Remember I told you guys on my previous post that I can't travel by plane for six months???
THINKING PROCESS:
Voila!Can't travel by air?Take the road!
The planning was actually done the day after I was discharged from NUH.You people must be thinking..What the hell is Mr Iskandar thinking when his health is not fully recovered and yet he is still planning to travel??(Ans:It's always been my dream to travel so no one can stop me from doing so).Me and Ade agreed to meet up at Golden Mile Complex at Beach Rd to survey the area and get the tickets to our destination.Do you know that once you enter the complex you feel that you are in Thailand??It is because of the majority of the tenants who are Thai people.You can check the area out if you want to.
*Panting*Gosh..all the walking made me easily tired.We finally found a travel agent that sells $35 per ticket to Haatyai.I remembered vividly that we booked our tickets on the 19th of April..The date we were supposed to depart from Singapore.
Here goes the story of my travel...
19th April 2008
The coach departs at 6pm from Golden Mile Complex so we have to be there before 5:30pm to fill up the details of our passport.I didn't bring much actually for the trip..just one bag consisting of 2 shirts,2 board shorts and undies.
The coach we took was the Golden Diamond.Just a simple coach,nothing special.As long as you reach Haatyai safely and comfortably.Seating comfortably on my seat,the coach drives through Tuas Checkpoint and into Malaysian territory thus reaching to our first toll plaza.
ENTERING MALAYSIA
Upon our first stop for dinner,I quicky rushed to a tidbits shop and bought bubble gums..loads of it!Oooh..I just love chewing on them..lol..Then,munched on Beef Burger Ramli with cheese.My advice:Don't eat anything heavy or else you might have stomach upset unnecessarily.The journey continues..
20th April 2008
My eyes awoke and the coach arrived at another stop for toilet break.Looking at the watch,it was already 12:30am.I had a smoke and the weather was pretty cold.If I was not wrong,we were at the state of Negeri Sembilan.Another half of the journey till we reach the border of Thailand.Guess I head back to sleep.In my deep slumber,I was woken up by the driver shouting,"Chop passport,chop passport!".Hey,we have reached the immigration of Kedah!With my blurry eyes,both me and Ade went to queue up to present our passport to the customs officer.The queue was so long!I suddenly had stomach upset and had to find a toilet.In the nick of time,I managed to get back to my queue heaving a sigh of relief.
It was almost dawn showing the time of 6:30am.We have finally reached Sadao Immigration Checkpoint.As the sunrises,I managed to snap a picture on the right showing where I am.Do take note that the time in Thailand is one hour earlier than in Singapore.The coach arrived to a duty-free shopping mall.Nothing catches my eye in there.Just browsing will do.Continuing on,I managed to catch an hour sleep before reaching Haatyai.
AT HAATYAI
Just behind me from the clip is the travel agent where we bought our tickets to Krabi.It cost about 250 baht per person equivalent to $10 Sing.We knew that we were going to board a minivan but we have yet to see the condition of it.Who knows it could be hot and stuffy.The time shows 8 o'clock sharp.We still have another hour while the minivan arrives so we decided to check out the streets and bought toiletries for ourselves.
The minivan arrived.Just as I thought,it was an old van and quite small.The driver still have to pickup all the passengers to fully occupy the seats.That is how their system works in Thailand.300km estimated to Krabi,another 4 hours more to endure..I think my butt is gonna cry.In fact,it's already crying..haha..
We were the only foreigners inside the van and the rest were Thai.The journey to Krabi was somewhat bumpy and irritating also.It agitates me even further as my wound was really hurting because of the uncomfortable ride.I observed much of southern Thailand is not well developed.Still retaining and preserving most of its natural beauty.
Halfway through,the minivan arrived at a rest point.A stop for us to buy some tidbits and ease ourselves.Make sure you make full use of that toilet break as it is the only stop you are gonna get for the 4 hour journey.
Passing by Krabi Airport,immediately I knew that we have almost reached Krabi town.By then,it was only us and another Thai female left inside the minivan.The driver told us that he would drop us at a tour agent where he/she can direct you to the place exactly you want to go.
"Welcome to MySons Tour",said a Thai agent.It was a really small office cum house by the roadside.She showed us brochures and maps of the places in Krabi.We bought tickets for a tour to the 4 Islands and a stay in one of the hotels at Ao Nang which is quite near the beach.Following that,she explained to the driver on where to drop us at.
Ao Nang Goodwill Guesthouse..The place where we are gonna stay for two nights in Krabi.It is a five storey high guesthouse with a pleasant looking Thai gentleman welcoming us.He is well-versed in English and had no problems communicating with him.His name is San.He introduced us to our room on the third floor.We chose the room with a balcony which is facing a limestone cliff..Fascinating!The view was gorgeous.Quite well furnished..the room looking brand new.For 1000 baht a night,it is a good price.$40 Sing for a night is just nice for travellers on a budget.Although there are other grand hotels nearby,I simply would recommend this hotel to others.
Add this email to your MSN:zedance@hotmail.com
It belongs to San's email.He is the Thai guy that runs the hotel for his uncle.You can find him in Krabi if you have plans to go there.
Enjoying the great scenery from the balcony,I took a few pictures of myself using my handphone then had a refreshing shower.We had a one hour rest before moving out to see what Krabi has in store for us.
TAKING A STROLL
Excited..hungry..unpatient..These were three words in our minds now.We were short of Thai notes so we have to find a money changer.Having to find is actually hassle-free as there are a number of branches easily found.There are also ATMs and useful if you have a card having a Cirrus logo on it.Tip:Try to find money changers that have a higher value.Example,I take 23 baht per Sing dollar as the benchmark.Most of the money changers sells at 22.9++ range.
Walking along the road,almost anything you can find at Krabi.Ranging from fast food like McDonald's(non-halal)..Fancy an ice-cream?You can find Swensens..There are lots of shops selling beachwear clothing,man-made accessories all which you can bargain for.There are even shops allowing you to rent bikes like Harley's,Honda CBR400 and most common of all 125cc bikes.
Arriving at the agency in front of Ao Nang beach,we were given stickers(to be visibly sticked onto yourselves so as to let them know you are part of the tour group),loaf of bread and snorkels.Joining our tour were Japanese,British,Chinese and American people.Onto our long tail boat,we went to Railay Beach to pickup a few more passengers.
Our first stop,Poda Island.The first island of our 4 Island tour.The approximate time to reach the first island was about 20 minutes.Along the journey,there are lots of limestones..exotic..breathtaking views.
If you are lucky enough,you can see fishes jumping out of the water...not sure whether it's a flying fish.Ade was always taking pictures with his new camera.I did my part by recording and also taking pictures with my handphone.
AT PODA ISLAND
Wasn't it great?The view,the sand and the sea..amazing!Not forgetting bikini clad chickz..haha.This is the first time I've seen the most beautiful seawater..very clear..very clean(still salty) unlike Singapore.We were given an hour to spend the time here on the island.
From the corner of my eye,I spotted something..A huge lump out of the sand..LOL!What I saw was actually a Caucasian woman suntanning without her bikini top on!I do have the video which I took but I'm not gonna put it up here.Uncensored!
The next island,Hong Island,was where we had our lunch.The tour guide gave us a packet of rice,some dishes and one mineral water per person.We found our spot under a tree enjoying our lunch.There were lots of foreigners here at this island..beautiful babes..until I saw two guys that caught my attention.They had their nipples pierced and I assumed they were gay couples.They were feeding bread to a school of Nemo fish.The fishes were just swimming among my legs.It was really cool to see the fishes swimming around you.Even the children were excited to see it up close.
Next stop,snorkeling fun near Chicken Island.The island got it's name because of the limestone cliff shaped like a chicken head.Arriving at a snorkeling spot,Ade was excited and didn't hesitate to be the first person to jump into the water and fed the fishes with bread.I went to the top of the boat and took pictures of the area.The water here is much calmer than the one in Bali which i snorkeled at Nusa Dua.Colourful corals and fishes enlightened the beauty of the water.It's really worth it.Careful though..the fishes can really bite you.Ade was the victim.He showed me his finger that was bitten by the fish.HAHA!
Enough of snorkelling..It's time to move on to our last stop,Tub Island.From my video,you can see how beautiful and serene the place is.So relaxing..how I wished I can get away from the bustling and stressing place of Singapore.The next island is indeed very small.Surrounded by shallow waters which you can even walk to the next island during low tide.
Beautiful right?We had a few swims then sat down in the water.Mesmerized by the beauty of the beach,sand,sea and clear skies.Ade crossed to the next island leaving me alone.So,I went back to the boat..went to the top and suntanned.I was already exhausted at that time so I slept while waiting for the boat to get ready to leave for mainland.
It was almost 4:30pm.Enjoying the fresh air and viewing the beautiful sun..the boat was on it's way back to Ao Nang.I was so damn hungry.As soon as the boat reached the shore,we went to buy our fried chicken and glutinous rice for our dinner back at our hotel.Wet,exhausted and topless..we passed by Swensens so I bought three scoops of ice-cream.Chocolate Chip,Cream n Cookies and Triple Choc...umph umph..I ate that all the way while walking back to my hotel.
What a day!We ate our full and so I had nap before getting ready go for some more shopping that evening.
22nd April 2008
Another day,another adventure.We were getting ready to check out and our next destination is Koh Phi Phi!We board our transport together with a few foreigners to Ao Nang Pier.The ferry service to Koh Phi Phi is 600 baht per person equivalent to $25 Sing.It has two decks,both fully air-conditioned.An hour and a half ride,I stood out at the open deck and watched the beauty of the sea.Took a quick shower and headed out to the swimming pool which has a bar.Aahhhh...a great place to relax when the weather is hot.The bar serves alcoholic drinks to fruit drinks.Asking for a menu,I browsed through and bought a watermelon punch.So refreshing!Wading at the pool for hours,Ade decided to go to the beach and check out Loh Dahlun Bay.
Again,walking at the beach gives you lots of sins..LOL!Viewing topless,suntanning babes lying on the sand.The clip shows Loh Dahlun Bay.The water is also shallow over here and has very calm waves.It was another morning where we had to get ready for our next tour.Bought tidbits along for our trip.It was 9:00am already and the guide led us to the longtail boats.Wow!All the rest were Caucasiansexcept for one Japanese lady whom confronted us and asked us where were we from,"We are from Singapore and we know you are from Japan."then the lady laughed maybe because we knew her accent right away.
Do you guys remember in which movie was the place filmed??If you can recall the movie 'The Beach'...this was the place Leonardo di Caprio acted.In the movie,they edited the shoot by enclosing the bay.Let's take a look at the footage of the vidoe clip below if you know what I meant..See what I see??Well enough of the footage.The important thing is that I get to see real life in front of me the wonders and beauty of that place.De-stressing away...with the wind massaging your body and realizing that time was already up for the next activity.
Moving off from Maya Beach,the weather started to change.Strong currents from the strong winds made the boat to make a detour back to Phi Phi Don.For the first time in my life,I saw two water spouts from a distance.Light drizzle could be felt pouring from the sky.Arriving at Monkey Cliff,no monkeys could be seen at that popular spot.We can't even watch the sunset.Again,blame the weather.
Take note,they won't do a refund if bad weather takes place. Feeling dejected and hungry,we went to have dinner at the same cafe back at shore.Ade complained that he was very tired so he went back to the room to rest early while I went to a cyber cafe and went online via MSN to chat with my friends back home.
24th April 2008
AT PHUKET
It was already evening and the weather was cloudy with light showers pouring down.We saw a budget hotel right in front of us and didn't hesitate to book a room immediately.Costing us 800 baht per night,the room really doesn't fancy us as it looks quite dusty.What the hell...We planned to stay for a night at this place and look around for better hotels the next day.
From the video clip,right where we were standing is the heart of Patong.There is a Muay Thai Boxing Stadium,Jungceylon Shopping Complex and of course the greatest nightlife scenes that you can ever imagine in Phuket.
Our first day at Phuket was to get to know the place much better by exploring the area.There are loads of shopping you can do here. Let me take you through a walk at Phuket's shopping mall..
AT JUNGCEYLON SHOPPING COMPLEX
It's quite similar to Bugis Shopping Centre but much more bigger and spacious.There is Carrefour,a cinema,arcade,bowling,pool,fast food,Haagen Daz and bla and so and on..Looking for pepper spray??You can find them here..
As we walked further down the road,we came across a bazaar selling clothings and stuff at really cheap price..prices ranging from 150 baht to 600 baht depending on what kind of material.From what I noticed,most of the sellers here are Burmese.
We were walking pass this building and it says,"Thai Sun Guesthouse at 500 baht per night".Straightaway we surveyed the hotel and it was much more cleaner and grander.We told the counter that we were gonna book the room for the next day.Accomodation in Phuket settled only that it's much more farther then Patong Beach.
Soi Bangla Road..a place buzzing of night filled activities.By 7:00pm the road will be closed for people to walk and visit the discoes,pubs and cabarets.Ladyboys..hmm..looked attractive though..but they are friendly..You can take pictures with them also.The crowd was just amazing..every now and then you see people,different kinds of people..
SHEESHAH AT CAIRO RESTAURANT
We arrived at Cairo Restaurant for sheeshah.Ade never tried before having a puff of sheeshah so I taught him how.He did say he is an amateur.Cost only 150 baht.Just chill and have a cup of tea.Ade puffed till he felt groggy as he is not used to it.With the nice ambience,Arabic music playing on..we chit-chatted till midnight.
25th April 2008
Woke up early in the morning,without even bathing..packed our stuff and shifted to the much better guesthouse which we booked the other night.With our sleepy eyes,we continued sleeping till evening.The picture on the left was the view of Phuket from my third storey guesthouse.We did nothing much that day..only to do some shopping..browsing some cool stuff.There is a shop selling display statues made of gears and iron.It's really cool..you can see the character Alien,Predator and many more.
Walking at Jungeceylon we thought of watching a movie.Hmmm,we changed our mind and since our stomach was already growling..we went to have dinner at Cairo Restaurant.The same place we had sheeshah.An Arabic retaurant serving all kinds of Arabic dishes.
DINNER AT CAIRO RESTAURANT
Eating our full,we couldn't finish some of the kebabs.You know how much we spent altogether?$40++ Sing dollars mind you..equivalent to almost 1000 baht.After that,we had sheeshah again..Ade was already addicted to it..LOL!
The night was still young so we went to Soi Bangla Road and entered Soi Eric..a row of pubs which foreigners flock to.Ordering a drink or two,you can play games like Connect-4,Roll the Dice and Jengga with a Thai hostess.You can also play a popular game where u have to knock a nail into a log using a hammer.The first person to knock the nail securely into the log wins.They are really friendly and some might not know how to speak English so sharpen your Thai language.
26th April 2008
The last day at Phuket before we return back to Krabi the following day.By that time,both of us were shagged and homesick.After eating lunch,Ade went to Carrefour to buy his stuff while I walked to Patong Beach.Just a 5 minutes walk,I'm standing at the popular beach.
AT PATONG BEACH
Patong Beach,hit by the 2004 tsunami..but I'm not sure exactly where.There is a monument to remember the victims of the tsunami but I'm not sure where is it.I just took a stroll along the beach while looking at the sunset.It was really a great view especially if you go there with your loved ones since Patong Beach is located on the westside.
Back at the hotel,I told Ade that since this was the last day at Phuket why not we go to the disco.He said that he was very tired so I decided to go alone.At around 9:00pm,I went to Soi Bangla Rd again and this time I entered Tiger Disco.It is a 2 storey discotheque.There was no crowd yet so I bought a whisky and sat down alone near the DJ.
The good thing about the disco is that there is no dress code.You can wear slippers and bermudas.The cover charge is like 200 baht I think plus you have 2 free drinks.At first the DJ played house music and I really enjoyed it even though I was just sitting down alone.A bottle of Chivas Regal cost quite cheap priced at 1800 baht I think.Only $80 Sing..
As the time struck 11:00pm,the crowd had already gathered.Most of the crowd were foreigners.The DJ was already playing Hip Hop and RnB songs.The Thai girls here are really attractive.They are friendly and outgoing.Just sitting beside me was a group of Thai girls.One of them knocked into me and said sorry in Thai language."Khoo toot",she said.In turn,I said I'm not local..I'm a foreigner and immediately she spoke to me in English.
"How come are you alone?,she said to my ears.I said that my friend was sleeping.We then introduced to each other.She also introduced to all her Thai friends.See how friendly she is?She was really sweet and petite.She lived in Bangkok and came to Phuket to meet her friend.She looked 23 but her real age is 27.Kwang kwang kwang...We enjoyed talking to each other and also danced together.I was a bit awkward at first and can you believe that she said I was a good dancer..?HAHA!
"Chok-dee-kap!",I said.It means cheers in Thai.After a while,she got to leave and I bid farewell to her leaving me alone.Suddenly,another girl came up to me.Another Thai girl who looked Chinese.She said,"Can I dance with you?"...Wow!This is the first time a girl came up to me and asked me to dance with her..haha..Her name is Faiya and her age is 21.Much better.After a couple of dance,I told her I had to leave as it was already 2:30 am in the morning and I had to catch a minivan back to Rassada Pier at 6:00am.
27th April 2008
Reaching Rassada Pier,we took a ferry back to Ao Nang,Krabi where we stayed for another night at Ao Nang Goodwill.San,the guy who runs the hotel,was surprised to see us back.He gave us a discount on the room we booked.The last day of the holiday.We never did much but to eat ice cream at Swensens and watched DVD that we bought while eating dinner at the hotel lobby.
28th April 2008
We have to leave.Sad to leave.Boarded a minivan back to Haatyai early in the morning.Reaching only in the afternoon,we got on our coach back to Singapore.29th April,2am in the morning,we reached Singapore..Home Sweet Home..
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