Asia After Hours

Bohol : A nature love affair

I am not very satisfied with this video. It could have been done a lot better. Moreover I didn’t shoot at Alona beach which was a mistake. With more time and less hassle it could be done – next time maybe…I am pretty sure that I will return.
Above you see the tarsier who is the mascot of the island.

Bohol beats the shit out all islands of Thailand including Koh Chang. I also like Bohol more than Boracay, it is larger, more things to do and less touristy+lower costs. Bohol also got some nice beaches, maybe not as spectacular as Boracay but with far less people around.
As I am not the water-sports guy and felt very wrong at Boracay, Bohol fitted me better. There is more to do and see like the chocolate hills, you can do a Lobok river cruise and see so much more.
What I liked most about the island was that it is so lush green, with many trees. It gives me a very positive feeling just walking/driving and looking around. Next time I would get a motorbike, cruising with no real destination, I could do that all day long.
Life is very simple on Bohol : You see people just starting to fish at a bridge when they get hungry, you see people trading with pigs or you can join watching some cock-fights. It must be a great place with lots of time. And It is just a half/a third of the prices what you pay in Boracay.
Of course Palawan Islands might be more beautiful in terms of beaches, for being alone and isolated; but I get the feeling that Bohol got a great mixture and it is easier getting there and away from it. Palawan Islands is really a pain in the ass location to hit if you are on a “time-budget”. Moreover I just like the trees and whole greenish island setting of Bohol, you don’t have that at Palawan.
Bad thing is that you cannot fly to Bohol from Cebu, there is only the ferry, the “Ocean Jet” which really is old, dirty and always late…From Manila you could fly directly.

The people on Bohol are also very funny and friendly. But things can get annoying and unefficient at times, it is just not Thailand where everything is convenient somehow. You also see trash flying around at times and nobody cares. That would never happen in Thailand.
The people at Lobok are famous for their singing skill, the people in the Philippines in general are excellent and joyful singers. Some church singing group of Lobok won some important singing contest in Barcelona according to my tour guide there. She also said that I have a lot of fans on the island. It was embarrassing enough that I had a whole boat for myself but even more embarrassing when another boat full with Filipina girls drove by, screaming and cheering at me. This might sound cool to you but at the moment it really wasn’t. I felt like in the zoo, me being the monkey getting bananas from everyone. It reminded me in a weird way of Cebu where the white dude-Asian chick power ratio must be stronger than anywhere else in the world.
Especially I miss seeing the landscape around. The colors and fresh air breeze are just so nice. I can’t get Bohol out of mind – a nature love affair :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OravIAnRGq0

Popularity: unranked

Chiang Mai : old town, Doi Suthep, night bazaar, club Monkey

Chiang Mai is my prefered relaxation destination. Some people might point you to Hua Hin for that but Chiang Mai just has much more to offer. The beach in Hua Hin is medicore and except going to the spas there is really nothing to do. In Chiang Mai you have the old town, temples, sweet little pubs and restaurants and rice paddies. Chiang Mai is full of cultural highlights and best of all are the honest, super-friendly people.

The taxi drivers might drive a little slower than in Bangkok but at least they don’t try to pull tricks. If you like it more slow-paced, here you go. The streets are well maintained anyway and everyone watches out more on the road than anywhere else in Thailand. It is a fantastic place for older people. Even the bars/pubs can be fun if you already have a girl with you.

Chiang Mai University is the second best university of the country and their hospitals like Maharaj hospital are excellent as well. For growing up as a child Chiang Mai is the best place to be. If I would ever get married with a Thai and had a child, I would want it to grow up there.
Getting it over to Singapore for further education would be easy from there as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4EaGbXex74

Clubbing doesn’t really exist in Chiang Mai we had to find out. There are only 2 half-way decent places to go where mostly University students hang out : one of it is Club Monkey, I forgot the second one but it was similar.
The joy of Chiang Mai in the evening is more to hang out with your honey and a beer at a little pub, going to bed early. Perfect at an older age like I said before.
Below is a picture of Foxy Lady which has a good location next to the Night Bazaar. The Dusit D2 constructed their hotel right in front of the most famous lady bar of Chiang Mai. But I would not recommend coming to Chiang Mai for the bargirls or massage parlors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A1RmaTi8BI

Popularity: unranked

“Take me to the chopper” : Aerial photography helicopter flight from Bangkok to Pattaya

This 15min video got shot during a 2 hours helicopter flight from Peninsula hotel Bangkok to Bangkok Pattaya hospital. I didn’t knew it before but according to Advance Aviation the Peninsula hotel is having the best helipad across whole South East Asia. So we were lucky. We started flying from sunrise which was a good idea because it gives the city a special appearance. Sights like Wat Arun are also most spectacular to visit at sunrise.

I won’t list now everything that you might notice in the video, mostly I don’t know it anyway. Just enjoy the eye candy :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ful-DaBlLg

Popularity: unranked

The Big Mango

This Big Mango in my eyes is the world’s best city. When I visited Bangkok for the first time in 2005, I already had the feeling that this would become a love-affair. It just felt right to be there and things didn’t change since that.
When we explored the city by helicopter I recognized how little I know of the city. I don’t think it is really important to know every angel there, but there is plenty I still want to learn and explore. The heart of Bangkok are its natural friendly, Buddhistic people who are strongly connected with the king. I don’t think it is correct/fair to say that everything went downhill and that it just became a touristic, idiot hub. It depends on the areas and tell me any other place that’s better taking it all together. Jakarta has more diverse characters, it feels more grown-up, but they don’t have that open, free feeling : too much is happening just inside buildings there.

One of the most frequented questions I get is how much money you need to enjoy it the way I present it in my videos. I thought a long time about it and experienced the very luxury but also the budget end. I didn’t start staying in Bangkok at the Jim Thompson suite. My first hotel was the President Solitaire. I payed for my first room and first stay THB 2200/day. Let me tell you what : I was so extremely happy with this room, I could not believe that I was now able to afford a room that has such a nice marble bathroom. I was blasted away from the Thai hospitality and got the chills when I entered my room. I think the first time Jim Thompson didn’t make me happier, although I still consider it to be the best room of a hotel in Bangkok and Bangkok is No.1 worldwide in my eyes.
The point is that at a certain level, the extra luxury doesn’t bring you proportional extra fun.
Interesting is that according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the normal, average tourist spends around THB 4000 per day, a little more than USD 100. And I believe that this for a tourist is just about right to do everything without real limitations if you are smart. Of course there always is no open end. But I would never go in below THB 4000 per day, it won’t be fun. As an expat or resident the budget could be decreased a lot. Beware that taken into assumption that your currency might inflate at a rate of 2.5%, your fixed money value will decrease by half after 2 decades.

Honestly speaking you can basically fuck all my guides if you search there for eventually having the ultimate day. They can help you for getting an impression, give you ideas and a better overview. Everyone has a different taste, I prefer to structure here everything as an authority because in first priority I am doing this site for myself, it is a collection database of my own travel memories.

Do you really need to pay THB 5000 for a having the best massage experience of Thailand ? Hell no, you only pay that if you want to be secluded/safe from the real world, housing in pure luxury while getting the treatment. Some of my most memorable massages were THB 250, 90 min Thai massages in some dingy parlors, located in small Sois.
The picture is very similar for Thai food. My best Tom Yum Goong I also didn’t had a 5-star Thai restaurant. Does this now all mean that I reverse back and only stay at the budget places ? No, I will continue visiting the whole spectrum because I think I experience most that way. The point I want to explain is that even if you cannot afford the luxury places, just be happy with what you have and that you found Bangkok instead of dieing in ignorance without knowing heaven.

I want to thank a few people who helped and supported me on the last trip to make this video and following happening : Jakob, Thomas, Vann, Em, Twopee, Michael, Jah, Tar, Cherry, Fai, Nadia, Kat, Dream, Ann, Lookpad, Michaela, Patrick, Advance Aviation, Peninsula hotel Bangkok, Four Seasons hotel Bangkok, Dusit D2, BKcoolclub, The Pent, Funky Villa, Bangkok Pattaya hospital, Baccara, Rainbow 4. Many thanks for letting me keep the memories inside this video and I hope it enjoys/motivates/inspires other people as well :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNNKyoRRyMk

Popularity: unranked

Borobudur temple, Yogyakarta

Borobudur is probably the most impressive buddhistic monument you can find worldwide. It is not that large in size, what striked me most was the outlook, a peaceful scenary and the magical atmosphere. Videos and pictures cannot really capture it. It is incredible how much I saw and experienced in only 2 days Yogyakarta. I don’t feel like going there soon again, but it is good to know that there is a place like this out there where you could escape to, bringing your brain into a safe haven from mind-fuck terror.

http://www.vimeo.com/11964614

Popularity: unranked

Prambanan temple, Yogyakarta

Prambanan temple isn’t as impressive as Borobudur, but still you should see it at least once when being around there. I let the video speak.

http://www.vimeo.com/11962839

Popularity: unranked

Malioboro street, Yogyakarta

A good way to explore Malioboro street is to take the bejac, “taxi anti-pollution”. The colors of entire city of Yogyakarta look funny in my eyes, they use colors like yellow, blue and pink. It often does not harmonize or isn’t fitting with our western design standards. Maybe that makes it a bit more charming. Of course there are nasty street sales guys also, but they are not as aggressive at all compared with other places I had recently been to. It looks very different but it feels very much like being in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This is the best place to compare it within South East Asia.

I guess the reason why Yogyakarta has such many pharmacies is probably because so many older people live there. It is slow-paced and a great retirement place. A cool, younger guy working for Hyatt Regency there was telling me about his career worries there. As a young person there is not much to build, achieve, modernize or whatsoever – it is totally non-dynamic. For older people living there and tourists searching peace and serenity : that’s exactly what the beauty is.

http://www.vimeo.com/11952924

Water Castle, Yogyakarta

The water castle is just next to the bird market, so you can easily walk from there. Although Yogyakarta went through many changes during its history, it seems like that the sites are still well maintained, not much got destroyed or rebuilt so that you get the feeling you took a trip with a time machine when walking around there. It feels unreal certainly. The normal people that cross your path are not only very friendly bu also have a lot knowledge to offer. Surprising is always the fact that most of them are critical thinkers, something that’s sadly not often existing anymore in Asia.

http://vimeo.com/11949862

Popularity: unranked

Ngasem bird market, Yogyakarta

The bird market was one of the most unique things I saw in Yogyakarta. It is like a mini world, lots of things to explore and I felt a sensual overload there, you cannot see, hear, smell everything that’s crossing your path. I even got a little headache soon because it was so dense, humid and simply too much sensual information. I felt a lot more better when we walked from there to the Sultan’s palace. One of the best things about Yogyakarta is that time seems to stand still.

http://www.vimeo.com/11771520

Popularity: unranked