Koh Chang - how to's

we rented a car from Avis. in bangkok. loaded up our hotel's phone number into our basis GPS device. the GPS generated directions to our destination. we hit the road. 3.5 hours later we were at the ferry to Koh Chang.

for the road:
a "good luck on the road" jasmine flower garland. an offering to the journey goddess Mae Yanang. all taxi drivers in thailand use one. so we decided to have one too. it's pretty and works well as air freshener.

the ferry to the island takes about 40 minutes.


hotel - Nisa Cabana. up on the cliff, in the middle of a jungle forrest, at the end of the road. very secluded. and very nicely designed. (if you don't critique the artwork on the walls too much).
the room:


the pool area:

the library:

the view:

best way to book - through this site: Agoda
our rate was $60 per night. very reasonable considering the quality of accommodations and service. i use this site all the time for all of my Asia hotel bookings. and they always quote the best price. without fail. have yet to try it for other destinations. the site's customer reviews are also very helpful in making the final commitment.

Wat Arun - The Temple Of Dawn

the first tourist site i've visited in Bangkok.


so much detail it's almost painful.






the stairs to climb to the top are almost vertical. a bit challenging. even for a German:)

the cats of Wat Arun

find the cat in this picture

a little bit of rain

a typical scene for bangkok's monsoon season. when it started raining we decided to wait till it stops inside a 7 Eleven. half an hour later the small street we needed to cross turned into a lively little stream :)

Thai Classifieds Ad

saw this one in Bangkok Post:
"UNEMPLOYED?
BECOME A MONK!"

a few snaps from our trip to new york - st. john's cathedral

a site seeing marvel. one of many new york city has to offer. cathedral of st. john the divine is considered to be the largest christian cathedral in the world. as it was the last religious structure of its kind to be built. conceived in the 1892, changed to gothic design in 1909, the cathedral was last renovated in 2008. don't let the classic gothic revival facade fool you. inside you'll find numerous references to various other religions plus contemporary fixtures reflecting some aspects of non-religious life of nyc.


the classic facade. or is it?

one of the pillars of the facade featuring nyc skyline.

a minora? next to a cross? apparently the numerous representations of worl religions inside the cathedral are supposed to celebrate tolerance and understanding. how "new york" is that?!

new york city fire department memorial (F.D.N.Y.) located in the main chapel.

the Peace Fountain. a public art project proudly displayed in the garden of the cathedral. it's dedicated to the struggle of good and evil featuring the sun, the moon, some animals (a crab and some giraffes), archangel michael, satan, a DNA formation, plus some luminaries. "Despite the Peace Fountain's associating with a Christian (Episcopalian) cathedral, many of the luminaries thus depicted are non-Christian icons, such as Gandhi, Socrates, Einstein and John Lennon, whose image is accompanied by a quote from the lyrics of his song "Imagine"." (from wikipedia). wikipedia also notes that "the Peace Fountain has been both strongly praised and strongly criticized". really? :)

this whole architectural ensemble is a true new york city gem.

from the Big Apple to the Big Mango

so i'm finally settling in. in Bangkok. rented an apartment on Sukhumvit Road, one of the main avenues of Bangkok. it cuts the city across from west to east and then stretches eastward some more all the way to Cambodia. my neighborhood is a Japanese one. with most signs in Thai and Japanese. including the labels on produce in the local supermarket. i am not sure which language i should try to tackle first. so far so good, Big Mango ;)

the first few glimpses:

my local supermarket

a food stall down my street

a dog that lives across the street


some pet fish for sale

some buddhist monks at a flower market

coffee shop buddha

i ordered coffee. they brought me coffee. with some tea too.

a sculpted elephant

a very busy real elephant
(gruzovoj slonik)