Germany, north of Hannover, is pretty much flat throughout. On stormy days the North and Baltic sea are more bumpy than the shores they are bordering. Formed by glacial advances a really long time ago, this part of Germany is now in strong contrast to the mountainous South. Today my dad and I went for a little trip around the area. I reckon it’s a good thing that even back in my home country I feel the urge to get out and take pictures.

There is a funny little website for those with too much time on their hands (and me), called Flight Diary. It keeps a list of all flights one has done and offers statistics like total flight distance and emissions. link Over the course of the last two years I have - boarded 18 flights (4 domestic, 14 international) - flown 77,789 km - spent 106 hours (more than four days) on board an airplane - polluted the atmosphere with 9.

In the train I overheard a man saying he needed a new TV. And I thought: You have shelter, healthy food, clean water and some of the best medical care on the planet. You don’t need anything. I met people who don’t even have toilets and now I’m in a country where every second car is an expensive one and people do their best to look and act absolutely immaculate.

As-Salamu Alaykum, that’s how our captain greeted us in the morning, two hours before arrival in Germany. The crew served breakfast, offering a choice of omelet and chilli prawns on rice. I went for the chilli prawns and a last taste of Asia. At 6:45 we touched down in Frankfurt. First thing I saw when embarking from the plane was a mobile heater and a big bucket of grit. Winter hasn’t left Germany yet and when I had my luggage I headed to the next toilet to change thongs and shorts for boots, jeans and a fleece.

This morning I decided to pamper myself and support the local economy by taking a taxi to Phaya Thai station. Yet when I stepped onto Silom, the whole road was jammed. Alas, once again I’m back to carrying my backs through the streets and crowded skytrains. The Bangkok Post recently reported about delays at the airport immigration, even causing passengers to miss flights. Thus I arrive a bit earlier than usual at check-in and am delighted to see that they have almost no queues.

Even if one is not into binge-drinking and sex-tourism, a night in Bangkok has a lot to offer. Especially for those with a camera in their hands. The BTS stations are a nice spot because they show the street life from above. The streets in the tourist areas are lined with make-shift markets but the side-alleys still offer local life (and food).

With daytime temperatures in the painful range, it’s worth it to get up early and do the outdoorsy stuff before it gets too hot. Couchsurfer Czharina joined me here in Bangkok and yesterday morning we went to do some templing. The central pier is just a short BTS ride from the hostel and taking a boat to the temple area beats being stuck in traffic by far. Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river is served by ferries that are frequent, cheap (unless you end up on the tourist boat…) and most of all, not affected by rush-hour.

Another adventure. Nakhon Si doesn’t have any public transportation to the airport. My friendly helpers at the hotel organised a ‘shuttle bus’ for me but I wasn’t happy with it. It was to leave town at 3 and the check-in for my flight would close at 3:30. No problem they told me, we are small city, everything relaxed here. Well you can say about SEA what you want, but it works.

It must the the 7th time I’m heading to Bangkok from either abroad or a domestic location. My options of getting there this time were diverse and mostly unattractive. Due to the upcoming Songkran festival all beds on the overnight train are sold out and all I could have gotten was a seat in 3rd class. Would have been fun for a short trip but not for 14 hours. Second worst option was getting on the bus which takes 12 hours plus any delay the congested roads of BKK cause.

In the middle of the night I woke up to the sound of thunder and rain hammering on tin roofs. From my room on the 7th floor I got a good view over the city and the lightning-lit sky. It was still raining when I woke up in the morning and it didn’t look like it was going to clear up any time soon. What better to do on a rainy day than getting a massage.