Thailand (Bangkok, Koh Chang Island, Chanthaburi, Pattaya & Hatyai) - August 2018

" Wishing to be friends is quick work. But friendship is a slow-ripening fruit " 

" Friends come & go, like the waves of ocean ! But the true ones stay, like an octopus on your face " 

" Inhale the future. Exhale the past "

Map of South Thailand 

" My Cuti Cuti (Vacation), Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) & Makan Makan (Eating) 12 days free & easy overland trip from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Bangkok, Koh Chang island, Chanthaburi, Pattaya & Hatyai, Thailand with my travel buddies from Klang & Singapore on 3 - 14 August 2018 "

This is my 4th overland train trip (a long winded way instead of flying by air) to Thailand travelling with my Klang buddies (Chim, Wong, Boon & Tee) from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Bangkok, Thailand. Lam, my travel buddy from Singapore joined our group for this visit as well - so a total of 6 people traveling together ! A big thank you to Lam who had helped our group to pick the right hotels in Pattaya, Chanthaburi & Koh Chang and also act as our "navigator" to various tourist attractions in the visiting cities ! Also thanks to Boon as he speaks some Thai and this helped our group a lot especially when ordering food, haggling with tuk tuk drivers etc

In my previous 3 overland train trips from Malaysia to Thailand / Laos, my Klang buddy group visited a number of cities / towns / tourist sites in Thailand ie Hatyai, Songkhla, Hua Hin, The Bridge of the River Kwai, Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, The Golden Triangle bordering near the Thai, Laos & Myanmar & Nongkhai. Other cities / towns I had visited (travelling solo) in the past were Phuket, Krabi & Koh Samui. In Laos, our group visited Vientiane, Van Vieng & Lua Prabang !

In March this year, together with my Klang buddy group, four of our members took a flight from Kuala Lumpur and visited Siam Reap, Angkor Wat & Phenom Penh in Cambodia.

Border crossing & changing of train in Padang Besar, between the Malaysia & Thai border (after the Malaysia/Thai immigration clearance) was pretty smooth & straight forward. The shuttle train ride from Padang Besar to Hatyai took around 45 minutes ! Thailand is one hour behind of Malaysia.

For this 5th visit with my group to southern Thailand, our itinerary covered cities like Hatyai, Bangkok, Koh Chang Island, Chanthaburi & Pattaya. Our group used government buses for our travel from Bangkok (Ekamai Bus Terminal) to Central Pier (Koh Chang) & Koh Chang to Chanthaburi; Pattaya to Bangkok etc - so pretty comfortable rides ! Ferry crossings between Central Pier to Koh Chang island (vice versa) which took 45 minutes were well serviced by a local travel & ticketing agent (spoke good English) stationed at the Central Pier. Even though August is a wet season, the sea in the Gulf of Thailand was calm though occasional drizzle / small rain may cause a slight inconvenience in walking in an open area or on a slippery floor !

August is a wet season (cloudy & occasional drizzling at times) but also a low season for tourists in Thailand. So it was quite easy for my group to book train / bus tickets & hotels in Pattaya, Chanthaburi & Koh Chang island. For this visit, our group stayed a total of 4 nights in Bangkok, 2 nights in Pattaya, 1 each in Koh Chang Island & Chanthaburi & Hatyai; 2 overnight sleeper trains from Hatyai to Bangkok and return. In the Pattaya resort city, a double room in a 3 star hotel near the Pattaya Beach road costs around Rm100 (US$25) per night - a real value for money ! 

For Makan Makan (Eating), our group enjoyed eating Thai food ie pineapple & seafood fried rice, Tom Yam, stewed pork & offal, Padthai fried noodle, hotel buffet breakfast & dim sum, chicken rice, mango sticky rice, ice dessert, hot coffee etc. Street food was our group's favorites ! My Klang buddies ate twice in our Pattaya hotel's restaurant both for breakfast & the following day lunch ie two yummy Royal dim sum meals - like eating till you drop your wallet - what a way to end their stay in Pattaya, a vibrant & lively beach resort city, 2.15 hours by bus from Bangkok . 

So another Cuti Cuti (Vacation), Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) & Makan Makan (Eating) accomplished this year in the Land of Smiles for my Klang buddy group - hope all our members (age around 67 to 74 except Boon & Lam - naturally at this age, none of us would like to travel in a Fast Lane ! My senior buddies prefer the tuk tuk rides, if easy to flag one !) do more exercise, morning walks & stay healthy (make health than wealth !) and look forward to another overseas visit in 2019 ! So let's say "Sawadikap" to Thailand again when we show up in this Land of Smiles in the near future ! Well done, KM group of travel buddies from Klang Valley & Singapore ! 

Total Expenses Incurred (12 days): 10,715bht = Rm1,317 (US$326)

1) Hostels / Hotel (9 nights) : 3,605bht = Rm443 (US$110)

- iSanook Hostel Bangkok (2 nights) - 260bht x 2 = 520bht per pax (dorm)

- Koh Chang Hut (1 night) - 225bht per pax (double room)

- Kasemsarn Hotel, Chanthaburi (1 night) - 565bht per pax (double room)

- A-One Star Hotel, Pattaya (2 nights) - 627bht x 2 per pax = 1,254bht (2 single beds room)

- Chic Hotel, Bangkok (2 nights) - 387bht x 2 =774bht (2 single bed room)

- The Aree Hatyai Hostel, Hatyai (1 night) = 267bht per pax  (dorm)

2) Train tickets (Total): 2,110bht + Rm97= Rm357 (US$88)

- KL Sentral > Padang Besar - Rm42 (Gold seat - senior citizen)

- Padang Besar > Hatyai > Padang Besar (return) - 50bht x 2

- Hatyai > Bangkok > Hatyai (return) - 1,005bht x 2 (upper bed)

- Padang Besar > KL Sentral - Rm55 (Platinum seat - senior citizen)

3) Bus / Van tickets: 623bht = Rm77 (US$19)

- Bangkok > Koh Chang (bus) - 239bht

- Koh Chang > Chanthaburi  (bus) - 76bht

- Chanthaburi > Pattaya (van) - 200bht

- Pattaya > Bangkok (bus) - Rm108bht

4) Ferry tickets: 150bht = Rm18 (US$4.60)

Centre Point Pier > Koh Chang Island Pier > Centre Point Pier (return) - 75bht x 2 

5) Tuk Tuk (cost sharing of 6): 425bht =Rm53 (US$13) per pax

- Koh Chang - 1,300bht @ 216bht

- Chanthaburi - 420bht @ 70bht

- Pattaya - 500bht @ 83bht

- Hatyai - 340bht @56bht

6) MRT / Sky Train tickets: 330bht = Rm40 (US$10)

7) Orange boat tickets: 38bht = Rm5 (US$1.25)

7) Food (12 days) : 3,434bht = Rm422 (US$105)

Travel Itinerary: Kuala Lumpur > Padang Besar, Malaysia > Hatyai > Bangkok > Koh Chang Island > Chanthaburi > Pattaya > Bangkok > Hatyai > Kuala Lumpur (total mileage for this train & bus trip starting from Kuala Lumpur to various cities in southern Thailand & return - 3,844km) 

Kuala Lumpur > Padang Besar - 555km

Padang Besar > Hatyai - 40km

Hatyai > Bangkok - 945km

Bangkok > Koh Chang Island - 349km

Koh Chang > Chanthaburi - 98km

Chanthaburi > Pattaya - 169km

Pattaya > Bangkok - 148km

Exchange rates: 10bht=Rm1.23; US$1=Rm4.04

My travel buddies from Klang - the A team ! (Wong, Chim & Tee), Petaling Jaya (Boon), Singapore (Lam) & Subang Jaya (KM) - Birds of a feather flock together !

From Left to Right: Lam, Tee, Cheng, Chim & Wong

Travel Highlights: 

1) Bangkok, Thailand

2) Koh Chang Island, Thailand 

3) Chanthaburi, Thailand

4) Pattaya, Thailand 

5) Hatyai, Thailand

Thailand (Bangkok) Aug 2018 (Part 1) D-2

Day 2 - 4th August 2018 (Saturday) - Bangkok - focusing our visit to Chatuchak Market & Asiatique The River Front. 

Our group's 2 nights accommodation in iSanook Hostel, Soi Songphra, Siphraya Road, Bangkok - 240bht dorm per pax (6 bed room)

1) MRT Subway Sam Yan Station > Kamphaeng Phet Station - after our hostel check in (iSanook Hostel), our group took a MRT subway train ride from Sam Yan to Kamphaeng Phet (42bht one way - 15 stops) to visit the Chatuchak Weekend Market (only open on Saturday & Sunday)

Day 2 - Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) in Chatuchak Weekend Market, Kamphaemg Phet Metro Mall & Asiatique The River Front, Bangkok

1) Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok - window shopping for me but Chim & Wong bought leather belts home ! A favorite shopping & eating place for locals & tourists; crowded most of the time !  So chuck yourself, buddies or family members in Chatuchak and keep shopping & eating in this popular weekend market when in Bangkok ! 

2) Kamphaemg Phet Metro Mall

Sky train ride from Mo Chit > Siam > Saphan Taksin - after the Chatuchak Market visit, our group took a Skytrain ride from Mo Chit station (Sukhumvit Line) to Siam - interchange to Silom Line to Saphan Taksin for a free shuttle ferry ride to Asiatiaque The River Front

Free shuttle boat service (16.00 > 23.30) from Saphan Taksin Pier to Asiatique The Water Front - just be patience & queue up for your turn to board the free shuttle boat at the designated jetty !  

3) Asiatique The River Front, Bangkok - my first visit, very touristy & historical ! What a great evening for all my travel buddies ! Our members were like "Happy Fish" fishing around to savor the various local Thai food neatly displayed on sale at the Asiatique Food Court by the Riverfront !  

4) Thai food on sales at the USA Food Festival in Asiatique The River Front, Bangkok - Crocodile steak + Chang beer (400bht) ? Thai durians (200bht per pack) ? Thai pineapple fried rice (200bht) ? Deep fried Scorpio or grasshoppers ! If no questions asked on pricing of these food, this will be a great evening for you, your friends, family members to wine & dine here ! So just enjoy the sea breeze while eating - what a delightful evening for first timers like me & my travel buddies ! 

Deep fried insects & worms

Thai Durians - Love or hate, just try it !
 After a few bites, you will fall in love with this King of fruit ! 

Deep fried grasshoppers - Yummy Yummy !

Day 2 - Makan Makan (Eating) in Bangkok

1) Lunch at a food stall opposite the Hua Lamphong Railway Station

Meat ball noodle soup - 50bht

2) Enjoying our dinner (2,000bht) at the Asiatique The River Front which was holding an USA Food Festival at the time of our visit - pineapple fried rice (200bht), squib, fried noodles, biryani rice with fried chicken, roasted pork, beef tendons, a jar of Chang beer etc. Cheers to KM' group of travel buddies in this Land of Smiles !