fish

After coming from the market we ended up at Nana station. Last time we were in Bkk Matias had a 200tbh haircut there and he was looking so scrubby already on day 5 so we went to find the familiar cheap salon :) Matias had his clean cool shave costing  200tbh and I figured that I need to ask how much would it be for my hair.. and it was only 300tbh! What the Hell i thought! Let's do this! So i sat down and now I have a quite short hair but luckily i don't think i need a haircut before the Philippines ;)

300tbh haircut 

In the evening we were in the area of On Nut and Matias had googled a beefy buffet nearby (Best Beef). So we went there and what an experience it was! It was 269tbh only with the meat but 439tbh including beer (separately 100tbh/bottle) and soft drinks.. "hmm we do have a flight tomorrow and had couple of Sang Som rum drinks already.. but if we have three beers in total.. we are winning!".. two Finns there so what do you expect?! Of course we had the whole package! It's celebration day so let's get the bacon and beer coming! :) We had so many sort of meat and got to cook it ourselves in our own hotpot. We stayed the whole two hours there and enjoyed  our stay until the place was closed. I cannot express how cool the best beef was but I definitely would like to experience it again! Maybe we have to start our own business in Turku or somewhere else :) Ai ai ai and nomnomnom!

The menu

Best beef! 

I have to say I feel lucky to be on this trip and also that I have had the opportunity to chat with my granny and my family few times already with WhatsApp.. thank God for the internet! :)

I am btw writing this from Karon beach, Phuket, but maybe i'll save something for the next time :)

- Sini




Our route so far

Bangkok vibes, peanuts and vaccinations

Our flight took only 9 hours but we were pretty tired for the first day. Not too much sleep in the plane. If you have only one-way ticket you might run into problems although it's not likely. I've been asked for onward ticket only one time when I was flying from Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur. That time the check-in agent had to make some calls but it was not a big issue and I could board the plane. This time we used an online service called bestonwardticket.com. I was a little hesitant about it because they don't have many reviews yet being a rather new site but it worked like a charm. They actually book you a real ticket which you can present if someone asks for it. Then they cancel the ticket 48 hours after purchasing.

Apart from being quite tired it felt good to be in Bangkok again, it felt a little like coming home after a long time. After taking the train from BKK airport to Sukhumvit we found our hotel pretty quickly. Staying close to Terminal 21 shopping mall we decided to make it our first stop. There's an excellent food court there where you have many tasty food options for less than 1€.

Made it! 

Loving street food and being allergic to peanuts is not always the best combination in Thailand. If you are in the same situation I recommend printing an allergy card translated in Thai. And actually using it if you're unsure about the dish which I didn't do so of course I got something peanutty :p I got away with an itch and somewhat swollen tongue but next time I might take my own advice.

Yesterday we took it easy because we still had some sleep debt. A little bit of walking in Lumpini park, strolling around in MBK mall and trying out some street snacks. Later at night we had some dinner at Cabbages and Condoms (that is really the name of the place, interesting concept and good food) It was also our anniversary few days ago so no better way to celebrate it than ordering some delicious pork neck!

Lumpini Park lizard

Suspicious pork balls put to the test 

Condom fashion

Today we headed to Hospital for Tropical Diseases after breakfast. There's a travel clinic (www.thaitravelclinic.com) where you can have all the vaccinations you need at a low cost. I booked an appointment there yesterday for my Japanese encephalitis vaccination. It cost me under 700 baht (less than 20€) whereas in Finland the cost would have been around 300€. So big savings here, I recommend!

Visiting Travel Clinic 

Our route so far