1. Chanthaburi Town
After a flight from Saigon and a 4 hour mini van ride from Bangkok, we rolled into Chanthaburi and immediately knew this place was going to be different than the last places we visited. A super calm atmosphere, a peaceful night market, no traffic - just a quiet riverside town that didn't really have any tourists at all.
We set up our base right in an old hotel that used to be a high school in Chanthaburi Town and spent the first evening the way you're supposed to spend a first evening in a new Thai town: wandering the night market with zero plan. Grilled corn dripping in chili, mystery skewers and coconut shakes. Chanthaburi has a lot of Vietnamese influence which gave us a fluent transition after just arriving from Viet Nam.
By night one we'd already found what might be one of the coolest small-town clubs I've ever set foot in, no idea how a place this size pulls off a spot like that, but Hong Thong bottles were on every table and our rule to go home at 12 because we had a road trip next morning at 7 am got entirely destroyed and we arrived home after 4 am :D. Chanthaburi has this trick where it looks like nothing is happening and then suddenly you're many hours deep into a night out, sharing a smoke with a Chinese durian farmer who's telling you the family business in a mix of broken English and hand gestures. Thai clubs are always an adventure.
With home base sorted, the plan for the next three days was simple: each of us got to design one full day of exploring the province on scooters, and each day had to have its own theme. No group votes, no compromises, every day had a boss and leader :D
2. Motor bike trip day 1: Waterfalls, Rivers & National Parks
Felix had the disadvantage that all three of us had a little hangover that morning. So our morning cure: Felix's famous self-mixed 7-Eleven hangover drink, a stray cat for emotional support and a spicy omelette in a remote rock music cafe. Worked very well!
First stop was a small hike to a hidden waterfall, the kind of spot you'd never find without someone already knowing it's there. The water was ice cold and after riding the scooter in Chanthaburi heat and hiking there, it hit like a reset button.
From there it turned into a full day of chasing rivers and swimming holes, the kind of small streams and springs where locals go for weekend picnics and the local teenagers show off with cliff jumps while everyone pretends not to watch. We found a stretch of river that was basically our own private pool for an hour, dried off on the rocks, and kept moving.
Somewhere in the middle of nowhere we also stumbled onto a coffee shop with, and I promise I'm not exaggerating, the fastest internet I have ever experienced anywhere in my life — over 1,100 Mbps in a tiny roadside café that had a granny behind the counter. Thailand really does not make sense sometimes, in the best way.
We wrapped the day watching the sunset from the scooters, having a cold beer on a beach and driving through some tiny fishing villages and piers.
3. Motor bike trip day 2: Mangroves, Beaches, a Giant Bridge & the Coastal Scenic Road
Day two belonged to Niklas, and his theme took us in a completely different direction: away from the jungle interior and out toward the coast.
We started the morning the same way every road trip morning started — with an individually mixed 7-Eleven drink, courtesy of Felix, who'd apparently appointed himself official morning bartender for the trip. He just found some random Insta post with recipes for 7-Eleven drinks :D
The mangrove forest was the first big stop, and it might be the loudest place I've been in Thailand — thousands of birds, crabs, and things we couldn't identify all going off at once. It was like a full concert there. Niklas was convinced he could singlehandedly build a 20 m high bird watch tower with his bare hands and we are still waiting for the proof.
From there we hit the beach, which was the perfect break. Ice cream and grilled squid vendors lined the sand, and at one point we found a perfect little spot to just sit, read and nap for a while.
The scenic coastal road connecting it all might genuinely be one of the best roads I've driven a scooter on. Chanthaburi province turned out to be absurdly fun to explore this way. Niklas's theme also included crossing one of the longest bridges in Thailand, which felt like a small milestone on its own. We closed the day the same way we'd close most of them: a well-earned beer, watching the sunset and having a deep night sleep.
4. Motor bike trip day 3: Temples, pilgrims, mountains and fruit farms
Day three was mine, and I wanted to focus on elevation: temples, mountain roads, and the small villages with huge fruit farms in between.
We started, appropriately, with breakfast by the river before switching things up with a jeep ride up into the hills. At the top, we picked up a pilgrim map and started following it between temples tucked into the hillside, past locals who stopped us more than once to ask for photos, clearly as curious about us as we were about the temples.
What we'd stumbled into was the tail end of the Khao Khitchakut pilgrimage, one of eastern Thailand's biggest religious gatherings, when the mountain briefly opens each year so pilgrims can hike up to a sacred Buddha footprint believed to bring protection and good fortune. Access is only allowed for a couple of months a year for safety reasons, with 4x4 pickups shuttling people partway up before everyone tackles a short but genuinely brutal final climb on foot, past strings of red wish-ribbons and roadside shrines the whole way up. The views up there were stunning too!
From the mountains we dropped back down into another national park for one last round of swimming spots, drying off on sun-warmed rocks between dips and enjoying more small waterfalls. We rounded out the day with a visit to a durian farm, getting the full rundown on how the fruit everyone loves or hates actually gets grown. The farms in Chanthaburi are really gigantic and the entire province is very well known for its delicious durian, mangosteen, rambutan and mangos.
Chanthaburi wasn't on our radar before this trip, and it ended up being one of the best stretches of the whole Asia leg. The small province is super diverse, its locals are really friendly and it's pretty untouched yet. It easily became my favorite province in Thailand so far. Big recommendation!
5. Bangkok
This was already my 12th time in Bangkok, and somehow the city still manages to throw something new at me every single visit. We just had 2.5 days together there before Niklas & Felix tried to take their flight home to Europe.
We based ourselves in an Airbnb in Bang Pho, a part of Bangkok away from the usual tourist strips, which turned out to be a good call. It gave us an excuse to actually explore the neighborhood instead of just retreating to a hotel between outings, and it's close enough to hop into the center whenever we felt like it.
And the center is exactly what we did, more or less on repeat. Bangkok in general is one of those cities where you can eat your way through an entire day without trying: street stalls, night markets, random hole-in-the-wall spots that turn out to be better than anything you could've booked a table for. This trip was no exception; between all of us we probably covered half the city's food scene in a few days alone.
One evening we made our way up to a proper fancy rooftop bar, the kind with a view over the skyline that makes you forget you were sitting in a river three days earlier washing your clothes in a 3-dollar outfit :D
No trip to Bangkok's nightlife feels complete without a bit of what we call "Uhu (a big species of owl) spotting" - our nickname for the older Farang who show up in Thailand and immediately slide into the most stereotypical version of themselves imaginable. We grabbed a drink in Nana, found a good spot on the street, and just let the night pass us by. Within twenty minutes you've already seen half a dozen species of Uhus: the ones dressed twenty years too young, the ones parading arm-in-arm with someone half their age, school directors with glasses & suspenders and Indian uncles interested in the burqa section of the street offers. Nana at night is basically a nature documentary if David Attenborough ever decided to cover expats instead of elephants. It's equal parts hilarious and a little bit sad, but as far as free entertainment goes, an Uhu safari is hard to beat :D
Getting Felix and Niklas home turned into its own adventure! The ongoing conflict in the Middle East threw half the region's flight schedules into chaos, and for a while it genuinely looked like they might be stuck in Bangkok with no way back. They eventually got rebooked on a rerouted itinerary via Manchester. What should've been a straightforward trip back to Germany turned into a 2.5-day odyssey they will never forget.
For me a new chapter in life started: My permanent move to Bangkok! More about that in the following posts :)
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| Mini van from Bangkok to Chanthaburi |
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| Chanthaburi Town |
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| First evening at the night market |
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| Grilled corn with chili |
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| In a night club in Chanthaburi, one of the coolest clubs I have ever been to! |
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| Hong Thong night |
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| Extended massage at the toilet of the night club :D |
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| Smoking special Chinese cigarettes with a durian farm owner |
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| Anti hangover set on the way home: 7-11 mixed drink and a cat to calm down |
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| Day 1 scooter tour |
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| American chopper from Wish |
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| First small hike to a hidden waterfall |
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| The cold water was soooo good |
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| Niklas and me enjoying the water :D |
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| Beautiful first spot on the scooter trip |
.HEIC) |
| Believe me or not, this coffee shop here had the fastest internet I have ever expierenced in my life (1,100 mbps!!!!) |
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| Best lifestyle, just wandering around all day exploring |
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| Small rivers and springs where locals enjoy picnics and cliff jumps |
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| Wolf cat |
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| Sunset day 1 |
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| Indian beach outfit |
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| Every road trip day started with a indivudally mixed 7-11 drink from Felix :D |
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| Mangrove forrest with thousands of animals, it was so loud there |
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| Shiny Kingler |
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| Niklas was totally convinced that he can build a tower like that alone with his own hands |
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| It was so hot and humid there |
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| Beach break |
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| Ice cream and squid vendors |
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| Coconut, Matcha, Chocolate |
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| Perfect place for a reading and lunch break |
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| Chanthaburi province is sooo fun to drive |
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| One of the longest bridges in Thailand |
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| Beer reward in the evening during sunset |
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| The kind of days you probably remember most when you are an old fart |
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| Road trip day 3! Yes I washed that shirt every day!! :D |
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| Breakfast at the river |
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| Taking a jeep up to a hill |
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| :D |
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| Pilgrim map |
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| People from the countryside asked us for pics :D |
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| Hundreds of steps |
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| Totally worth it |
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| A rich Bangkok citizen got carried up there for 1,000 Baht :D :D |
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| Entering another National Park |
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| Drying on a sunny rock after a swim in the rivers, life quality |
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| One of many swimming spots of the day |
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| Perfect nap spot |
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| 10/10 coffee shop in a random small town on the way! We didnt wanna leave at all |
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| Exploring a durian farm |
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| Bus to Bangkok, the little ones of us got very tired |
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| Felix and Niklas crossing a street in Bang Pho, Bangkok holding a flag so cars can see them :D |
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| First dinner in Thailand with Kate and Philip |
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| We got used to that in Thailand: Every single waiter of the entire bar comes to our table to get our order :D |
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| My good friend who decided to live in a noisy bar :D |
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| Every mafia boss in American movies in the 80s: |
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| Exploring the center of Bangkok |
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| Pokemon cards! |
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| That puppy fell in love with Niklas |
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| Walking the streeets of central Bangkok |
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| Boat trip! |
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| Fully assimilated in Asia: The famous Asian squat |
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| A roof top bar in Bangkok |
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| One day you sit in a river stream in a 3 USD outfit cleaning your clothes and next day you order a cocktail for 20 USD :D |
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| Fun night in Bangkok |
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| How cool can a dj be? |
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| A nice gay couple we met at the rooftop bar |
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| Nocturnal bird watching around Nana |
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| Playing Mario Kart |
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| The famous sloth! |
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| Back to Germany for Niklas and Felix |
.HEIC)
