This series will go country by country through my two-year trip. I plan on sharing some experiences, thoughts, and photos of each country that I visited.

Country by Country 17: Thailand

After leaving Morocco, I went back to Germany to settle some of my affairs. I had been paying for my apartment in Germany for the whole time I was on the road. I wanted to keep my options open because I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy traveling. I was enjoying being on the road, so I went about the arduous task of moving possessions into storage.

It took about a month to sell and give away the furniture and things that I didn't want to keep. I finally got all of my things moved into a storage unit and I officially became homeless. I visited with some of my friends, said my goodbyes, and soon I was on a flight to Bangkok, Thailand.

I was a little nervous at the airport. I'd heard that airlines can force you to buy an extra ticket if you don't have proof of onward travel. I had no idea how long I'd be in Thailand and didn't have that proof. The check-in guy in Frankfurt didn't ask me about that. Instead, he asked if I wanted an exit row because I'm tall. I said yes and got an awesome seat. The German couple who sat next to me was really cool and we ended up hanging out in Bangkok.

A park with a lake in Bangkok.

A buidling being built.

A river tour in Bangkok.

I didn't like Bangkok very much. Bangkok was my first experience in Asia. The culture and climate shock were very real (there was snow on the ground in Germany when I left). I already knew from Europe that I don't like cities. It shouldn't have surprised me that I wouldn't like Asian cities either.

I had planned on spending a week in Bangkok, but I left after 2 nights. I took a train south, then I boarded a boat to Koh Tao.

A boat to Koh Tao.

I wanted to go to Koh Tao because I had heard that it's one of the cheapest places in the world to get SCUBA certified. One of the salespeople on the boat gave me a good price for a room and certification. I later found out that almost everyone else paid more than me. So don't be afraid to negotiate with the sales people on the boat.

Koh Tao was roughly 4 thousand times more enjoyable than Bangkok. Unfortunately, I got a little bit sick on the train ride south. The exhaust from the train engines filled up the compartment that I was in, and all that smoke screwed up my lungs a little bit. So I spent an extra day trying to get better.

Feeling better already!

I started up SCUBA school and really enjoyed the experience. It starts with a few hours of classroom work. Then we did a dive in a swimming pool. Then we had a few dives in the ocean.

The rooms and facilities at my diving school were great! The rooms weren't exactly luxurious, but they were clean and not run down. The instructor was competent and fun to be around.

Another day in SCUBA class.

Our instructor showing us some of the fish we might encounter under the water.

After class, I mostly relaxed and read. I also hung out with some of my classmates.

Cheers!

Fire show.

I ended up getting my open water certification and my advanced certification. My instructor told me about a live-aboard tour that he knew about. For a hefty price, I could live on a boat for 6 nights and do something like 19 dives. I decided to go for it.

I had a hellish trip to Phuket, where I would be meeting my boat. Luckily, I made it in one piece and before I knew it, I was on an old Chinese Junk cruising towards the Solomon Islands.

My home for 6 days.

The dining room.

Sunset on the boat.

Islands at dusk.

The live-aboard trip was tons of fun and worth the steep price. I didn't go on all 19 dives, but I did most of them. On one dive, my body almost forced me to accomplish my bucket-list task of taking a shit while SCUBA diving. Luckily, I made it back to the boat in time.

After the SCUBA trip, I got dropped off at Phuket. In my country, we have a saying, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". So I will say nothing about Phuket.

I left Phuket as soon as I could and took a bus up to Chiang Mai. The bus ride was 24 hours, but the seats were actually comfortable and it wasn't all that bad. Meals were included in ticket price and we stopped at a few restaurants. I had to have some of the Thai passengers show me how I was supposed to eat some of the food.

A curch in Chiang Mai.

Graffiti in Chiang Mai.

I had read a lot of hype about Chiang Mai online, but to me, it just seemed like any other Thai city. The bars were still full of annoying bar girls, and the aggressive touts were still touting. Maybe I was simply fed up with cities in general, but Chiang Mai didn't appeal to me at all.

My Thai visa was close to running out, so I went to the immigration office to have it extended. After I got my visa extended, I was leaving the building and saw one of my friends from SCUBA class. I waited for her and we hung out. She told me that she was going Pai on the next day and asked if I wanted to go. I'd had enough of Chiang Mai and made plans to meet her the next day.

We took a bus to Pai and I loved it. It was a smaller, quiet, relaxed town where people mostly leave you alone. Maybe I'm sensitive, but I hate it when people try to sell me stuff when I'm trying to have a beer and read my book. I don't care if you're selling ass, drugs, tours, or sunglasses. I'm not interested. In Pai, people left me alone and I loved it.

The hostel that my friend was staying in was full. She walked me down to an area across the river and helped me find a private bungalow. It turned out great. I could go to the hostel when I wanted to be social, and I could stay at my bungalow if I wanted to read or watch movies.

I spent a lot of my time in Pai with a view like this.

Night market in Pai.

Awwww.... hell naw!

A temple in Pai.

Chillin' at Common Grounds Hostel.

Beer Olympics at Common Grounds. I'm happy to report that Team America won the gold.

The whole time I was in Thailand, I told myself that I wouldn't rent a scooter. I've heard too many horror stories and I actually know a guy who's permanently messed up because of a Thai scooter accident. The scooter traffic looked too hectic for me.

Then one night I saw 3 Thai girls who looked about 12 years old. They were all carrying cellos, and they all got on the same scooter and drove off into busy traffic, at night. I figured that if 3 12-year-olds with cellos can ride scooters safely, then I could too.

I rented a scooter and took a few trips to explore some of the areas around Pai. I also fell in love with riding scooters.

A landscape.

A nice little lookout.

There is an elephant farm close to Pai.

Pai was my favorite stop in Thailand. I liked that the locals are less pushy there. The night market is awesome and full of incredible food. There's live music just about every night. It's also pretty cheap in Pai.

After a month in Pai, it was time to move on. I got on a bus and headed toward the border with Laos where I would take the slow boat to Luang Prabang. Stay tuned for a post about Laos next.