Matt Down Under

Over Christmas and New Years I spent about 2 weeks in Germany to visit family and friends after nearly two years in Australia. Flying from Australia to Germany takes about 20 hours in total (stop-over time not included - there are no direct connections) and I had some terrible memories from when I flew down to Australia in 2008, so I decided to add in a few days of holiday in Asia to make the long flights less painful. With a stop-over in China, Thailand, Japan or some other place you can ideally split the travel time into two flights with 10h each. With some holidays in between and a modern airplane where you have your own tv etc., that’s pretty much acceptable to me.

One week before Christmas I flew to Melbourne and from there to Bangkok, using Thai Air - which I can totally recommend, great food, modern airplane, beautiful cabin crew. Leaving Melbourne I actually ended up in disappointment when I passed the customs. On international flights you still need to put fluids in a plastic bag when carried in your cabin baggage and more than 100ml per tube or package are not allowed. I wasn’t aware that my tooth paste actually was a 110ml tube, so they really confiscated my tooth paste only because it was 10ml too much - no joke. The tube wasn’t even half full, but there was ‘110ml’ printed on it, so it had to go. I was standing there totally baffled and thought about making a scene but then what’s the point… waste of time. Sometimes this world sucks more than just a bit.

Early in the morning I arrived in Thailand and looked everywhere for my hotel pickup which was part of the travel package I had booked. I couldn’t find the guys so I waited at the information counter and after a while someone picked me up and showed me a car that would bring me to my hotel in the city.

I remember the moment when I left the (air-conditioned) airport and went outside, the humidity was breath-taking. The first day in a new country or culture is always interesting, I was looking out of the window of my car during the ride and was simply fascinated. Tropical vegetation and sunshine makes me feel good. I always wanted to visit Asia but this was actually the first time I went there. My stopover in Singapore in 2008 doesn’t count as I didn’t leave the airport.

At my hotel the room wasn’t ready but it was still very early in the morning - after some waiting I got the keys and enjoyed the view over Chinatown from my room on the 16th floor. I took a shower and then I wanted to do what I always do at a new location, exploring the surroundings.

I didn’t really prepare for this trip, I totally neglected to make any plans for the five days I would spend in Bangkok - all I did was booking a tour for the Grand Palace and buying a Lonely Planet two days before departure. Maybe I simply wanted to relax this time and enjoy a holiday without planning as much as possible in advance - something I usually do.

So I grabbed a map and my camera and went walking around Chinatown, checking out the surroundings and looking for a shop that sells tooth paste. My first impressions outside: smog, pollution, heat, humidity. When you’re used to the fresh and clean Tasmanian air then Bangkok can be a real shocker. While driving into the city I saw what looked like dust covering the city and sky scrapers in the morning. Later I realised that it’s probably smog, not dust.

Chinatown is incredibly busy with countless people who sell food and snacks along the street, a very colourful part of Bangkok. The first lesson I learned after leaving the hotel: ignore the guys who are waiting outside the hotel all day and want to take you for a ride in their ‘tuk-tuk’ (a 3-wheeled taxi bike). The second lesson: crossing the road is suicide. People say there are road rules, but I couldn’t recognise any. The traffic chaos is amazing, it’s pure anarchy, but strange enough I haven’t seen a single accident during my time there. Anyway, I figured out the only safe way for crossing the street is to wait until locals cross it and then walk behind them like a shadow.

Normally I don’t have problems navigating or finding my way home to where I came from, but after an hour or two of walking through narrow streets in Chinatown I was completely lost. The maps also didn’t help and I must say it was a little bit scary. Nothing looked familiar. After a while I simply tried walking back the way I came and fortunately I managed to find my hotel again. I bought some food and finished the day early, I was terribly tired from the flight and my walk around Chinatown.