42 beta travel

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Turn turn over
Going home
17th Feb, Bangkok

Hey!
As Jost finished his blog few days ago, so am I probably today (redesign and conclusion will come sure after few resting days...). I was on the airport today for flying to New Zealand, I was refused because you have to have an onward ticket out of country. So somehow all the happenings that followed coincidenced and I'm having - hopefully - my flight to London on Monday late evening. Going other way would be like going with the head through wall. Directly. One way ticketing doesn't come through good. So to all Slovenians - see you soon, much sooner than I planned. But I'm happy to be so.

As I promised in previous post, best photos of Thailand:

Staying on the riverside in Kanchanaburi, quiet and nice place (except floating discos and karaoke boats...)

Thai architecture in Bangkok


Two little men pushing Buddha's head at speed of 2 cm/day

Opposing elements: democratic monument's reflex in the window of McDonald's

And last one for my friend, who wants some (funny) details of the trip: the sign in one of the guesthouses says "The dust bin is in the front of the house, PLEASE HELP YOURSELF." :)))

Jah bless
k

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Feat. with Josht
The one and the only
Bangkok, 15th Feb

The one and the only of all of my posts that will be in Slovenian. So come tomorrow if you're looking for fresh news. Ah, yes, and photos also tomorrow. Jah bless, k

Hehe, tole je pa kalibrski poust. Koncn jih lohka mal po losk tresem, kar mi je u bistvu res manjkal - u zivo mislem ane. Zdj pa skupn tekst ud obeh... :))

Kwa bi hodil u Frankfurt, Paris al pa u Benetke na kufe,
prlet'te u Bangkok hehe :))

Dubla sva se na sred turisticne metropole na kavici, kar je bil ze kr izziv. Stala cela. Vsak prletela s svojga konca, vsak letiva v kratkem na svojga...

Tapru dan je sou kr mim (pircki u igri), spoznala sva dva slovenca in smo se ga en mal razmontiral. Sli smo na Pat Pong (neki tazga), isti ti je kt Red District u Amsterdamu... Sam de so meniji zlo zlo pestri. Ce si probate mal zamislit, lohka pogruntate lih 10% vseh moznih, pol veste kok mate seksualne fantazije :)) Najhujsi od useh so pa lady boy-i... No, de ne omenmo ulce moskih za moske...

K sta unedva slovenca ustimala shoping, picimo mi u Beer garden. Ja, kero zirafo smo dobil na mizo. Minhn nima nc.

Bangkok je iz dneva u dan boljs (to j res praw Jost), sam mors se it schilirat na ene par dni nekam ven. Pircki padajo, to j pa to. Kwa pa se hocte? :))

Evo vam fotkice

Uzivite, pa bundo se kej za naju oblecte...
Jost in Stfk

Monday, February 12, 2007

Hey. Here is a post that includes recent writtings made in my notebook, actually three posts. I post them in chronological order...

Turn over
Bolenat
Pak Chong, 9th Feb

Ah, yeah. Finally. Last few days I kept myself busy with many things, but the main one was preparations for Australia. Beside the e-form visa application filling was looking for a ticket. I've not buy one yet, but visa - I guess - is approved.

But nevertheless, I just decided to return home (in Slovenia) before planned date. Because some strong, really strong feeling is 'calling me' back. I cannot explain it, but I know I cannot resist it with head. Maybe's just nothing, but I will listen to it. So - last week.

To tell you some things about Thailand. OK, pollution in Bangkok is incredible. Your lungs get kind of sick, hard breathing occurs. Thais don't have litter cans on streets to throw garbage away, but you can get fined with hundred dollars if you do so... Rare are those - usually people in travel agencies and other kind of people dealing with tourists - who speak English. I mean - you better learn basics of Thai language fast (or before coming here), it will save you lots of time and nerves :)) *

And fourth fact of Thailand - I don't feel so close with it as I did with India and it's even more touristic. For a person like me - struggling for real, not overpaid adventure - not a right place. But I've seen very little and I must say I will come back. To explore national parks and to do snorkeling. And, of course, to enjoy quiet divine beaches.

Tomorrow morning I'll arive in one of Thais' many national parks and I'll stay in nature for three days. After that I go in Bangkok and sooner or later on a flight towards Europe. So the last post of this session follows...

Jah bless and love
k

*added after: easy solution is finding a Thai friend who speaks English or you have kind a lot of money (14-day-style-trips), which my budget style all excludes


Who to be
Where, when and what
Bangkok, 12th Feb

Were three little questions. Where was the oldest and bravest, when the most tricky and what whatever... :))

It is Bangkok that I find myself somehow on the middle (half) of the trip. From last blog you can realize that it was really hard. I have to say that many ideas were colliding, that the darkness was in the lonely moments wrapped around. So I had decided to turn back Europe.

But somehow all the strength of that decision melded till today. I realized just that I have to get out of Thailand as soon as possible.

And where better than from Bangkok, SE Asia's capital. So the days are counted, but the situation has turned vice-versa. Tha destination: New Zealand! :D (My Australian visa's still not approved, probably they are waiting for my message with flight number. I'll stop maybe on the way back... :))

I had a moment when I realized that I can go anywhere, any direction, also back to India. Yeah, whatever?... :)) This is the best how I can explain how I passed trip half-way point, haha...

So, cheapest and fastest I choose to fly to NZ. And there - I guess - I'll can create. Cause that's what I look for. Hawk!


Second
Part
Same, same (but different:)

Ough, my people (mai peapol)!... :))
I forgot to tell you where I've been. Kanchanaburi - nice place, 3 hours drive W-NW from Bangkok. I'd got the stay on the river. Not waving house, but still. Shanti. I did a cycling to Death Railway Bridge - just to remember how many people died because of human stupidness. 60 and more years ago. Clicks to WWII?...

And Buddhist caves. On the hill, like 7 km from the town. Small caves, but great feeling being under ground :)) so that I realized (once more) I long for nature (on one hand and for hedonistic and adventure advances of modern age on the other :))

And so I went to place that Jose recommended to me. Khao Yai National Park. The most known. And thus the most overcrowded. In park backpackers are judged to hitchike - from the entrance to visitors center is more than 15 km. But it's not a problem, cause usually it's first car that stops...

I did two treks, both through jungle. Where you can - theoretically (but enough:) - meet elephant, tiger......, bear..., or even cobra. Hm :)) Nice jungle. Quiet. Full power.

And now again in the middle of the rush. Hope I'll manage to share some photos soon.

Yeah, and now, luckily, I'll meet with Slovenian friend Jost, hopefully to take some staff home ;) He has nice photos, you can find them here.

Stay tuned
k

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Great Shift
Thailand
3rd February, Bangkok

Savadi ka! It's been 24 hours since I arrived at Bangkok International airport. In short I'll try to reconstruct all the fillings that had been flushing through (me) since then.

Definitely noticable is the change of enviroment comparing to India and Bangladesh. Actually, my stay in Dhaka was just transit, same like the one at the beginning of the trip in Istanbul, Turkey. So, landing, bus to hotel, dinner, sleeping, breakfast, bus back to airport, formal procedures and take off. Sorry, no photos even.

Airport in Bangkok is totally new, a sample of modern technology and urbanism. After that the drive to downtown. I was shocked how westernised can an asian country be. But, no big deal, OK. Seeing all that I again realised that I'm not for big cities. I must admit I was a little depressed. But after finding a room beer followed. Not one, many. It was nice (as usual, ha?:)), also to see full street of main shopping street. Music from every corner. I was missing this simple move in India. Yes, dancing I mean :D

And after, we, or better to say my two friends (a couple), had a serious problem. It all started because of two-beers-payment with the waiters in pub. Fight followed and Thais were flying through the air like Bruce in his films. Crazy!! And sad: in hospital with 15 points in head. Sad. Still now I can feel a little fear that remained of whole situation, although I was drunk.

Today I was walking through the streets of centre of Bangkok. Nothing special, half of shops anyway closed because of Saturday. But now I better understand the story I once heard: some people come in Bangkok without everything, they buy a backapack, fill it with clothes and different stuff and go back home, where they sell everything and come through with positive billance :D

Tomorrow I stay, Monday I want to take a night train to north Thailand, I want to see the border parts with Myanmar and Laos. Or maybe I'll turn south (towards Phuket), to meet a Slovenian friend, who's leaving in two weeks.

Wish you peaceful and restful Sunday
from summer area, with love
k