weather, water and other curiosities

At first, forget all about you heard about Vietnam. Now listen.
It's like Thailand, just cooler. Greener. Better coffee. And the people...
Right now I can't think of a story to tell, buuuut... some interesting things at least.

It's almost been half a year since we've left, and we're so used to the constant heat, sweating all day and night, that's it became annoying but bearable. Walking into a room with a/c set on 25°C feels like walking into a fridge. And watching people in coats, on tv for example, seems like the strangest thing ever. Maybe once a month we wear proper shoes, ie. something else than flip flops. We like to shower multiple times a day, and also the amount of water we drink has doubled since we've left Germany. Shame you  have to pay for water here...

the best water is the one to swim in! - in Phong Na National Park with Philipp and Giacomo

By now Klaus and me look like two well baked buns, and though we put sunscreen on or wear long clothes, we seem to get more and more tanned. Hello, skin cancer! Lots of people in South East Asia cover almost every inch of their body, wearing a hoody, mouth cover, long pants or socks and even gloves! We were told different reasons for that, one story says that Vietnamese or Thai people don't want to get tanned because dark means farm worker and white means rich. Another explanation could be that the cities are so dirty from the cars and motorbikes that you can get an abscess on your skin if it's not covered. Both Klaus and me have been fine so far, but also we've always preferred being away from big cities.

Ankor Wat, 38°C, sunshine, people in gloves

The times we've been sick can be counted on the fingers of one hand (fingers crossed!), and for me this was mostly because of the sun. Stupid me sometimes forgets about water, tsts. Klaus doesn't seem to like some of the food, but so far the light medicine has always been enough. Luckily we had no malaria, no viruses, nothing. Though we eat in the streets quite often (no meat or fish), and we had been drinking strange water in Nepal for example. On top of that we cuddle every dog and cat we can lay our hands on, as you may have noticed. 

you can imagine my amazement seeing guinea pigs next to the street! (Ho Chi Minh City)

Asian people like chili and garlic, so maybe we've upgraded to immune system 2.0, or we're just sweating it all out. Most likely it is just not as bad as may have learned Asia would be. Just because we grow up in a sterile world with rubber gloves and tiled kitchens doesn't mean it's safer than a little wok in the street. Comparing sanitary systems here and there, I came to the conclusion that the word "clean" is an elastic term. Usually I rather sleep in a bamboo hut on a farm than in a hostel, as long as I have a mosquito net, of course. (keyword: spiders! or scorpions. or ants. I don't like ants anymore!)

common thing to see inside a street restaurant: Vietnamese people sharing food

The best thing so far has been couch surfing, as we're doing it right in this moment. You may remember Petch, the cool Thai with the pool we stayed with in Bangkok, and Franzi and Rob who showed us the most amazing waterfall north of Chiang Mai, and of course Niko and his beautiful wife and baby in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. Now, since some days we've been lucky enough to be hosted by Paul and Jyldyz in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital. Not only do they have a huge house, where we have 2 rooms and one bathroom to ourselves AND a kitchen we can use as well. Most importantly they are interesting, having lived in so many different places in the world; and very friendly and generous, for hosting us also for longer than we'd asked for, making us feel like we're at home. When you're constantly on the road, traveling from one place to the next within days, it's a feeling you can't beat to arrive somewhere. Here we have time to rest, let the impressions sink in, and to sleep until noon, nobody cares. For us, couch surfing often is like visiting friends that you didn't know you have.

Ok, enough cheesy text. I need to shower and eat some cake before Jyldyz and me go out shopping. Yesterday I taught her how to bake, today she will help me find something to wear in Halong Bay. We're a really good symbiosis!
Now some music instead of more photos, transferring our travel impressions of the last 3 weeks...


1. Kodaline - Love Like This (the Irish Coldplay, seen on MTV Vietnam)
2. Bastille - Pompeii ("...if you close your eyes, does it feel like nothing changed at all?")
3. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (dancing in Siem Reap, Ohrwurm everywhere)
4. of Montreal - Wraith Pinned To The Mist (Hostel Memories, same same Siem Reap)
5. C2C - Down The Road (best to be heard in all those endless bus rides...)
6. The Strangles - Peaches (billiard, cigarettes and traveling on the mind)
7. Patsy Cline - Walking After Midnight (heard in Phong Na Farmstay, last guys standing before midnight)
8. Band Of Horses - The Funeral (backpacker's ohrwurm, in memory of Giaco & Phil, hehe)
9. Parov Stelar - Chambermaid Swing (because we can't get enough of him, swing on!)

by Lia

up and around

Yesterday morning
Peep. Peep. Peep.
The alarm! It's 5.50am, on a very important day. At 7am we have an interview at the US ambassy to get our visa. Yes, that's right. An interview. Because we don't have a return flight and they fear we'd stay in the country. Ha! I'm fully awake quickly, filled with excitement, but with the fearful one. What if...?
It's a long queue and one short terrifying moment when they first reject Klaus because his photo doesn't have the right size, and then me because mine is older than 6 months (ie 7 months). Not only because of all the annoyances before, including having to pay for that appointment, but because all kinds of bureaucracy suck!

Soundtrack: Die Aerzte: Das sind Dinge...

I feel the tears coming to my eyes, leave the building, get a new picture where I look like I was beaten up, and queue up again. Klaus, too. This time they don't find anything else, let us in... DONE!
"Pick up your passport on Tuesday."
Are you cereal??

the night before
We have the top seats in the bus, going from Chiang Mai back to Bangkok. Second floor, in the front, no seat belts, top starting positions right through the window in case we crash. The TV is running on full volume, I'm afraid my ears will burst. Thai people don't mind loud things, our German hosts even had the theory that either they have a huge tolerance or are a little deaf. We ask them to turn the TV down, they turn it off.
I watch the massive lanes filled up with cars as it's slowly getting dark, feeling an excitement coming up. The good one, accompanied by potential adventures, and just dreaming of them makes me happy.

Neil Young - Natural Beauty

The moment we get out the bus we're knocked down by the heavy heat and surround by eager taxi drivers. Nothing new, and so we make our way back to our Thai host Petch in the center of Bangkok. We can hear his swimming pool calling! It's a little bit like coming home, and the pizza we allow ourselves to eat supports that impression.

Gotye - Better than before

last night
Since Petch is a super-great host, he takes us out to the coolest restaurant in town, not in the guidebook. It's a Thai place full of Thai people and good food. Someone comes in and we say:
"Hey, are you an ultimate frisbee player?"
He is indeed. Also, he has some of our players from the Singapore team couchsurfing with him, and he wanted to show him the best restaurant in town. Haha. Conincidence, your name is "war ja klar!"

Sebastian Tellier - La Ritournelle

We chat a little with our teammates for the weekend, and then head off with Petch to do karaoke. There's a nice place in the MBK shopping center, where people could see us through glass windows, but hopefully didn't hear us. I don't know what you think, but we loved it!

Tattoo Colour - Kha Mhoo

The rain had stopped when we headed home at around midnight, the streets were lonely and wet, the temperatures bearable. We fell on the couch and talked for several hours about German and Thai culture, our travel plans and why getting visas sucks.

Tomorrow
We will get up early, try to catch the right bus to the fields, trying to remember all the names of our Singaporean teammates and play our first game against the team from Ho Chin Min City. You can guess how we feel... Super excited. The kind where you wish it was already tomorrow.

Ratatat - Beat 1

...and because I am so great, I already made the playlist




Enjoy!
PS: Miss you all!

Of Monsters And Men - Love love love

by Lia

Umsonst und draussen

Dreieinhalb Stunden Flug und die Welt sieht ganz anders aus. Die Gegensätze gegenüber Nepal sind nicht zu fassen.

Die Hitze hier ganz ist eine andere und wir haben am ersten Tag schwer zu kämpfen. Folgerichtig begeben wir uns mit Bus Nr. 15 auf den Weg zum Siam Square und streifen durch die Raumschiffe der Konsumwelt, die perfekte Bedingungen für unsere Spezies bereithalten.

Bangkok glänzt an diesem Ort mit allem, was Mensch sich so von der Zukunft verspricht.
Wir staunen und verfallen in untypisches Konsumverhalten. Haben wir doch gerade noch hart um Centbeträge verhandelt, vergessen wir hier mit Leichtigkeit unseren eisernen Sparwillen. Das Resultat sind Einkäufe in astronomischen Höhen und damit eng verbunden ein neues Smartphone, Mini-Lautsprecher ,1l Kontaktlinsenflüssigkeit, SD Karten und ein Speicherstick.
Nun sind wir gerüstet für das moderne Asien mit Free-Wifi an allen Orten und haben obendrein einige Schnäppchen gemacht oder uns auf diese primitive materielle Art einfach nur glücklich gemacht.

Den zweiten Tag konnten wir wesentlich entspannter und ausgeruhter angehen, lag unser Hostel diesmal nicht direkt gegenüber eines Nachtclubs im berüchtigten Touri-Viertel Kao San. Mutig haben wir uns zu fuss auf den Weg zum Grand Palace der königlichen Thailändischen Familie gemacht. Nur um dann vor Ort wieder kehrt zu machen. Menschenmassen, der hohe Eintritt und Lias Freizügigkeit waren die entscheidenden Faktoren. Obwohl Lia sich extra  mit einem blickdichten Schal um die Schultern vorbereitet hatte. Wenig motiviert einen weiteren Versuch an diesem Tag zu starten, sind irgendwie auch glücklich mit dem Umstand in den Bus Nr. 15 gestiegen der uns zurück zum Hostel bringt.

Für den gleichen Tag hatten wir es geschafft eine Schlafgelegenheit bei einem Couchsurfer zu organisieren, also konnten wir uns schon früher mit Petch, unserem Gastgeber, treffen. Perfekt gelegen an der Buslinie 15 und einen Steinwurf entfernt von Siam Square, Patong Night Market und der grössten Grünanlage Bangkoks. Verheissungsvoll! Ohne Erwartungen aber gespannt auf die Person treffen wir wie verabredet an der Skytrain Station ein. Petch wartet bereits auf uns und wir heißen uns Willkommen.

Was er uns dann als sein Heim präsentiert verschlägt uns den Atem. Riesige Appartement Hochhäuser Schrauben sich rechts und links in den Himmel, seines mittendrin. Verschwitzt und bepackt mit unseren Rucksäcken und Taschen durchschreiten die grosse Eingangshalle, vorbei am Portier, Petch immer dicht auf den Versen. Die Zugangskarte zieht er durch einen Schlitz am Fahrstuhl und tippt dazu ein Code ins Tastefeld. Gespannt darauf zu anfahren in welchen Höhen er wohl wohnt drückt er die 10.
Der Fahrstuhl setzt sich in Bewegung und offenbart uns nur wenige Sekunden später den hauseigenen Pool im 7ten Stockwerk, der sich wie ein Innenhof vor uns erstreckt.
Ungläubig fragen wir ihn ob man darin  baden darf. Selbstverständlich kann man, was uns für die folgenden 3 Tage ein entspannter Quell der Abwechslung sein wird. Früh, Mittags oder Nachts, ganz egal!

Mit Petch sind wir noch am gleichen Tag nach Chinatown und haben in den bekannten Strassenküchen Scampis und Krabben nach Thai Art gegessen. Super Scharf also...

Am Tag darauf hatten wir einen erneuten Versuch zur Tempelbesichtigen unternommen. Wat Pho mit dem größten liegenden Buddha und jeder Menge Stubas. Gut und günstig und bequem per Buslinie 15 zu erreichen.

Zeit ist kurz und der Monsun kommt näher, somit zieht die Karawane weiter nach Chiang Mai. Ganz im Norden Thailands genießen wir hier kühleres Wetter, weniger Stadt, günstigere Preise und entgehen so den krebstoten Strandurlaubern aus dem Süden. Auch hier wieder das Privileg bei sehr netten und hilfsbereiten Couchsurfen zu pennen. Diesmal mit Franzi und Rob aus Cottbus, die hier ein Jahr studieren und Thai lernen.

By Klaus