#BestofTravelTuesday

It's time to say goodbye. No, not to blogging. I'm not done with that yet, sorry ;)

It's time to say goodbye to #TravelTuesday link-up.

The first link-up I joined (and the only one, at least up to now). Even though I did not join the link-up every single week, I really enjoyed being a part of this community. Reading fellow bloggers' stories. That's how I started reading many blogs. More or less regularly, but I am. And I love that. I will definitely not stop.

But everything must come to an end at some point. And even though I get that, I have to admit it that I'm a bit sad, too.

Some of my own personal favourite posts shared via Travel Tuesday link-up would definitely include:

The hidden gem of the Blue Pool in Krabi Province, Thailand.

A walk around the Koh Lipe island, Thailand.

A fight with a monkey in Tiger Cave Temple, Thailand.

 Yes, Thailand was full of adventures for us.

but also a post on an Incan legend in Polish mountains.

and a few others...

Through the link-up, I got to know many fascinating people sharing a similar passion. I got to read about many interesting places. Got inspired to visit many of them. And some of them got to my (actually non-existent) bucket list.

Thank you for the link-up to all the co-hosts.

I can't wait now to join a different one. Maybe more than just one ;)

#bestoftraveltuesday

An InLinkz Link-up

Our last day in Bangkok - the Dusit Gardens

We got back to Bangkok. With some adventures on the way, but we made it back. The journey took us practically the whole day. First the taxi boat + ferry, then a van ride to Hat Yai airport. Then a flight to Bangkok. And finally, the ride to our hostel. And it was that last part that was the most adventurous. We did not want to take a taxi, cause... well, we simply didn't want to. We took a bus instead. We found the right one, found out where we should take off, everything seemed great. Up to a point, though. As it turned out, the city was completely jammed. Totally stuck. We spent an hour on the bus, while the ride should have taken us a quarter. And we didn't even get to the place we were supposed to get to. We changed for BST the moment we could. As that is not affected by traffic jams. Then we finally gave in and got a taxi (there were no tuk-tuks available!), which took us to our hostel. It was already after dark. We were exhausted. And not really willing to move anywhere...We had the following day all planned. Since our flight back home wasn't until 2 am, so we had a whole day to spare, we wanted to take the train and go to Ayutthaye (I never know if I'm spelling the name right. I've seen a few ways of spelling it already :/ So forgive me any mistakes). See the ruins, the temples, see the former capital of Thailand... I was so looking for that trip. Yeah... I still am...

We spent our last night in Thailand in the same hostel, where we spent our first night. Instead of spending the evening in, we finally managed to get up and go out. It was hard, but we made it. We got to Khao San Road. But it wasn't the same street as two weeks earlier. It was much, much louder. And much, much more full of people! Gosh. I loved our first experience on Khao San Road and hated this last experience. Not what I was expecting, definitely not. We grabbed something to eat, quickly, and decided to wander around the smaller streets in the neighbourhood. Once we got back to our hostel, we started looking for alternatives to Ayutthaye. We didn't want to get through all the jammed streets again. Spent that much time on the bus, then train, just to get back to Bangkok to get transferred to the airport, get on one plane, then another, then on the train again until we got back home. That seemed too much for us. Plus the stress that we might not make it back on time due to traffic jam. No, definitely not.

But then, in our little travel guide (paper one. I love paper travel guides. I'm not a fan of apps), we found a place quite close by. A walking distance from our hostel. And we already had a plan for the following day.

We got up in the morning, ate a quick breakfast, packed our bags and left them in the hostel. We were off to exploit other parts of Bangkok. And on foot. Walking by beautiful places that, otherwise, we wouldn't have seen. Cause they're not touristy, not marked on maps. And they were right round the corner. Just a little bit in the back...

It was a nice, sunny morning, so it was even better for us (Bangkok in the sun, finally!). After a while of walking through the back sides of Bangkok, we finally got to Dusit Gardens. What did we want to see there? Vimanmek Mansion - that was our goal. Vimanmek Mansion, dating back to the beginnings of 1900s, is world's largest golden teakwood mansion. It took us a while to find the entrance through the big stone wall (we walked by the entrance to the royal palace before we finally got to the right one) , but once we found it... no, we were not there yet ;) I mean, we were, but it wasn't that eaasy to get inside the mansion. First, we had to buy the tickets. Then, there was a "proper dresscode" check. Phew, we made it. We could proceed. To the entrance? Well, not exactly. After a five minute walk through the garden (gorgeous, by the way), we got to another check point. Even though we were already right by the mansion, we couldn't get inside yet. First, we had to leave all our belongings in the lockers. And by all, I mean all. Cameras and phones seemed pretty obvious, not to mention any kinds of purses, bags and backpacks. But we also had to leave all kinds of hats, caps and even glasses. All we could take inside was a tiny travelguide that we bought at the entrance. Then, we could proceed to the mansion. No, not to the entrance. Don't run that fast! First, we had to get to the room in what seemed like a cellar to leave our shoes. And only then were we allowed to get inside. Ok, all that done. We can finally feast our eyes with the beauty of the building, the furniture, the china sets in various colours and the surrounding gardens. It took us about 45 minutes (more or less) to get through the mansion. We were in no hurry.

Having seen everything there was to see, we could go out, put our shoes on, collect our belongings and we were finally allowed to take some pictures of the mansion. Thank you.

We took a short walk through the gardens, wondering what else there was to see.

We saw some signs leading to a throne hall. We thought that that might be worth seeing. And we were not mistaken. From the outside, it reminded me a bit of a mixture of a few of European cathedrals, but it was worth getting inside. This time I had to put on extra clothes (women have to wear skirts, no pants allowed! even long ones are not enough. And what seemed like a proper sleeve length in the mansion, was no longer proper for the throne hall).

Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall looks impressive from the outside, but what it houses inside made an even bigger impression on me. Currently, it exhibits masterpieces of "Arts of the Kingdom V" by Support Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand. Of course, we cameras were not allowed inside.

I can't even begin to describe the beauty of each and every single item displayed inside. The detailed works of art can feast the eyes even of those most reluctant to the beauty of art (me insluded. I'm not a fan of art galleries. I would rather get lost in the streets of a town or city, go on a hike or something than spend a few hours in an art gallery). I loved this one. At the entrance, each one of us got an audio guide that gave a lot of information on every piece of art. Including the time it took to make a give thing. And how many people were working on it. The numbers were massive, really impressive. But it's not just the art displayed that caught my attention in the building. It was the richly ornamented walls, floors and ceilings as well. Plus the massive halls. We spent about three hours inside (if I remember correctly. Well, we difinitely spent way more time inside than we anticipated) and we ran through the last halls (we were already exhausted... And starving!). If you plan to visit the place, grab a bite before you get inside. Learn on my mistakes ;)

Finally, we went to the zoo which was right across the street. The animals we saw there were mostly endangered species. Totally unfamiliar to me. I haven't seen them in any of the European zoos I have visited. Lizards, though (huge ones! The ones that Bangkok is famous for) were moving around freely. There were times when I felt safe just beacuse I was in the cage (on the Bird Island). And the lizard was simply watching me in the cage.

Then we got back on Khao San Road. Had our last Pad Thais. Collected our luggage and got to the airport. It was time to say goodbye to Bangkok and get back home. Goodbye Thailand. I miss you. I will come back.

Side note: I already wrote a post on visiting Dusit Gardens as a guest post on The Thrifty Gypsy's Travels. If you like, you can read it here.

Diana, Katrina, and Rachel

A walk around the island

Our last full day on Koh Lipe. The following morning we were leaving for Hat Yai and then Bangkok for our last night in Thailand. We were sad we were leaving, but we wanted to use the day to the fullest. Apart from packing, we did a lot of fun things, too.

We spent the morning on the beach. The weather was perfect. Hot (but not unbearably hot) and sunny. We went to Pattaya Beach for a change. The reef there was so much different than the one on Sunrise Beach! I might say that it was even better. I was really sad than we didn't discover that earlier. But everyone kept saying that Sunrise Beach is so much better. Sand quality-wise - I agree. Views - I agree. The reef - not so much. Plus, we were there in the rainy season, so the ferries were arriving to the platform by Sunrise Beach, not Pattaya. So Sunrise Beach was also louder...

Anyway, it was so beautiful. We kept swimming around, nobody was disturbing us. There were many different kinds of fish to observe. Plants and formations I can't name (I suck at that. I've spent my whole life living by the sea... But, in my defense, we don't have coral reef in Poland. At least not to my knowledge ;)). I was really amazed. I didn't take any pictures, cause I just wanted to enjoy the moment. And not focus on trying to capture things I wouldn't be able to name anyway ;)

After delicious lunch, we decided to have a walk around the island. Ok, maybe around is too much to say, but we simply decided to go for a walk. Wherever we want to go, wherever our legs take us.

We walked by the temple.

Before we finally got to the third of the main beaches of Koh Lipe:

In order to get to the beach, you have to walk down a flight of stairs. But before you do that, you can have a first glimpse at the beach and at the sea. In between the huts, you can see the marvellous colours of water, sky and sand.

When we got there, we were the only people on the beach. As if it was made purely for the two of us. Birds flying high above us from Koh Adang to Koh Lipe. Crabs walking on sand. And the sound of sea... A perfect place for an afternoon nap:

or for simply chilling, walking around, doing nothing, thinking about nothing. Just looking around. Taking in the beauty of the place. And the quietness. Magical.

Then we walked across the island. They're either preparing for building a road or they simply made it available to get from northern to southern parts of the island.

We ended up on westernmost end of Pattaya Beach. White sand, warm water, and hardly anyone on the beach. A paradise on earth?

We got to Walking Street and got back to our hut. We had to finish packing.

We spent the sunset on Sunrise Beach again. Its northernmost part. We wanted to see the last sunset in Thailand, cause it's not that pretty in Bangkok. The water level was extremely low. Boats were parked on sand. And people were partying. Full moon. That's what it was (I guess).

The clouds and sun were dancing together in the sky. A colourful performance. And from the east, an evening storm was approaching. Again, very beautiful. I miss those evening spectacles.

The reef sticking out of water (water was knee-deep at that place):

We ate delicious dinner (I love Thai food) and went back to our hut. We had to get ready for our morning departure. We got up early, ate breakfast (took some food for later as well) and went to Sunrise Beach. There were many people waiting there for the taxi boats to get to the floating platforms already. We got into the line. A guy came up to us, wanted to see our ticket. We showed him our voucher. He said we should get out of the line, that we should first talk to some guy (he pointed at him). Before we got tu that guy, he got into one of the longtails and we never saw him again. So we got back to the line and that same guy (the first one) had no objections anymore. We got to the floating platform. Got a ticket (same thing as they were distributing in Pak Bara, only this time our numbers were thirty something) and had to wait for the speedboat. I could feel that this platform was floating... Oh, my sea sickness kicked in a little bit. Though focusing on the last views of the island helped a bit. Then the speedboat came. It was much, much smaller than the ferry that brought us to the island. We were lucky to have the low numbers, at least we had seats. Many people were standing. When I already though no one else could get on board, more people were jammed... Oh, boy, that was scary to see them getting on board, and with small children. Kids were getting sick on the way again, but this time in the toilet. We finally (and luckily) got to Pak Bara. We could leave the speedboat (through the ferry!). We got to the van that was already waiting for us. The van took us to Hat Yai airport in time for our flight back to Bangkok. For our last night in Thailand.

But more on that, later.