English version.

To make it more interesting and cause YOU to really read the post, here I have replaced one picture from the German version by another image. The one who spots the new picture first and mentions its number (for example "Picture number 7 was replaced by a new one.") in a comment will receive a strong upvote! :-)

Hello Steemians, we have already returned safely from SteemFest 4 in Bangkok, and after a long week in which I had to struggle with jetlag as well as the sobering realization of being back to cold Germany, I feel now, after the first weekend has passed, to be able again to give an account of what I experienced.

@reiseamateur asked me in a comment to write a report that was as objective as possible. This is understandable from his point of view as well as impossible for me. :) So I will do nothing more than to describe my subjective perceived impressions. Apart from that I simply don't have enough time to describe the contents of the various presentations in detail, all the more, as Steemit, Inc. already optimally provides us with information about the event.

Less participants than last year.

As much as I was pleased that this time Asia had been chosen as the venue in the form of Bangkok, the smaller number of participants compared to the last event was somewhat disappointing. There were probably several reasons for this:

• The crypto bear market.

• The great distance from Europe and the USA and the associated high travel costs for many potential participants.

• For many Asian Steemians, e.g. from Indonesia or Thailand, the total costs, including ticket prices, were too high. At least, both South Korea and Malaysia provided relatively large delegations. I was very happy about the meeting with @iguazi123"> (respectively @wherein) from China, the programmer responsible for the mobile app 'WhereIN'.

Meeting old and new friends.

Nevertheless, it was simply invigorating to see many friends from last year again, as well as getting to know new ones. It is so pleasant to meet people from all over the world full of creative ideas, idealism and love of freedom, whose goal (just like mine) is to lead an independent, self-determined and free life.
In addition, there were the pleasures of lying at the pool and relax in the middle of (European) late autumn with pleasantly high temperatures, as well as enjoying the many interesting impressions that a metropolis like Bangkok has to offer.

The Steemit team and its current projects.

With particular interest I was waiting to hear the team members of Steemit, Inc. talk about their current projects. The whole team makes a by all means sympathetic impression on me.
The two women at the top, @elipowell and @doxie-tx seem friendly and modest (in a positive sense) and were also not afraid to socialize with visitors of the Steemfest who did not belong to the Steemit team.
I had no lengthy conversation with any of the developers, which is perhaps also due to the fact that it is not always easy for me, as a rather 'shy' person, to approach unknown people directly and actively seek dialogue.

As far as the various projects are concerned, my subjective impression looks like this:

• I am optimistic that the implementation of communities will have a positive effect. It will be easier for users with similar interests to find each other and exactly the content they are interested in.
  If communities with similar content (or even the same name) are created, the most popular among them will prevail.

• Concerning SMTs, they may be a masterpiece from a programming point of view, but I have a hard time imagining where exactly their value should come from (especially as long as STEEM itself has such a low price as it's momentary the case)?
  But maybe I simply lack the necessary vision at this point? Many Steemians await the introduction of SMTs full of excitement and impatience, and of course I hope that these high expectations will ultimately prove to be justified.

• With their card game "Splinterlands" @aggroed and @yabapmatt are in my opinion absolute bearers of hope for STEEM! The game combines good graphics, excitement and fun with high tactical demands and the possibility of a profitable investment.
  In his presentations, @aggroed knows how to masterfully let his enthusiasm and energy jump over to the listeners. Without doubt, the 'card monsters' have future potential!
  It was also very nice to meet some of the top players like @raynie (including family) or @bubke in Thailand.

What I did not find one-hundred per cent satisfactory was that questions could be asked after the presentations, but then there were no real discussions.
For example, after the "lunch discussion" I asked if it was possible to extend the exclusive 'Steemit secret slack' to a larger number of stakeholders, which in my opinion was rather quickly wiped off the table (one wouldn't let more users in, but might announce the decisions made there more frequently), without giving me the opportunity to dig deeper. The fact that not only blockchain technical things are discussed there by the 'insiders' (what are the access criteria at all?), but also many more topics, e.g. also whether certain flags are appropriate or not, was not a topic of discussion.

Unfortunately, we couldn't attend the final dinner because of our return flight.

We would like to thank @roelandp for the great organisation of the event!

Have I forgotten anything important? Just ask in the comment section!
Now I wish you a lot of fun looking at the pictures:

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Flight with Emirates, you see a part of the huge wings of the Airbus A 380.
The sun is just rising, soon again also for STEEM? :)

Some pictures from the Prince Palace Hotel Bangkok, with which we were, apart from the not very well functioning and unencrypted WLAN, very satisfied overall:

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We ordered the first dinner in a Chinese restaurant inside the hotel and then ate in our room because we were so exhausted from the long journey.

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The pool:

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View from the room window (18th floor) to Bangkok:

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What could be nicer than a comfortable bed? :)

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The breakfast was very tasty, and I always chose warm Asian food instead of bread and pastries.

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Especially popular with young Steemians is the 'dragon fruit' (Hylocereus undatus). :)

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Dinner at the hotel's Japanese restaurant:

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The starter consisted of octopus balls (Takoyaki).

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My wife, @kobold-djawa, chose grilled mackerel with miso soup, rice and salad ...

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... and I ordered a meat dish with tofu.

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Green tea ice cream for dessert:

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Now some more pictures from the presentations (so we didn't only eat):

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@roelandp, the organizer of the SteemFest, onstage!

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The team members of Steemit, Inc. (@justinw, @vandeberg, @elipowell, @andrarchy and @roadscape) discussing about #newsteemit and their future plans.

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@aggroed makes an inspirational speech about Splinterlands.

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Well-deserved lunch break!

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@theycallmedan about his video platform 3Speak, which is intended to give a voice to those who suffer on YouTube and other platforms from the ever-increasing censorship measures.

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@vandeberg and @gerbino about the configuration options of SMTs (unfortunately, I couldn't make a better photo).

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Together with @travelgirl.

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The next day the "lunch discussion" with @arcange, @blocktrades, @anyx, @vandeberg and @gerbino, where I asked the question about the 'secret slack', took place.

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This was followed by presentations by @surpassinggoogle und @jack8831.

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We spent the evening together with other Steemians in the Baan Rim Naam to eat snacks, drink and enjoy the view of the Chao Phraya River.

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In Bangkok such boats act as 'river taxis', but unlike their rolling counterparts they never get stuck in traffic jams ...

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On the last day our Thai friend @tangmo visited us at the hotel, who unfortunately hadn't bought a SteemFest ticket due to the relatively high costs.

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The return flight - but I hope to see you again soon!

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