From Guangzhou to Bangkok
As I mentioned in the previous part of the blog, it was a great day for me as I was about to be joined by my mates in Bangkok very soon and it was like a life long dream coming true.
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| Metro stations in China are usually that much crowded. |
Yes, its
Bangkok with a shut down order by the military, on our second night and the
roads were empty like they become in Karahchi when MQM, a political party in
Karachi, known for its violent activities, calls for strike. But the case was different here.
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| Khaosan road is closed and empty because of the curfew |
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| Yes, its a main road in Bangkok, quite and empty because of the curfew |
It was the
worst news for us as the military imposed curfew in Thailand after 10pm till
5am due to that political unrest. We faced the same situation the previous night
after I arrived at 6 in the evening, on May 21st, 2014, when the
aircraft I was traveling in landed at Suvranabhumi airport in Bangkok. Now was
the time to enjoy the time with two of my best mates, Naveed and Waseem, who
had been keeping me updated about how we would be spending our first night, since the previous night and I found Penpark place
to be the perfect place to stay, neither too close to Khaosan road, backpackers heaven in Bangkok, to get
irritated of loud music nor too far to get separated from one of the great
places to live close to in Bangkok.
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| They say Thai food is tasty. I wonder if it is |
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| Me at Penpark place, a perfect guest house |
My
Companions
After a
great trip to Kalash together, we always dreamt of a traveling abroad
and Thailand would be the topic. So me and my two companions, Naveed and Waseem
would talk and plan for a lots of stuff to do in Thailand, two months prior to
the trip. On every Saturday night we’d sit, discuss and kill time talking about
the upcoming traveling season.
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| On the ferry from Krabi to Phi Phi |
Why
Thailand?
Thailand,
mostly famous for prostitution and nasty night life usually makes everyone
suspicious and people like us from such a typical and religious
culture can’t afford such a position in the society. The reason behind such a mindset is that people from Pakistan usually find Thailand to be perfect for such stuff and get involved in the world most ugliest yet profitable
business there. But very few people know about the different side of Thailand. Its
famous islands in the south, jungles in the north, natural beauty, being cheap, convenient and safetywhich makes Thailand one of famous tourist destinations in the world.
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| A pack of pinapples just for THB 20, helps a lot in boiling weather |
Khaosan Road
Khaosan
road became famous among the US soldiers during the Vietnam war when they used to
come to Bangkok, very close to Vietnam, to fulfill their never ending lust for
sex and prostitution. Later, it became one of the most famous places among
hippies and other tourists from around the world.
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| Home to Backpackers |
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| Glowing night at Khaosan road |
Why would I like to stay near Khaosan Road?
Days and
nights totally reflect each other in terms of activities and fun at Khaosan
road. One can’t imagine what it’d be like at the same place after the sun sets.
Its just like a cheap street market with garments, bracelets, chains and a few
“7 Eleven stores” all around. But after the sun sets, the real crazy fun can be
witnessed with crazy tourists owning the streets. Lots of people from each and
every part of the world come out of their hostels and hotels and can be seen at
Khaosan road. Music gets louder and louder as the mid night approaches and gets
crazy and party stuff gets to its top level by mid night with people dancing
and having fun all around.
Though
there’s no metro station near Khaosan road and transport to and from the
Khaosan road can be expensive sometimes. But it doesn’t have to be mentioned
that one can find transport buses to find access to different places and metro
stations. I always prefer to find an accommodation in the neighbors of Khaosan
road as there are many ways to kill time and enjoy when I’m lonely.
Bangkok
Public Transportation
Bangkok
transportation system is developed and can be said to be much developed
compared with the one in Karachi, Pakistan. The skytrain runs from airport to
Phaya Thai, the last station connected to the metro station which gives access
to several locations in the city. One would love to use metro to avoid taxi fares
and most of all the worst traffic in the Bangkok.
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| Ugly traffic in Bangkok |
Going to
Phi Phi Island
After
getting frustrated with this curfew scene for two consecutive nights, I left the
hotel early in the morning with Naveed and Waseem sleeping in the room and got
the tickets to Krabi, the town around 800km away from Bangkok, most convenient to
catch ferries to Phi Phi islands and other famous islands. The itinerary was
supposed to be as follows.
Bangkok -
Surat Thani by train (7:00pm to 9am) costing THB 700
Surat Thani
to Krabi by bus (2-3 hours) costing THB 200
Krabi to
Phi Phi islands by ferry (2 hours) costing THB 400
The
combined tickets can be bought from several agents on the Khaosan road or the
train+bus tickets can be purchased from Lamphong station for THB 950. It’s always
better to pay the travel agent THB 100 or THB 150 more and get the tickets.
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| Train station in Bangkok, tourists are sometime more in number than locals |
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| Stand up! Its national anthem. This was normal during military control |
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| Train, we traveled in |
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| Seats are comfortable and turn into bed after 10 |
Bangkok to
Surat Thani
The train
was comfortable but it wasn’t up to my expectation which I thought would be
like they are in China. The food is expensive and doesn’t taste too good. One
has to pay the triple price of what they usually pay in the city for a bottle
of water. So it’s always advisable to get your food and drinks with you on the
train if you really want to save some money and spend it for some better
purpose.
The train
got delayed due to some unknown reason and it reached at 10 at Surat Thani
where the buses were already waiting for the passengers. One should not expect
a good and committed treatment in Thailand and should be ready for a little bit
off the track work. As the bus was supposed to take us to Krabi directly and
it’d take two hours but instead we were shifted to a double cabin vehicle and
then had to wait at some hotel for an hour, where we had our food after 20
hours. Another bus came and stopped at different tourism offices to carry some
more passengers. It took 4 hours instead of two and was a difficult journey. It
was 2 in the afternoon and the last ferry to Phi Phi islands leaves at 3pm. We
got the tickets and we were running to the ferry. Just after getting on the
ferry all of our tiredness was gone. With every air molecule striking our body,
we were getting more and more energy. What else could be the source of
relaxation more than being on the board of a ferry to Phi Phi islands and
earphones in the ear with the most favorite songs playing?
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| Found some crazy friends to spend some great time |
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| While on the road to Krabi |
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| Don't they look desperate after seeing the food? |
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| No shirts on? No problem, its the trend there to stay topless all the time! |
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| Its the backpackers place. Its quite revealed |
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| Phi is close |
Phi Phi
Islands
Beyond our
expectations, the islands turned out to be a developed piece of land with every expected
facility and a lot of tourists all around. It was very different to see the
flood of people for the purpose of tourism, relaxation and partying.
Phi Phi
islands became famous after the movie “The Beach” in which the famous actor
Leonardo DiCaprio visits the islands after being suggested by some tourist
friend at Khaosan road.
The island
was badly hit by the Tsunami in Indian Ocean in 2004 but unexpectedly gained
its lost name very soon. Today the island is very famous amongst the western
tourist as it offers each and every kind of activities. Party people have their
different part of the beach to feed their soul. There are a couple of very calm
beaches offering very relaxed and quite environment for peace loving minds.
Ton Sai
bay is the most famous beach of all, perhaps not the most beautiful one.
There are a number of beach bars on Ton Sai bay and some of these offer a
very lively and happening night life on the Phi Phi islands. Slinky Bar, Ibiza
bar and the Woody Bar are the famous for the fire shows and then beach parties
which goes on till 3 in the morning.
Relaxation
is equally offered during the day time. Set a target of reading several books
in a few days and its always easy to meet the target as one can read the book
on any beach with beautiful scenery around. What could be better than lying on
the beach with nothing on mind but a book in hand and nothing to worry about?
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| Stairs to viewpoint. Really a hard job to go up |
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| Finally I was up |
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| The weather got better just before sunset |
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| Capturing sunset from viewpoint |
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| Maya bay |
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| Its 5 in the eveining and people are preparing for night scene |
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| Our usual dinner at Phi Phi, one slice was enough usually |
Things to
do!
Different
entertainment opportunities are available at very reasonable amount of money at
Phi Phi islands. From professional scuba diving to half day tours of different
islands including snorkeling and rock climbing, the activities offer everything
to tourists with a taste of adventure, relaxation or cool fun. The full day and
half day tours cover different islands.
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| In the longtail boat to half day tour |
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| We didn't sleep the whole night. But it took away all the tiredness |
Railay
Beach
Arpit, a traveler and a couch surfer from India, we enjoyed talking with about the
things across border and about how we miss the people from behind the border
despite the fact that our politicians and army are always exchanging harsh
words and fire, suggested us to visit Railay beach, close to Krabi, famous for
its rock climbing activity.
Railay
beach is a very calm and, according to some, the most beautiful beach in
Thailand. There are not much cheaper hotels and no hostels on the beach and
mostly there are resorts. Contrary to the fact that the resorts are very good
and located just in front of the beach, the rooms are not too costly. The beach
had its own specialty and was surprisingly too calm and cool. But our minds
were not ready to synch with this relaxed environment after such a happening
life and lively nights in Phi Phi.
Back to Phi
Phi – An Insane but Good Decision
“We should
go to back to Phi Phi”, suggested Naveed eventually. He actually spoke what was
in our hearts but we were not ready to share beacaue of confusion. He got our
consent the same second and it was decided that we’d leave for Phi Phi. It cost
us almost THB 1000 extra to get to Phi Phi as we had to book a separate long
tail boat and a private car to get to Krabi pier to catch the ferry to Phi Phi.
No, we couldn’t believe when we got on the ferry. The lever excitement got
higher and higher as the island came closer. This is what we call falling in
love with a place!
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| Last sunset at Ton sai bay, Phi Phi |
Leaving for Malaysia
After
spending two more crazy days at the beautiful island, it was the time to leave
for Malaysia, though unwillingly. The ferry had to leave at 8 and after taking
a sleep of 2 hours we were trying to get ready for the longest journey of our
lives. The plan was to go to Penang, Malaysia by bus or train as mentioned below.
Phi Phi
islands to Krabi by Ferry – almost 2 hours – cost THB 350
Krabi to
Hatyai by bus – almost 3 hours – cost THB 200
Hatyai to Penang
by bus or train – almost 7 hours
Somehow, after a long but comfortable journey
we reached Hatyai at 4 in the evening. All the buses for Penang had already left
and we were apparently left with no choice but to stay in Hatyai for a night.
Luckily a travel agent provided us bus tickets which was running from Hatyai
to Singapore. The bus service was provided by some Malaysian company and had a
wifi and was very comfortable.
The ticket
from Hatyai to Penang would cost almost THB 500.
By Road or By Air?
The airline
tickets from Krabi or Phuket to Penang or Kuala Lumpur are very cheap if
purchased a few days in advance. Air Asia is usually the best option while traveling in between Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore. The
prices that we expected to be PKR 5000 turned out to be PKR 11000 three days before booking. So, my
decision was to travel by road, which was also the part of my plan prior to the
trip, to which Naveed also agreed reluctantly. It turned out to be a clever decision as it added much to our experience and saved us a good amount of money.
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| Bus from Krabi to Hat Yai |
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| Ready to get transferred to the big bus to Malaysia |
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| The bus stops on the way for the people to get refresh |
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| But we'd rather have street food |
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| Yes, Malaysia is close enough |
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| Street food on the way. Muslims are all around as you come close to Malaysia |
Was it
Penang?
As usual,
our planned changed just half an hour before the bus driver would drop us at
Penang when Wasim suggested to let Penang pass by as it was 2 am and we’d face
difficulty finding an accommodation at that hour.
“So? What
do we do then? What do you mean?”, I asked.
I decided
to go with the flow as was the situation and a compelling reason.
Our next
stop was ……….. (Read the upcoming Malaysian part of the blog)
Is it safe in Thailand?
I wonder when people from Pakistan ask this question as living in Pakistan is the most dangerous thing a person can do.
Thailand is generally very safe. There's no mugging or killing or kidnapping for ransom. However, there's too much scam in Thailand, specially in Bangkok.
No Tuk Tuk:
Try not to take the Tuk Tuk, we call Rikshaw, in Bangkok. They will probably get you scammed or ask for extra money or will try their best to take you to some brothel or ping pong show.
Be Carefull before paying
Always ask atleast two or three vendors before paying for anything. People usually try to sell things for tripple times the reall prices.
