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| Thai Thai ! Siam Siam ! Same Same ! |
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| Go for it when you are in the Land of Smiles |
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| Do not run wild when you are in Patpong |
" To realize your dreams, you need to walk the talk. After your dreams have been fulfilled, you can relax and talk your walk "
" Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving "
" In free & easy travelling, fear & doubt will always be part of your life, but we need to be able to accept it and move forward "
In Jan 2015, I travelled solo on an overland trip (using trains & buses) from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia right up to Chiang Mai. As I enjoyed taking trains, this had also prompted me to make an overland border crossings from Kuala Lumpur to Nong Khai, northern Thailand and then to Vientiane & Lua Prabang, Laos in Jan 2011.
A few of my buddies (senior citizens) whom I met regularly for social gathering & food in Klang were keen to visit northern Thailand and this idea was discussed 2 years ago ! Finally, two of my senior buddies (Tee & Wong) & a younger Hui were able to make it for this trip. I took on the role as the team leader & worked out a travel plan to suite our age group, planning transport & booking accommodations etc. This was a trip full of fun, excitement, friendship & plenty of opportunities to whet our appetite on local Thai food etc.
From the Hostelworld website, I was able to make on-line hostel bookings and select our hostels mostly close to train stations & within walking distance to our hostels eg in Hua Hin & Bangkok. In Sukhothai, our group stayed in Sila Resort (free pick up from bus terminal) & a backpacker hostel near Tha Phae Gate in Chiang Mai.
Our group was able to visit the various target places of interest using a combination of public transports ie the Malaysian & Thai train rides (Kuala Lumpur, Hat Yai, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai); buses & mini vans (Hat Yai, Hua Hin, Sukhothai, Golden Triangle); boats (Bangkok), bicycles (Sukhothai), tuk tuks & taxis, to a lesser extent.
As for our daily food, drinks & meals, each of us contributed 3,000 bht (to pay for our 12 day food bills) to a pool managed by one of our buddies (Wong) so this worked out to be around 250bht (Rm30) on an average per day per person (breakfast, lunch & dinner). As the timing of our visit in Thailand coincided with a weekend, we had the pleasure of visiting the night markets in Sukhothai (Saturday) & Chiang Mai (Sunday). Likewise, we also took the opportunity to visit the popular night markets in Hua Hin, & Bangkok (China Town & Silom). We were also able to enjoy eating the popular local food & delicacies eg mango sticky rice, fish maws soup, sea food porridge, stewed pork, beef & pork noodles, pastries, fresh fruit, Thai desserts, Espresso coffee etc. "Yummy" is the word to describe why our group loved the local Thai food so much - so tasty & simple to eat !
My dream of visiting the Bridge over the River Kwai, Kanachaburi was finally fulfilled ! This was the biggest consolation to me for this trip !
What a great start for my world of travelling in this Monkey year of 2016 ! As for my 3 buddies, all of them seemed to thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Thailand, the land of smiles ! Come 8th Feb 2016, we will be ushering the fire Monkey year and if you are a passionate traveller, are you still able to keep up with your own pace, swinging from one country to another and go bananas for the rest of the year in 2016 ?
From the Hostelworld website, I was able to make on-line hostel bookings and select our hostels mostly close to train stations & within walking distance to our hostels eg in Hua Hin & Bangkok. In Sukhothai, our group stayed in Sila Resort (free pick up from bus terminal) & a backpacker hostel near Tha Phae Gate in Chiang Mai.
Our group was able to visit the various target places of interest using a combination of public transports ie the Malaysian & Thai train rides (Kuala Lumpur, Hat Yai, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai); buses & mini vans (Hat Yai, Hua Hin, Sukhothai, Golden Triangle); boats (Bangkok), bicycles (Sukhothai), tuk tuks & taxis, to a lesser extent.
As for our daily food, drinks & meals, each of us contributed 3,000 bht (to pay for our 12 day food bills) to a pool managed by one of our buddies (Wong) so this worked out to be around 250bht (Rm30) on an average per day per person (breakfast, lunch & dinner). As the timing of our visit in Thailand coincided with a weekend, we had the pleasure of visiting the night markets in Sukhothai (Saturday) & Chiang Mai (Sunday). Likewise, we also took the opportunity to visit the popular night markets in Hua Hin, & Bangkok (China Town & Silom). We were also able to enjoy eating the popular local food & delicacies eg mango sticky rice, fish maws soup, sea food porridge, stewed pork, beef & pork noodles, pastries, fresh fruit, Thai desserts, Espresso coffee etc. "Yummy" is the word to describe why our group loved the local Thai food so much - so tasty & simple to eat !
My dream of visiting the Bridge over the River Kwai, Kanachaburi was finally fulfilled ! This was the biggest consolation to me for this trip !
What a great start for my world of travelling in this Monkey year of 2016 ! As for my 3 buddies, all of them seemed to thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Thailand, the land of smiles ! Come 8th Feb 2016, we will be ushering the fire Monkey year and if you are a passionate traveller, are you still able to keep up with your own pace, swinging from one country to another and go bananas for the rest of the year in 2016 ?
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| The world has changed. You & I have to change to move forward |
Total costs incurred (12 days) : Rm39 + 11,473bht = Rm1,439 (US$327)
Hotels (8 nights) : 2,625bht
- Chanchala Cafe & Hostel,Hua Hin(1 night) = 450bht pp
- Sila Resort,Sukhothai (2 nights) @225bht pp = 450bht
- HuaLamphong Hotel, Bangkok (2 nights) @400bhtpp=800bht
- Hua Lamphong, Bangkok (1 night) = 525bht pp
- Aoi Hostel,Chiang Mai(2 nights) @200bht pp = 400bht
Train rides (total) : Rm33 + 2,640bht
Kuala Lumpur > Hat Yai : Rm33 (seniors)
Hat Yai > Hua Hin : 824bht
Bangkok > Kanachaburi > Bangkok : 100bht x 2
Chiang Mai > Bangkok : 806bht
Bangkok > Hat Yai : 810bht
Bus rides (total) : 1,369bht
Hua Hin > Bangkok : 180bht
Bangkok > Sukhothai : 319bht
Sukhothai > Chiang Mai : 220bht
Hat Yai > Kuala Lumpur : Rm65
Day Tour (Chiang Rai & Golden Triangle) : 700bht
Entrance fees (Sukhothai & Wat Arun) : 150bht
Boat ride: 58bht
Bicycle rental : 30bht
Taxi: 125bht
Tuk Tuk: 165bht
Sky Train & MRT : 245bht
Food (12 days) : 3,366bht + Rm6
Exchange Rates: Rm1=8.40bht, 100bht=Rm12.20
US$1=Rm4.40
My 12 days overland trip from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Northern Thailand (Hat Yai, Hua Hin, Bangkok, Kanachaburi, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Sai & Golden Triangle) from 11-22/1/2016
Travel Itinerary: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia > Hat Yai > Hua Hin > Bangkok > Kanachaburi > Bangkok > Sukhothai > Chiang Mai > Chiang Rai > Mae Sai > Golden Triangle (Day Tour) > Chiangmai > Bangkok > Hat Yai > Kuala Lumpur ( a total of 5,200 km )
1) Hua Hin, a beach resort town in Southern Thailand
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| Hua Hin Beach |
2) Bangkok, Capital of Thailand, most visited city in Asia !
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| Wat Arun |
3) Kanachaburi
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| Bridge Over The River Kwai |
4) Sukhothai
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| Sukhothai Historical Park - UNESCO |
5) Chiang Mai
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| Tha Phae Gate |
6) Chiang Rai
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| Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) |
7) Mae Sai
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| Me Sai Boundary Post / Custom House |
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| Long Neck Karen Hill Tribe |
8) Golden Triangle
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