First day In Hua Hin

Sawatdii kha!

Here we are in Hua Hin, Thailand at the moment! Temperature reaches +30 soon and I'm up already at 7:30. I've always suffered from jetlag and this time there seems not to be any exception: I woke up first time at 3:00 AM, but I managed (somehow) to sleep some more. There was some thunder and raining last night as I recall waking when I heard the thunder. Otherwise my first night in Thailand went well.

Yesterday I arrived with Elina and her mother in Thailand after 7 AM in the morning and then we took a bus to Hua Hin. The bus left on time at 9:30; before that Elina grapped some food from a coupon food market. It's a place with many different restaurants and you need to buy coupons first and pay the food with them. The prices were... Well, very different compared to the prices in Helsinki-Vantaa Airport or the whole Finland. 1 euro is approximately 40 baht and Elinas portion cost only 45 baht. My small Fanta cost only 15 baht, so it was around 50 cents!! Amazing. I no longer wonder why Finnish people love to travel to Thailand!

Anyways, our bus was supposed to take 2-3 hours to reach the Hua Hin, but it took way more time yesterday. There were many traffic jams and sometimes the bus couldn't move at all. We weren't in hurry so it didn't matter, but the lady close to us kept asking when we are going to be there. It took 4,5 hours before we were in Hua Hin, and I slept most of that time. The bus was nice and there was a (powerful) air conditioning, and I was soooo tired after a long flight.

I think the most funniest thing I saw on our way to Hua Hin was when this pickup went past us and there was lady sleeping behind the car with pillow and everything. You should have seen my face when I saw that! :D

Our taxi from Hua Hin bus station to the hotel was open as well, kinda like tuc tuc, but with a real car. It was my first time going with something like that and I have to say it was really something different to be middle of the traffic like that.

After we left our belongings to the hotel we found a place to eat and went shopping to Big C (big supermarket). The food was good but the supermarket was a bit small. And there was a Mister Donut!! I had to buy some donuts to celebrite my good mathematics number I got from our first exam this year. ^_^

My portion of fried rice with prawns ♥

Coming: Birthday Partying in Istanbul

I did it again.

I completely lost my mind and booked tickets to Istanbul with Elina. It seems I'll be busy writing this blog in the near future!

Actually, Elina is turning 20 and she wanted to have something special in her birthday, so she asked if I would like to go somewhere with her. One of our exchange students was supposed to come with us, but she decided to go to London, because she's not been there ever before. Can't really blame her, but we've been with Elina already in London more than once so Istanbul is a great opportunity to discover something new.

Before we bought the tickets we of course checked out what to see and do in Istanbul and we found out some great activities to do there! There's hor airballoon, mosques and big bazaar, great places to eat and drink and lots of history and culture. Can't ask for much more, huh?

So, our small trip starts on 6th of November and we're going to stay in Istanbul for 3 nights. We're flying with Turkish Airlines and we got direct flights with good price. Even better is the hotel where we are going to stay; we found a discount from Agoda and got a hotel suite for 3 nights with less than 200€!

Istanbul

My boyfriend's reaction was priceless when I reveiled our next destination to him. I think the fact that I'm staying in Finland for one week after the trip to Thailand and then leave again was the reason for that. Well, things happen and sometimes you have to just go when there's an opportunity. He might also be worried, 'cause he said that "you always go to war zones"... Well in Thailand there's been some issues but not anything big, and in Istanbul there's been a few terrorist attacks, but not in any location where I could see myself going. I think they're quite different from "war zones".

Well then, I guess I really have to start looking for my swimsuit; only 7 days left and then I'm off to Thailand. Next update might be already from Hua Hin.

(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

I'm coming soon Hua Hin, Thailand!

Oh man, I can't wait for next week! Only seven days left and then... off to Thailand!

We bought the ticket's from Stockmanns (Nordic's biggest department shop) Hullut Päivät-event, which is held every spring and fall. The event lasts from Wednesday till Sunday and there is everyday lots of discounts from variety of different products. Finnair cooperates with Stockmann and offers every day during the event 5 different locations with special price. We got our tickets to Bangkok with 599€ and I think it's a really reasonable price for a direct flight with Finnair.

Gotta love Hullut Päivät ♥ (Btw, it means Crazy Days)

We will arrive in Bangkok, but go with a bus to Hua Hin. It's located south from Bangkok, approximately 2-3 hours with the bus. I bet I'm going to be exhausted after the flight and the bus to Hua Hin.

 

We will stay in Hua Hin for 4 days and go back to Bangkok to enjoy the rest of our time.

What I really wait for is a day trip we plan to take from Hua Hin to Pala-u, a famous waterfall. Along the way is a possibility to ride on elephants and see a real vineyard. And before anyone can complaint about the elephants, yes, we are going to check that they are taken care well, before taking the ride.

I would also like to see the mangrove forest and stalactite caves near the border of Myanmar. With 4 days, I don't think we have time to go to both locations, but I'm still dreaming about it. I have to convince Elina that it's going to be worth it! ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ

As for food, I'm really looking forward to it! I've eaten in a Thai restaurant here in Finland and it was delicious. Spicy, yes, but excellent. I'm not that good with spicy food and I forgot to train my mouth and stomach so I hope I'll survive!

I also took Thai-language classes with Elina in school last spring, and I hope I can remember some phrases during our time in Thailand. I really need to check the vocabulary and grammar so I can surprise the local people. 

I have actually a problem conserning this supposedly awesome trip to Thailand: my swimsuit has mysteriously disappeared somewhere and I can't find it anywhere. I mean, it was with me when I was in Turkey and after that I haven't seen it. I guess I really have to start searching for it, or go and get a new one. Too bad though, I really liked the old one. (|||❛︵❛.)

Hua Hin © Asia Web Direct

The Beginning

Hi travellers!

Welcome to my new blog! I've really wanted to make this blog, but never had the energy to start it. Now things have changed and I'm ready to share my travel experiences with you! I decided to write this blog in English even though my main blog Matsukaze is in Finnish. I think it's better that way, so people around the world are able to read my posts.

Those who have read my other blog may already know something about me, but I would still like to tell something about myself in this first post. I'm a copycat (sorry!) for this time and introduce myself with pictures like my friend did in her blog. It was really nice idea, go and check for yourself.

Let's begin!

And I'm going to be starting from next years August ♥

V ♥

Blogs and stories ♥

I'll never get bored with that! ♥

So now you know something about me!

My next destination is Thailand and I'm leaving there next week with my friend and her mother. We're going to be there for almost 2 weeks, 4 days in Hua Hin and the rest of the time in Bangkok. This is my first time in Thailand so I'm really excited! I don't usually like tourist destinations or beach holidays because I'm a huge fan of history and cultures, but since we are going to Thailand... I just wanted to see at least one beach! There are many interesting places near Hua Hin and I will tell about those later (★^O^★)

I'm still working with the layout of the blog, but I think it will not change so much anymore. It's really simple, but I like it. I love big cities, urban life and comics so I chose a background to reflect on that. I hope you guys like it too.

Remember to drop a comment now and then!

Johanna ♪