Thailand (Phuket) June 2013

Total cost incurred (3 days): 2,173bht (Rm224)

Bus: Phuket>Hatyai : 293bht
Hostel: Kool Backpacker - 350 bht + 250bht
Food: 533bht
Tuk tuk: 340bht

Phuket Bus Terminal 2 - all provincial (outstation) buses from Koh Samui or Krabi stop at this terminal. If you are going to Patong Beach, then proceed to Platform 12 and take a pink color mini-bus (10bht) to Bus Terminal 1. Hiring a local taxi to Patong beach from Terminal 2 costs around 200-300bht.

  

Phuket Bus Terminal 1 - On arrival, take another pink color mini-bus (10bht) which will ferry you to a local bus station in front of the Phuket Day (wet) Market Complex. From there, you can take a pick up truck or a blue bus (30bht) to Patong Beach or Bangla Road.

Local Bus Station (near the Day Market complex) - blue bus or pick up trucks to Patong Beach / Bangla

Patong Beach / Bangla Road (tourist haven, lady boys, live music, flashy neon light, beachside bars, modern shopping malls, beautiful beachfront, lively & vibrant for the young & seniors)

Phuket Town (8 hrs by bus from Hatyai or Koh Samui, old Chinese temples, Sino-Portuguese architecture, bus terminal 1 & 2, day market, Vegetarian festival - late Sept )

Kamala Beach - take bus from Phuket town (one hr); irregular bus service

The king of fruit I tasted in Phuket town - I paid 40bht (US$1.33) for one medium size Durian fruit and eat on a side walk in front of the Phuket town wet market complex - Oh I love the smell of it ! Not for those with a timid tongue ! You either love it or you hate it ! If you do not like durian, try the mangosteen, the queen of the tropical fruit .

Go banana in Phuket - pan cake & crispy crepes with banana, deep fried banana, banana milk shake, fresh bunches of banana .... and after all the banana eating, you can go for a banana walk in Patong beach. Monkeys love bananas !

" Being stuck in the past is like walking forward with your back facing the front. You always miss out on what's in front of you " 

Thailand (Koh Samui) June 2013

Total cost incurred (3days):3,162bht (Rm326)
Bus & ferry & Taxi (Krabi > Donsak Pier > Nathon Pier > Bo Phut) : 600bht
Taxi & Ferry & Bus (Bo Phut > Phuket) : 700bht
Hostel (Dorm-2 nights): 350bht x 2 (Backpacker Samui)
Food: 812bht
Tour (1/2 day Around the Koh Samui Island tour): 350bht
Exchange Rate: Rm1=9.67bht; US$1=Rm3.00

Krabi to Koh Samui - Lomprayah offers a combined bus/high speed catamaran ferry/taxi services (600bht) from Krabi to Don Sak Pier and then by taxi (van) to Bo Phuat or Chaweng / Lamai beach, Koh Samui.

Koh Samui to Phuket - combined taxi (van pick up)/Seatran ferry/bus (700bht)

Sawngthaew (pick up vehicles) at Na Thon Pier - 60bht to Bophut

Bo Phut Town (20 minutes from Nathon Pier, runs parallel to the Chaweng beach; plenty of restaurants & eateries serving Thai, oriental & western cuisine; bars & pubs; beachwear shopping; spa, aromatic carved soaps; tailored made suite or dress etc )

Chaweng Beach (6km long coastline, beach resorts, powder-soft sand and clear blue-green water, full moon party, water sports)

Round the island half day tour (350bht 09>14.30)

1) Wat Leam Suwanaram - very Thai !

2) Big Buddha - magnificent

3) View Point & Chaweng Beach - great view from the top

4) Grandmother & Grandfather Rock - the grandfather rock looks like your little brother, just wake up after a morning call !

5) Monkey show - any volunteers ? The reward, a fresh hard coconut for takeaway to quench your thirst after performing ! 

6) Khunaram Temple & Mummified Monk - incredible !

7) Namurang Waterfall - a tiny one but have to walk for 20 minutes from the main entrance to view it !

Food for thought - easy to stomach but not hard to pay . How about paying 2,270bht (Rm240 or US$80) for a seafood meal for 4 ? The created menu is: 2 lobsters, 1 snapper, 4 tiger prawns, 2 calamari, 2 blue crabs, clams & mussels (tricky here - no number given) plus sweetcorn, potato & salad . So remember the number 21422 for your order of a delicious seafood meal in Koh Samui ! 

But for my 1st dinner meal in Koh Samui, I settled for 290bht (Rm30 or US$10) for a combo meal comprising of 1 chicken thigh, 1 sausage, 3 spare ribs plus 3 steamed sweetcorn (as hard as a rock), 1 steamed potato, capsicums & sliced pineapple

On the 2nd night - my yummy meal  I took at an eatery outlet in Bo Phut, Koh Samui - a simple meal with no frills - a plate of  spicy fried noodles (65bht) with shrimps, a plate of fried rice with pineapple & shrimps (65bht) and a glass of milk shake with mango (40bht). Yum yum-lah !

" Whatever you feel like eating, just eat. It is most important to be happy "