Malaysia & Thailand (Train & Bus Rides) Jan 2019 - One Picture Said It All

For this 15 days train & bus rides (free & easy & independent) from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia right up to the Northern most city of Thailand ie Chiang Rai & return, the total distance covered is 4,465km ! So the mental, physical aspects of each member, time management, the number of the overnight stays in each city, choice of hostels & their location are important consideration for our group of seniors (2 in their 50's & 3 in their late 60's) ! But I believe a well thought out travel plan should make our rides less "patchy & bumpy" ! 

For every country / countries I intend to visit, I normally develop a simple travel plan detailing the following :

- the starting and the finishing dates ie from Day One to the Final Day 

- identifying the cities I wish to visit

- the mode of public transport ie by air, train or bus; the departure & arrival times & the costs of the tickets

- the names of the hostels or hotels I have booked online & the room / dorm rates 

- the estimated expenses on food per day ie breakfast, lunch & dinner

- a rough budget covering the duration of the trip which includes cost of public transport, hostel accommodations & food etc.

After the completion of this 15 day trip involving 4 of my travel buddies, it is interesting to note that much of our group's  time were spent on the following places:

The number of train Stations involved in this Malaysia / Thailand trip (boarding, waiting, sleeping including sightseeing etc) = 6 

1) KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur - The Starting Point of my trip from my home country, Malaysia



2) Padang Besar Train station at the Malaysia / Thai border (Immigration clearance at the border, waiting time for connecting trains to arrive & depart, coffee time in train's canteens etc ) 



3) Hatyai Railway Station, Thailand 

4) Hua Lamphong Railway Station, Bangkok, Thailand



5) Maeklong Station, Thailand - a sightseeing landmark

6) Chiang Mai Railway Station, Thailand

The number of weekend, morning & night market our group visited in Thailand = 7

1) Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok (Friday Evening)

2) Sukhothai Weekend Market (Saturday evening) 

3) Chiang Mai Weekend Market (Sunday evening) 

4) Central Night Bazaar, Chiang Rai (Tuesday evening)

5) Maeklong Railway Market (Thursday afternoon)

6) Hatyai Morning Market (Sunday morning) 

The number of Floating Markets our group visited = 2 

1) Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Samut Songkhran

2) Amphawa Floating Market 

The number of Bus Terminals our group had to be there on time for outstation travels from city to city in Thailand = 4

1) Bangkok Bus Terminal (Chatuchak) 



2) Sukhothai Bus Terminal

3) Chiang Mai Bus Terminal 3

4) Chiang Rai Bus Terminal

The number of piers our group used for sightseeing visits by river boats in Bangkok = 3

1) Sathorn Pier

2) Tha Chang Pier

3) Tha Maharaj Pier

The number of Metro Rail links in Bangkok our group used to visit major tourist sites = 3 

1) MRT (Metro Chaloem Rail)

2) BTS (Skytrain Silom Line & Sukhumvit Line)

3) Airport Rail Link (Makkasan & Ratchprapop station)

The number of hostels our group stayed in Thailand (booked online via Hostelworld & Booking.com) is 5.

1) Bangkok

2) Sukhothai

3) Chiang Mai

4) Chiang Rai

5) The Aree Hatyai Hostel 

As there was no major hiccups or unpleasant things happened in this 15 days trip, our group was very pleased of the outcome and is looking forward for another trip to a nearby country (especially for newbies) in the near future ! As for KM, another Cuti Cuti, Jalan Jalan & Makan Makan travel mission accomplished for my Klang buddies !