How lucky we were on our first trip to Bangkok. We had just visited the Royal Palace and were on the way to Wat Po, the awesome temple with the giant sleeping Buddha. We had our guide book and map ready and left the grounds of the Royal Palace when a friendly tuk tuk driver made fun of my short hair. He said I looked like a monk, which was funny, and we got into talking, still being happy that we even found such a helpful English-speaking guy.
The conversation went something like this:
Tuk Tuk driver: where are you from?
Me: Germany
Tuk Tuk driver: from Munich?
Me: wow...how did you know?
Tuk Tuk driver: my wife lives in Munich
Me: oh really? what a coincidence ...where does she live?
Tuk Tuk driver: I don't know the part of the city, but she works in that ...big street...in the center...
Me: Leopold Street?
Tuk Tuk driver: YES YES...that is where she works as a hair dresser....I hope to visit her next year, but we are still saving money.
Still amazed that we found a nice guy like him, we asked where Wat Po was...
Tuk Tuk driver: it is right over there...but...it is closed today.
Me: Really? Why?
Tuk Tuk driver: it is a Buddhist holiday, so it is only open for prayers...
Me: Oh man!!! bummer!!! can we look from outside?
Tuk Tuk driver: No, the street is closed...you know...police...
Me: hmmm...too bad, we really wanted to see it...
Tuk Tuk driver: I can show you a different temple, which is open today and it has a big Buddha too.
Me: Oh really?.....hmmmm....how much does it cost?
Tuk Tuk driver: only 40 Baht, for you...because you are from the city where my wife lives. Maybe we can be friends and you can show me Munich when I visit...
Me: s...s....sure....yes...40 Baht? hmmm...ok but not more, right?
Tuk Tuk driver: No No...because today is a big promotion day from the government. If I drive you, I get free gasoline. You only have to stop quickly to say that you are a tourist. 40 Baht for you!!
Me: OK!
Off we went....into side streets and various directions with several U-turns. It seemed far, but we were not really that far from our initial place. However, it was too confusing to walk back. He did show us a big temple, with a big standing Buddha. All happy, we took photos and were ready to go back.
But we still had to stop at "the place" ...for the tourists...and he was going to show us another temple. Where his son is ordained as a monk. And we would be lucky because usually tourists would not see such detail....so, off we went.
The temple where the son was supposed to be, was deserted. No monks and the driver was gone too. We looked around, rather lost and waited for him to come back.
So the free gasoline promotion!!! Yes, we will do it...but quickly!!! Because we still had a long list of things to visit today.
The quick stop turned out to be several shops...jewelry first...in and out in no time...we did not look like we were going to buy anything anyway. Next was an Indian tailor!!! Looky looky only...not buy...just look!! Sit down please. We made it pretty clear that we were not going to buy anything, so the owners got into an argument with the tuk tuk driver, who....looked more and more un-happy!
Finally we boarded the tuk tuk again and just said "Wat Po!!! NOW!!! and without another word, he drove us there. We got out and paid ...40 Baht...for .... 2 or 3 hours of wasted time and a bunch of experiences richer!
That was the last time I ever took a Tuk Tuk. Never trusted them again in Bangkok. Now, to put things into the right perspective: I love my tuk tuk drivers in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I took them in Phnom Penh and took them in Chiang Mai and other cities in Thailand. But Bangkok's tuk tuk drivers are all but a horrible experience in my memory.
Oh...and Wat Po? Was open!!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
MY SMALLEST ROOM EVER - SINGAPORE


The room itself was the smallest room I have had in all my years of traveling around the world. Even smaller than rooms I have had in London and Madrid. My suite case only fit in if I moved around it and I struggled to close the door since the space between the bed and the door was the only option to store it. Mind you, that was the same space I needed to enter the bathroom and to get in and out of the room. It was not possible for me to open it on the floor though.

The bed is filling the entire room. No chairs, no desk, no couch. Very practical because you can reach everything from the bed and you won't even bother to unpack. You basically live out of the suite case.
I booked a room with a window which was kind of useless since all other rooms would have looked right into my bed if the curtains were opened.
The bathroom was not really a room but a shower with a toilet and a sink. It was so tiny that you could not sit straight on the toilet without hitting the sink.



I am looking for positives here...so give me a minute!

And location! That is actually really good. In the heart of Singapore's Chinatown. Minutes away from the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and the Chinatown Subway station.

So, location rocks. Price is acceptable. The room is not really my thing!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
MY SUPERTREES - SINGAPORE
After visiting the wonderful world of flowers and plants inside the domes of the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, we went out to check out the Supertree Grove. While we had our S$ 28 ticket, the Supertree Grove can be visited for free.
As I mentioned before, we missed the best light for a sunset and thus waited until it was completely dark. What we also missed because we had not properly planned our visit, was the OCBC Skywalk, which lets you walk 128 meters between two of the trees. We tried to get in, but ticket sales stops 30 minutes before they actually close for the day. So, another good reason to come back here. The only thing I missed was my professional DSLR camera, so I had to live with the somewhat mediocre quality of my compact camera.
It is still a great place to enjoy an evening out. The views are just awesome from every angle and with the backdrop of the city, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and all the other highrises of Singapore it provides a great photographic project. The OCBC Garden Rhapsody show was nice, but I think I expected too much, after having been awed all afternoon and evening by the Gardens. But it gave a nice and relaxing touch to an already great visit.
The walk back to the MRT station was longer than anticipated, but offered more great views of the Gardens and the city. Getting a taxi back to the city was an impossible task, so we decided to go for the walk & MRT option.
As I mentioned before, we missed the best light for a sunset and thus waited until it was completely dark. What we also missed because we had not properly planned our visit, was the OCBC Skywalk, which lets you walk 128 meters between two of the trees. We tried to get in, but ticket sales stops 30 minutes before they actually close for the day. So, another good reason to come back here. The only thing I missed was my professional DSLR camera, so I had to live with the somewhat mediocre quality of my compact camera.
It is still a great place to enjoy an evening out. The views are just awesome from every angle and with the backdrop of the city, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and all the other highrises of Singapore it provides a great photographic project. The OCBC Garden Rhapsody show was nice, but I think I expected too much, after having been awed all afternoon and evening by the Gardens. But it gave a nice and relaxing touch to an already great visit.
The walk back to the MRT station was longer than anticipated, but offered more great views of the Gardens and the city. Getting a taxi back to the city was an impossible task, so we decided to go for the walk & MRT option.
Friday, November 2, 2012
MY GARDEN BY THE BAY - SINGAPORE
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View from MBS |
For the Gardens by the Bay, I had to wait for a while...my friend there told me it would open soon, but I had to come back 3 times before it was actually open. I am not saying "finished" here, but "open" because it was still not totally finished and I am not even sure if it will ever be finished. It seems that it will be a constantly changing world in there.
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Flower Dome |
I will for sure be back here many times because of it's changing exhibitions and because I am far from having seen everything on my first visit. We stayed for 5 hours during our first visit and in the end we hurried through it because we were several people who all wanted to go their own ways.
The S$ 28 ticket was well invested and in order to avoid the long lines we had heard about, we reserved the tickets online. In the end, there was no line at all. Probably totally depends on the day and season.
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Flower Dome |
The "Flower Dome" was the first place we visited inside the huge Gardens and I was a bit overwhelmed. I had not expected it to be so big and so spectacular. For photographers this means "bring lots of battery power with you"!
The design, layout, and the plants/flowers of this cool-dry conservatory justifies even a visit by it's own. But nevertheless did we move on to the "Cloud Forest" when my first battery was already indicating that it was just about to die.
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Flower Dome |
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Cloud Forest |
But we did stick around until it was completely dark and enjoyed the Supertree Grove nevertheless, which will be covered in a separate post.
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Cloud Forest |
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Flower Dome overview |
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+ 5 degree theater |
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Sustainability and Energetics |
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
MY HEAVENLY SLEEPS - LE HOTEL SINGAPORE
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Double room |
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A/C blows right into your bed |
The Superior Room was as expected. Unfortunately I was right next to the lift but the hotel was booked out, so I had no choice. Luckily there was almost no noise from the lift though.
I had a double booked (which is another story for another blog) but the beds were really right next to each other. I tried to move them apart and there was a 10 cm gap between the beds. The guy who cleaned the rooms did not get it and kept moving the beds every day ...right back together ;P
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Some space for storage |
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Shower/toilet |
The Hotel did not offer ANY safety boxes or safes....that is a big disadvantage in my mind.
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Room with NO view |
The TV was attached to the wall and had ONE program in English which worked. Not much entertainment!
The hotel did not offer any breakfast options, though the offered a laundry service for 10S$ per load. That was great. However the laundry comes back in a big bundle, all wrinkled up, because they will not iron it.
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small and limited TV options |
All in all it was an okay stay for a F1 race. The location totally rocks!! If the price is right, I will probably go back there again.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
MY SINGAPORE GP - SINGAPORE
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Bright Singapura |
This post is not going to be about the F1 race, it's drivers or even the results. There is plenty to read about that and it is more professional than I could ever write it. This post is about the awesome experience we had during the F1 activities in Singapore.
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On the race track |
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Birds eye view |
The coolest thing is that you can walk from your hotel to the race. There is no delays and no expensive transportation. Well OK....Hotel prices in Singapore during the race compensate for that!
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Jay Chou |
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Maroon 5 |
The stage for the concerts and shows was the biggest one ever built in Singapore and a lucky draw ticket I had for Katy Perry on the last night proved that even the biggest stage is not enough to host all the thousands of people who want to come to the concert. Getting out of the park at the end of each concert was another matter though.
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Award ceremony |
So, take a guess where I will be next year!
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get close! |
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get educated! |
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get interested! |
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get wet! |
Thursday, September 6, 2012
MY AYUTTHAYA - THAILAND
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Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon |
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Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon |
I love visiting Ayutthaya and have been there countless times. It is all about temples. Ruined temples and monasteries and temples which are still functional and used by worshippers. I have spent single days here but also weeks at a piece with an opportunity to explore the old city on foot. This way I have literally been to every temple in the old district, which is a World Heritage Site.
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Wat Phananchoen |
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Wat Phananchoen |
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Wat Mahathat |
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Wat Ratchaburana |
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Wat Phra Mongkhon Bopit |
- Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon - still a monastery and was one of the oldest and most important temples of ancient Siam.
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Wat Phra Sri Sanphet |
- Wat Phananchoeng Worawihan - This temple along the Pasak river was built in 1324 A.D. and thus 26 years before the founding of Ayutthaya by King Ramathibodi. It contains a palladium Buddha image of Ayutthaya, Luang Phor To, a huge U-thong-style statue.
- Wat Mahathat - The most sacred part of the old capital. Buddha relics were enshrined in the Mahathat Chedi.
- Wat Ratchaburana - A huge but ruined temple with a large Prang in the middle.
- Wat Phra Mongkhon Bophit - A huge building with a palladium Buddha image of Ayutthaya, Luang Phor Mongkhonbobhit, an U-thong and Sukhothai-style image which is entirely covered with gold leaf.
- Wat Phra Sri Sanphet - The temple was the residence of the Ayutthaya monarchs. Wat Phra Sri Sanphet was the temple in the Grand Palace.
- Wat Na Phra Meru - A temple, which is still in use today and the only one, which was not destroyed during the Burmese invasion.
- Wat Suwandararam - Besides the beautiful temple buildings in late Ayutthaya-style, it is famous for it's murals which cover significant historical events.
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Wat Na Phra Meru |
"Wat " being the Thai word for temple, it becomes clear that this visit here is really about temples, culture, Buddha images and Thai architecture. It is important to notice that proper dressing is important here. After all it is similar to visiting a Cathedral or a Mosque, though I have the impression sometimes that those historic Buddhist sites are visited as if it was a Disney Park.
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Tourist pay 5x what the locals pay |
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Proper behaviour please |
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Fun ride for tourists |
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Mural paintings of Wat Suwandararam |
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