Bday trip and Loy Krathong

Hello ~
Long time no see!

So my birthday was recently and my mom gifted me a trip to chiang mai to experience Loy Krathong aka the festival of lights together.
We took a bus from phuket to bangkok (~ 10 hours), had to wait ~ 3 hours in bangkok and then took a train from bangkok to chiang mai (~ 12 hours). After 25 hours we finally made it!

Sneaky picture from the bridge which links phuket to the mainland.

Surprisingly nearly everything is WAY cheaper than in phuket. I mean I read it before but it was still a surprise that the prices are like a third of the ones in phuket. A THIRD.

Main event was of course Loy Krathong. There was a parade and people dancing, street markets and a really nice atmosphere. You could see the sky lanters glowing in the pitch black night sky with the full moon.

 

It was the real life version to tangled. Every temple was illuminated and decorated with lanterns. Every street light was on. Residents decorated their homes with candles or fairy lights and so did the restaurants.

 

 

Loy Krathong is over the timespan of around three days (as long as the full moon is fully full) and this year the first day was busiest one. On the third day we stayed in the hotel because we were exhausted. 25 hours of traveling and then full time programm exploring the city was taking a tole on us.

On my actuall birthday we visited the zoo of chiang mai and it was wonderful. One of my favorite animals is a koala but I have never seen one until that day. We saw pandas and koalas and a lot more. It was magical.

The whole area nearby the zoo is really pretty. Maybe 3 minutes away from the zoo is a park which is lovely for walks.

Conclusion:

That whole trip was totally worth it. The expieriences and the memories I made are priceless. Loy krathong has such a beatiful atmosphere surrounding it I would say this is something you have to expierience once in your lifetime.
Chiang Mai as a whole is gorgeous. The weather is pleasant and everything is so cheap.
Two of the reasons why my mom and I have decided to move to Chiang Mai!

I hope I find a bit more motivation to keep this blog updated.
I will try my best.

xoxo

(wanna see more pictures? check me out on instagram (_maria_411) )

Update?

Hey Guys!
Sorry for being inactive for so long.
We moved again and I got really sick for two weeks.
Having the option to live in a furnished condo with pool and gym is unbelieveable!
I’m so grateful for that.
(the rent is also really cheap!!!)

But still: I miss my family a lot. It’s more like phases they come and go but it still hurts.
Beside these phases my depression and anxiety are also on a high peek at the moment..
Knowing no one my age here is quite hard.

I’m trying to get over this and plan on doing my driver license and I’m searching for a job. We will see how this turns out.
I’m also working out nearly everyday so at least I have that 😀

Update to the overall situation in thailand:
On friday the 13th it was the day of death from King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
It was a day full of grief and reflection.
In Kathu (where I live) the heaven cried all day.

That means the rest of the month is full of mourning and the memorial service will also be held at the 26th of October.

Kuala Lumpur experience

Soooo guys.

I am back from Kuala Lumpur. Just a short trip (2 Days, 1 Night) so I could get a new stamp for my passport. And dear lord that was an exhausting trip.

We took a plane really early in the morning and I couldn’t sleep the night before so that was a pain in the ass but a coffee and a good travel mood were enough to save the day for me. We flew with airasia (the first time) and it was overall a really nice experience. Really smooth take off and a flawless landing which is good because my mom get’s really anxious when it comes to flying somewhere.

The airport of Kuala Lumpur is HUGE. Three floors and a lot of options to shop or to get some food. We headed straight to the hotel and I took a long nap before falling asleep again (woops :D).

The next day we actually wanted to go and visit the petronas towers but the train we wanted to take was an half an hour late and we had a really strict time management so we couldn’t make it (hopefully next time).

A picture of the tram map in case anyone wanted to know that.

So instead we went a bit shopping in the NU shopping mall that is connected to the Kuala Lumpur Sentral station (and I visited sephora there for the first time ever. It was magical).

Inside on the roof of the KL Sentral station

And the only view I got that day from the NU shopping mall

Got a new hoodie from Monki :^)

Now that the pictures are out of the way let’s get to the funny stories:

After I got my passport checked and left in KL the guy who checked it started to sing my name. No joke. My mom got her’s checked and he just started to sing my name. I couldn’t stop laughing after she told me.

We then boarded and everything was fine until my seat neigbour decided he wanted to have a talk with me (I was clearly wearing headphones but he just didn’t care). We chatted for a bit until he asked me out of the blue if I was married or so. I think the look and my was scared him (thank god) because he stopped asking me questions after I told him no and put my headphones back on.

Ok seriously why does someone asked another person that out of the blue? It was so awkward. Way to go.

BUT best of the day goes to another security guy checking my visa and arrival card in Phuket. He bluntly asked me if he could give me his phone number DURING CHECKING MY VISA AND ARRIVAL CARD. I said yes but if you are out there and by any chance are reading this: Sorry but I won’t call.

Oh I forgot to mention that it rained all the time (in KL and Phuket) so that the streets were flooded and a taxi driver (MAFIA GANG I SWEAR) tried to sell us ONE ride for 3500 Baht = 88 Euros. ONE RIDE.

 

Kuala Lumpur in 3 words:

Unfinished
Organized
Exhausting

 

Mini life update

Hello Guys 🙂

I thought I should keep you a bit updated (isn’t this the meaning of a blog?)

Yesterday was the thai version of halloween (at least so someone told me) and so my mom and I decided go a bit shopping @ Jungceylon because my garbage phone from Germany died a few days ago and I needed a new one. There is a lot of variety of phone brands (Samsung, Huawei, Vivo, etc.) and stores (BigC, PowerBuy, Banana, etc.) where you can get them.

After I decided which phone I wanted the lady who worked there told me I would get a bunch of free items for buying this particular phone (still don’t know why I got this stuff but yeah whatever).

I never knew getting free stuff for buying a mobile phone was a thing but it was a nice surprise.

There is also a new guest we have on a daily basis: A stray male cat.
He likes to pose for pictures and to cuddle.

I call him Jon.

And finally: my mom and I will probably go to Chiang Mai for 2 weeks in october to check that out. Hopefully the weather is a bit cooler there.

My first Blog

Hello!

So as you already know from the title this is my first blog post and I thought I should maybe tell you first a bit about me and my situation/ the situation I am in.

My name is Sina. I am 18 years old and graduated from school a day before my Mom and me left for Thailand (yes I am not alone here).

Let’s be real: This decision wasn’t easy. I had to give away my dog (who I still miss dearly to this day), leave behind family and friends and moved away from the city I grew up in (there is a ongoing love-hate relationship with me and this town).

My former dog Mony. We adopted her 2 years ago and our hearts are still bleeding when we look at pictures of her. But she was/is already 9 years old, a shy and angsty dog who dislikes loud noises and is not good with traveling so we decided it would be the best for her to stay behind in Germany.

Saying goodbye to Mony was hard enough and my grandparents also were not thrilled about the idea of me moving away because there is the possibility of them dying (or me who knows) before we can see each other again.

BUT thanks to social media such as facebook, instagram and snapchat I can stay in contact with my friends and siblings and via skype I even can call my grandparents and dad+stepmom
(dear lord a lot of and’s)

My mom and me are currently 6 weeks in Thailand although I have to admit the first week was by far the hardest. I never experienced jetlag this bad before (and hopefully never will) but I was like a zombie. I slept more than 20 hours a day and only went out for food or the shared restroom we had.

But after I made it through that periode it got a lot easier. The clima is still a pain in the ass and probably will always be but hey I knew what was coming, I have no right to complain.

We changed the location four times already so I will make a short list to highlight the good but also to show you the bad of each location (what I experienced and in my opinion):

Week 1: Phuket Town
Dear Lord it is loud in Phuket Town. Also you can encounter cockroaches so beware (AND DON’T STEP ON THEM).
But the good to it was the variety. Old and new in one city. Fresh markets vs high end restaraunts. Also the local bus station is here and it is close to BigC.
(sorry I don’t have a good picture to sum phuket town up)

Week 2: Kata Beach
The beach is not really crowded compared to week 3-5 but we have low season right now. The best is depending on the area you stay or live in the noise is always manageable.

Week 3-5: Patong…
I am not a fan of Patong tbh. Patong is the area you go to when you want to visit a club or you want to party all night. Perfect for a PARTY HOLIDAY. Always crowded, people are way more invasive and there are a lot of rude or/and drunk people on the daily (mostly foreigners). But you can get everything from 6am-22pm (excluding public holidays) at the Jungceylon shopping mall. They even have a water show.

Week 6: Kata Beach near Kata Noi
This is a area where you can really live or stay longer in. Quite most of the times and the people are nice. But either you are mobile or you have to walk everywhere. There is also a big local bus station at the kata beach.

 

Yeah I think that’s enough for my first blog post and I will try to post as much as I can.
Love and Greetings from Thailand
Sina