Making the Inevitable Joyous - Surfing in Bangkok and Macau - CatchingUp pt12

Time to close this "catching up" series. This post is about the few days in Bangkok and then Macau at the end of February. In Macau I started the catching up, about a month ago. So here the catching up stops.

Both Bangkok and Macau had something in common: I didn't really want to spend any time in them. However, as transportation routes go, we're sucked into specific places, whether we like it or not. Bangkok is really such a place and it's extremely hard to avoid it when moving around Thailand. As I've personally grown to dislike Bangkok but had booked my flight from there, I decided that instead of trying to spend as little time there as possible and risk missing my flight, I should make it fun.

How fun? CouchSurfing fun! So I looked up hosts hoping to avoid the Kaho San area and its density. Seems my CS karma is doing well as I keep getting positive replies from the first person I send to and I meet really good people I enjoy spending time with.

Beer towers - how groups of people enjoy alcohol induced happiness together

Wine and beer tasting with my cool host in Bangkok

Smoking bubbles - yeah!

I was Alison's first guest and she's been a fantastic host, trying to always make sure I'm comfortable. We did end up in Kaho San road one evening. Guess you can't run away from fate :p

Another evening in Bangkok I was walking around an area with vile sewage smell and more mosquitoes and cockroaches than I ever witnessed in an urban area. So yes, I still dislike staying in Bangkok but any place can be fun as long as you're spending it with people whose company you enjoy.

Bye bye Bangkok

And now.... Macau. Nowadays famous for its casinos, Macau is a lovely one or two day trip for people passing by who don't desire losing all their money gambling. For me, it's been really good because of the cool Indonesian host I had, Intan. With an Israeli passport, I still cannot visit Indonesia so I'll have to know only the traveling ones. With Intan I've seen a different and very relaxed side of Macau and was very happy for that.

Rikshaw is a tourist form of transportation

Cool bus and I can do a V

Dogs in Macau know how to read

Chinese New Year boobs-for-nose figure

"Be tolerant towards others - mutual respect means a happier life" says the caption. I say: be nice to others or these guys will kick your ass!

The Chinese New Year is long gone but maybe they'll keep the decorations till next year

Chinese vegetarian restaurants have a habit of making dishes that look like meat and have meaty names. Suspicion...

Romantic Macau all lit up for you to gamble your money away

The romance does appeal to some

Am I the only person thinking this creature who's a part of the Chinese new year's decorations has a nose that look like boobs? Something's fishy here and it's not bcz we're near the sea

Rocking the boat and off to Hong Kong

Classical music in the shopping mall. Hong Kong is all about contrasts.

OK. Too much text here. Can't believe you read all the way through. There was a little girl dancing at some point near this trio. Everybody loves little girls dancing. No musical sense whatsoever but kids are so cute. So why don't grown ups go out and dance whenever they feel like it? Well, I do!

Koh Chang and a Secret Island, Thailand - CatchingUp pt11

SPOILER: Spectacular pictures at the end!
This catching up series started nearly a month ago so it's time to really catch up and here are snapshots from the next two weeks in Thailand during the middle-end February 2013. Just wishing for a nice relaxed beach time with the option to work on Colnect, I headed to Koh Chang. Didn't get a good vibe there as it felt quite crowded and not essentially with the people I'd like to meet. The nicer rooms were in overpriced resorts inhabited mostly by tourist families. The "backpacker" area on Lonely Beach (a misnomer that stuck) was more short term younger tourists and the rooms were ~10 minutes from the beach. While 10 minutes walk from the beach not seem like a lot to some of you, it's much longer than 10 seconds and it makes a big difference.

I enjoy looking like a stupid dork. It's the new SEXY! or not ,.,.,. Scooter trips are fun so I don't need the social approval. I think.

Koh Chang was so beautiful before the hordes of tourists made it so crowded

Frognector finding new friends but seems like they're stoners

Love is in the air, or leaves are... sounds similar

First night in Koh Chang included skinny dipping while seeing the meteor that hit Russia. Sorry, no pictures from the dip or meteor.

The earth on his armpit means he doesn't have to shave it...

So what's the fish on the right going to do?

Koh Chang, 2013

As fun as Koh Chang wasn't, it took me two days to head out to a beautiful quiet amazing island that has been my home for the next two weeks. While Koh Chang disappointed me, this island restored my joy and was more than I've expected. I would have written down its name but many people who keep frequenting it, prefer that it stays a secret. Well, there are daily boats here from Koh Chang so it's really not a secret, but let it be.

One of the guys working on the boat has a very unique penis belt. When I asked him about it he said something about his shaman saying it'll increase his vigor and whatnot.

Electricity is available in the evenings with a generator and that's the only time I could recharge my laptop. A way around it is to ask for a fruit juice and then the staff has to turn on the generator to use the blender.

A very chill beach, we quickly mingled with everyone around to enjoy Thai guitar night

Vodka redbull - Thai style

Yeah, I was playing as well. Not in Thai language... yet

Unique guitar playing techniques. This is one of those I can make public ;)

Look who else has a Frognector flier on his guitar! Yeah, go Frognector!

Interesting Russian-tourist symbiosis means that the owners of the beach are happy to have Russians coming in the middle of the day and leaving a few hours later. They never give them rooms as they don't like them.

Some of the huts on the beach. Yeah, you really had to read that. How would you guess otherwise?

See this thing inside the water, that's the one from the previous picture

Been a while since I enhanced my feet-pictures series

Coconut? Coconut!

A drink and a meal, two-in-one all year long

More like a painting, isn't it?

The sunrise is better there than the sunset. Boom