Day 1 (25-26/09/09)
We boarded the 14 hours KTM train ride from KL to Hat Yai which departed 9pm the night before at KL central. The cabin was comfortable but at periods can be a little a shaky as it stopped from station to another through out the east coast track. We checked in the immigration at Padang Besar by 10am. An hour later we reached our first check point in the Songkhla province, Hat Yai. The language barrier made it complicated for us get a simple answer. We met a random guy at a nearby mosque and he showed us where the minivans that will be parted to Songkla. We went on the minivan not knowing where to explore and to sleep for that night. Khad applied his communication skills which where we met two lovely girls, Pa & Jeab who had volunteered to show us around Songkla. They were heading to Rajamangala University of Technology of Srivijaya as they had some chores to do as students. After putting our bags to safety, Pa and Jeab took us to nearby beautiful beach but the sun was too hot for us to browse around. Then, we took a Tuk Tuk (Thailand kinda taxi) as Pa & Jeab took us to the Songkhla aquarium where exhibitions of fishes were displayed. Soon after, Pa & Jeab brought us to the Naga Head statue at Song Thale Park, Laem Son On and the Mermaid Statue at Samila beach. Both figure had appreciable backgrounds for the people of Songkhla. We head back to Hat Yai to spent the night at Cathay travelers hotel for 250baht per night. Later that night Pa had brought us to dinner next to the night market in Hat Yai. We met Jenny, Pa’s relative and had a little chat before ending the night.
Day 2 (27/09/09)
That morning Pa, Jeab and Jenny had breakfast with us before our departure to Krabi at 9am which cost us 240baht per person. The trip was about 5 hours with a stop at Trang. First, we searched for accommodation as we flow from a guesthouse to another to acquire an appropriate charge. We met Urai, owner of Nature View Guest house which had given us a double bedroom for 250baht per night. We were introduced to Bat, his brother who was a Tuk Tuk driver and had brought us to Tiger Temple Cave. It was 1237 steps that we climbed as my breathang became deeper for every step which made it all worth it once we were at the highest peak to view the whole of Krabi. According to the Buddhist monks that they would climb up the stairs at least twice a day. Bat had brought us to a nearby cheap halal hawker stalls nearby for dinner and later sent us at the night market.
Day 3 (28/09/09)
The day had promise us beautiful beaches and clear sea as we had book a day on a trip to Phi-Phi Island for 800 baht each. A truck picked us up from our guesthouse at 9am as they brought us to Ang Nang, 40mins drive. The trip was socially connected as we met and had conversations with people from Switzerland, Italy, Brazil, Canada and the locals. The weather was fantastic as the sun light reflected down in the deep blue sea. The jumpy boat ride took us to our first stop at Phi Phi leh, the smaller island of Phi Phi. The combination of limestone in the middle of the sea with a background of sunny blue sky mesmerized me. To my disappointment the trip to Maya Bay (The Beach, Leonardo Di Caprio) was canceled due to bad waves. We snorkeled for a hour before moving on to the Monkey Bay where the monkeys were egocentric of their appearance. We had watermelons to tease them closer and fed them; they even drank coke straight out of the glass bottle and performed mating session. As noon approached the tourist guides, Is and her sidekick Mau, which Khad managed to get intimate with, took us to Phi Phi Don which was the bigger island for lunch where we were served with full of hospitality. Before going back to the main land, we had a one last stop at the Bamboo Island to swim and relaxes. Besides that Is also explained and showed us the Tsunami hit locations in 2004. At Phi Phi island itself more than 5000 died. By 6pm we were back at our guesthouse and went for dinner.
Day 4 (29/09/09)
We left Krabi for Phuket at noon, four hours journey which cost us 250 baht each. We had the minivan sent us to Kata Karon Beach since we can get cheaper accommodation compare to the ones at Patong Beach. Phuket were known world wide as tourist favourites and the prices can get high at certain places but we sidestepped that by getting a place at Karon Beach for 300 baht per night. We went for swimming that evening at Karon beach. The tidal waves were too strong until a lifeguard had to tell us to get out. That night we rent two scooters for 350 baht and we searched for halal food. The one we ate was expensive since it was like a formal Indian restaurant. eg. Roti Cheese Naan 1250 baht = rm12.50. Yeah right but we had no other choices as we couldn't find cheap halal shop around. By 10pm, we took a drive to Patong Beach which was about 20 minutes away. The night was a total chaotic happening tourist getaway as people were partying and were entertained by the dancers. The weather was unpredictable too that night. It rained a couple of times but only for short while.
Day 5 (30/09/09)
The rainy night had made us overslept till ten in the morning. Our bus to Bangkok was five hours away. We had the rent bike for 24hours hence we spent our time to explore more of Phuket town. Along the way, there was the Wat Chalong Temple which we had a look around. It’s one of the holiest temple in Phuket. We prolonged our way to tesco to get some groceries and along the way Khad with Lish were stopped by a Thai police officer. To my relief, the police officer said "Malaysia, Asia… Okay!!!!". We found a cheap halal restaurant for lunch before we left for Bangkok about 3pm. It cost us 950baht each for the 14 hours from Karon beach which they took us by minibus to the Phuket town and from there we took the overnight bus to Bangkok. The bus was cozy but the seats did not give us that proper sleep. We had a stop at Chumpon around midnight for dinner before elongated our destination to Bangkok.
Day 6 (01/10/09)
It was a sudden awake when we reached Bangkok as the bus conductor had to call for us. It had rained all night and still was that dawn. We took a bus to Banglumphu where we researched to get bargain stay in Bangkok as we were running low of cash. Without perceiving the scenario of how it would be, we had found a place exactly on the Khosan Road itself. We furthered our rest on the bed till noon. Khad had surveyed around Banglumphu area that morning and brought us around the hectic town. We went to one bridge, Rama VII Bridge which crosses the Chao Phraya River. Some activities were done by students from schools as they were preparing for their cheer leading competition. Later that evening we head to the city by local bus and took the skytrain to Siam where all the shopping complexes illuminated the night life of Bangkok. We were told that all KFC were halal in Bangkok and it was confirmed when we had our dinner before heading to the most prominent business and financial centre of Bangkok, the Silm/Surawong area. Over 50 years ago, nobody would have the foresight that the Surawong – Silom area, then a remote district with paddy fields all around, would be main centre of business and financial. The two streets were busy not only in the daytime, but also in the evening, when people came out to eat, to meet business friends or to seek entertainment. We took the last bus to Khosan road at 10pm and to my amazement the road was a busy night market with mini bars hawker style, sarcastic t-shirts, insect foods, illegal license, foot massages all can be bought in Khosan road and the tourist from all around had made it commercialize. The loud music amplified our room till 2am. Imagine sleeping to that.
Day 7 (02/10/09)
The unplanned wake up call from the music stall had started from 7am and it carried on during the day. We went for our Friday prayers at the Cakapung mosque which was placed in among buildings where a series of alleys before finding it but the azan had always arouse the existence. It seems throughout the journey, we discover the influences of Islamic culture was mostly from Malaysia. The khutbah was almost similar with minor differences but in Thai language that kept us wondering. We had a chat with the Imam for that Friday prayers which had introduced us to Manas Nana, the Director of the New World City Hotel. He brought us to his hotel nearby and had invited us for lunch. Manas suggested going by boat along the Chao Phraya which were known as the Venice of the east. It was a cheap way to travel and also for tourist to competence the trip down the river. Later that evening we went back to our guesthouse and waited for the night as we head the Sulom/Surawong area for some amusement. We did our last minute shopping at Khosan Road before off to bed.
Day 8 (03/10/09)
A minivan took us to the airport for the 1pm flight to Penang since it was the cheapest and available. By 4.30pm we were in Penang and used the local bus to Sungai Dua for the bus back to KL. We were back home by 11pm.
looks like you're realizing your dream to take on the world. have fun and take care. i've always knew you could do it.
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