Food – Surfdog

Winter 17/18 – The last Day in Bangkok

The last day in Bangkok for the Winter 2017/2018 trip. Time to fly home again.

5 months- they went fast as usualy – to fast! Had to get some stuff for friends so a trip to Chinatown for today.

Lunch – i think bamboo with tofu or something

Noodles with vegetables — And noodles with vegetables

Monitor lizard — Hello Mister – waiting for the rain to stop?

Bridge — It rained hard for about 20 minutes but it was nice again after that

Klong in Bangkok — My hotel is the orange house with the big tree on the far left

Houses on canal in Bangkok — The next Hostel??

Time to fly home

Took Kuwait Airways again. The flight was a little bit over 400€ for a 6 Months ticket. Who could say no? New planes and you can book the window exit row online! FOR FREE!

Take a look at my review of Kuwait Airways if you want to know more

Exit Row Seat for the 1st leg of the flight

Kuwait Airport Bus — We landed at the old part of the airport and got bussed to the new one. Strange! Over there only empty slots. Guess the arrival is not finished yet.

Waitingroom at Kuwait Airport — And wait and wait

Back in FRA – Waiting for the train

Brezel and Beer — Why has REWE at FRA only shitty beer???

Back at the HQ

Booking.com

Winter 17/18 – A Day in Bangkok

A few pictures from a typical tourist day in Bangkok

Today is my day off. Have to meet Melanie later so I walked a bit to see how the neighborhood changed. I like to do that every year but mostly I do not like what I see. Places that I went for food or a beer with friends are gone. Houses that made the street look good replaced and lots of family houses converted into dormitories. What is the fucking deal with those dormitories anyhow? There are so many of them that charge even more then I pay for a room with a shower and a toilet. Sometimes even the 5 months from the beginning of the trip to the end bring so much change. But I am happy when I see familiar places and they are still the same. But mostly the old, nice and familiar places go quick and the new moves in and changes everything.

Flowers in a tree — View from my room – Good Morning Bangkok

Demolished Building — There was a nice looking restaurant and another biz next door. A year later it still looked like this.

Demolished Buildings — Now it looks like that for over two years. Why not collect rent and kill the buildings when you are ready to build something new. And this place is next to my favourite bar 🙁

Wood House — This was empty for so long. Now it is a hostel with café or bar. But many times I passed it was closed. Strange

Small restaurant — The place for a quick bite – Breakfast/Lunch combination

Thai Food — Soja Sprouts with Tofu and rice – 35 Bath

Thai Food with Rice — Some green with Rice – 35 Bath

After my Breakfast and Lunch combo meal it was time to walk over the bridge and down the Klong to meet Melanie.

House at the Klong — A new dormitory place

Bangkok Street — Sleepy in the morning – but at last 10 hostels till the temple – for now

Small street in Bangkok — Further down the alley

The temple of the Golden Mount or Wat Saket

The Giant Swing or เสาชิงช้า was built in 1784. It was used in Brahmin swing ceremonies.

Old Shops — Old shops – lets see how long these buildings will stand

The smallest Indian Temple in Bangkok

Small temple it is. It is in the house in the back

Indian Section — I found it one time by accident and now if I want to find it I never find it

Indian Temple — It is in the middle of a maze of super small roads and tiny wood houses. Today I found it again.

Chinese Temple — This must be the Chinese part of it

Down at the River

At the Ferry Terminal — Looking up the river

Fish in the River — Fish in the Chao Phraya River

Fish and Bread — Bread is what they love

Happy Girl — And feeding fish is what she loves

With all that walking it got quite late and we got quite hungry as well. her boyfriend came over with the driver and we had dinner together at the Green House Restaurant. As usual, it was really good. After dinner they drove home and I walked zig zagging back to where my hotel is. Another day has gone. Tomorrow I have to get all the last minute things and start to pack the bag for the flight home as well.

Moon over Bangkok — Real Moon vs Street Light

Support my Blog: Book your hotel here:

Booking.com

Winter 17/18 – Quite Days at the Beach in Đồng Hới

After Tet was over and Vietnam was “open for business” again it was time to pack the bag and move on towards Dong Hoi! My trusted bike was parked for the year in Ninh Binh and Viet was so kind as to move her from time to time.

Put the big orange bag on my Yamaha Exciter 135 and rode to the next gas station. Fill her up and down South it was towards the blue sky and more sunshine.

There is not really a nice road and I only wanted to get to Dong Hoi fast. Last time I drove the 410 km in one day but that is kind of a lot in Vietnam. Especially on the A1 with all the trucks and fast buses.

This time I only went half way down to Vinh and stayed there for one night.

The bag looks big but inside is my brown bag. The same small bag I use all the time. The orange bag served me quite well last year. Keeps the rain and dust away from the actual bag and you see the big orange square much better. A kind of safety feature if you will.

This year I shipped all. A new helmet, a mask to keep pollution at bay, rain trousers and waterproof boot covers — This year I got it all. A new helmet, a mask to keep pollution at bay, rain trousers and waterproof boot covers

A night in Vinh

Since I took the scenic route another time (on the way up North) and wanted to go down South fast it was the QL 1A again. It is terrible to drive and I only recommend it if you really have to go fast. Other than that – stick to the smaller roads and enjoy the ride!

From my friends place in Ninh Binh to the hotel in Vinh it was 213 km. Took me 4 hours and 52 minutes with food and gasoline stops

Took a room at the Thanh Dat 2 Hotel for 7 US$. You get A nice clean room, 2 chairs and a table, Aircondition and a TV as well as a private bathroom with hot shower and toilet. The hotel has his own parking and a coffee as well. Great for a night or a few nights. If you are lazy they also have an elevator!

At the Beach in Dong Hoi

The next morning I continued down south. If you go easy it is almost a day with breaks and lunch. It took me a bit over 4 hours for the 208 km from the hotel to the next hotel. Arrived in the late afternoon at Ocean View Homestay. My favorite place along the coast of Vietnam. It is so quiet over there so I can sleep without earplugs. They have a small garden to hang out and you only cross the road and walk in less than 5 minutes from your room to the beach.

A big nice room - the bed is 5US$ a night — The dormitory at Ocean View Homestay! A big nice room – the bed is 5US$ a night

Dorm at the Ocean View Homestay — I took the one on the lower left

Restaurant at Ocean View Homestay — The restaurant at Ocean View Homestay

Most of the day I spend at the terrace and worked on the computer. The staff was so kind and made some nice food every day.

Happy Hour at Beachside Backpackers

Not too far down the beach is the Beachside Backpackers. They had Happy Hour from 17:00 – 19:00 and this is where I went every day. The dog was happy to tag along but usually 30 minutes or so after we arrived it was too boring for him to wait for me and he went home again.

My partner in crime - we went to the happy hour every day — My partner in crime – we went to the happy hour every day

At the beachside backpackers - Jo and her boyfriend — At the beachside backpackers – Jo and her boyfriend

Fried Tofu with Lemongrass, Rice and a Pumpkin dipping

Quite Days – Happy Evenings in Dong Hoi

Cats - everywhere Cats — Cats – everywhere Cats

Not a happy dog! — Not a happy dog – but loads of other happy animals moved next to him

Every day you meet new people at the Beachside Backpacker Bar

The staff cocked nice Vietnames food for me every day — The staff at Ocean View cocked nice Vietnamese food for me every day

On the way to the bar - Happy Hour is aproaching — On the way to the bar – Happy Hour is aproaching

Very relaxing - you only hear waves and can sip on a beer. What else do we need? — Very relaxing – you only hear waves and can sip on a beer. What else do we need?

He gets lots of visitors, csrbs and other dogs — He gets lots of visitors, mostly crabs and other dogs

There is not to much going on at the beach

Time to move on – further down South to meet other friends. Thank you Trang for making this another special time at your place at the beach!!

Tag: Food

Winter 17/18 – The last Day in Bangkok

Time to fly home

Back in FRA – Waiting for the train

Back at the HQ

Like this:

Winter 17/18 – A Day in Bangkok

The smallest Indian Temple in Bangkok

Down at the River

Like this:

Winter 17/18 – Quite Days at the Beach in Đồng Hới

A night in Vinh

At the Beach in Dong Hoi

Happy Hour at Beachside Backpackers

Quite Days – Happy Evenings in Dong Hoi

Like this:

Time to fly home

Back in FRA – Waiting for the train

Back at the HQ

Sharing is caring - Please do:

Like this:

The smallest Indian Temple in Bangkok

Down at the River

Sharing is caring - Please do:

Like this:

A night in Vinh

At the Beach in Dong Hoi

Happy Hour at Beachside Backpackers

Quite Days – Happy Evenings in Dong Hoi

Sharing is caring - Please do:

Like this: