Pre Thailand – Laos Travel

For the Malay Language, click here.

Greetings to all my readers. From December 28, 2016, to January 12, 2017, we’d completed 10 cities in Thailand and one in Laos. It is pretty challenging and there are few obstacles because involving children aged 3 years and 10 months.

Nearly 6000 pictures and 125 videos have been taken throughout the journey. Wow … so many! I will try to cut any unimportant, reduce the picture myself, and prioritize the scenery pictures. I used a Canon 600D with an 18-55mm lens and it’s already aged 5 years old. If you are interested, I would recommend an upgraded version of a Canon EOS 800D (also called Canon EOS Rebel T7i) with an 18-55mm STM lens.

On December 20, we bought ETS train tickets to Padang Besar for 2 adults and one child. The adult ticket price is MYR77.00 and MYR43.00 for children. Initially, I’d like to buy a ticket for December 25th. But, unfortunately, all the tickets are sold out due to the Christmas holiday. So, now I know how to buy ETS tickets that need to be purchased 6-8 days before the date of travel. That’s the tip. When there is no ticket for Dec 25, we have no choice and bought one for December 28th. Since we are self-employed, so it’s easy for us to choose any date. Most importantly, all expenses are enough to start the adventure.

Hotel booking? We do not book anything even to the 11 cities in Thailand and Laos. I purposely made this concept. There will be the fate for a cheaper hotel than those advertised on Agoda and Booking or otherwise. Our only satisfaction is to choose a hotel or resort that is beautiful and easy to access to or from any destination.

I changed the money for MYR1508.00 to get THB12,000. At first, I wanted to change the MYR1500, after which the money changer said to add MYR8.00 more to make THB12,000. Sadly because our currency shrank a lot at that time. I exchanged in Tesco Extra Cheras. I felt lazy to change money at Ampang Park or the Indian Mosque because when mixed with the cost of petrol and parking, it will be the same and not much difference.

Well, these are the 11 cities in Thailand and Laos that we’ve been through:

1. Hat Yai (Thailand)
2. Prachuap Khiri Khan (Thailand)
3. Hua Hin (Thailand)
4. Samut Songkhram (Maeklong Railway Market) (Thailand)
5. Nakhon Pathom (Thailand)
6. Kanchanaburi (Thailand)
7. Bangkok (Thailand)
8. Lopburi (Thailand)
9. Ayutthaya (Thailand)
10. Nong Khai (Thailand)
11. Vientiane (Laos)

So if we calculated the distance traveled from Kuala Lumpur, through 11 cities in two countries up to Vientiane, then return to Bangkok, boarding the plane back to Kuala Lumpur, so the total distance of the journey is 4,713km. How’s that sound? Thousands of thousands of kilometers of thrilling shocks?

Initially, these travel destinations include Thailand (several districts), Laos (Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, and Phonsavan), Cambodia (Battambang, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and Kampong Cham) and Vietnam ( Ho Chi Minh City and Mui Ne). But because of the inadequate time, I had to cancel my trip to Cambodia and Vietnam and continue my adventures with my wife and children for 16 days in Thailand and Laos. So maybe next time, we’ll travel to the place that has been dropped from the list. Most importantly, the Indochina mission is also implemented, better than nothing, right?

All transports were done via overland except for the returned trip by plane. Below here is the list of transportation that we use:

1. ETS train
2. Thailand train (sleeper berth)
3. Ordinary Thailand Train (3rd class)
4. Tuktuk – lorry/car type
5. Tuktuk – motorcycle type
6. Tuktuk – a three-wheeler car
7. Motorsikal – similar to the “Ojek” in Jakarta
8. Public bus
9. Boat
10. Ferry
11. City taxi
12. Bicycle
13. Monorail – Skytrain
14. MRT – Underground train
15. A motorbike that brought a vegetable (hitchhiking)
16. Hitchhiking (but unsuccessful)
17. Airplane – Malaysia Airlines

Additional items we’ve brought in the backpack (besides essential items like shirts, trousers, slippers, fittings and more):

1. Naturehike LW180 Sleeping bag
2. Mess tin
3. Butane Stove
4. Butane Gas
5. Travel Iron (weight at only 160gm)
6. Umbrella (the lightest in the market that we’ve found)
7. Bicycle Lock (the lightest type of wire – to lock backpack in the sleeper berth train)
8. Tupperware (plastic container for keeping food)
9. Spoon and fork
10. Airport Cover Bag (use to wrap a backpack when checking in as a luggage. Important as to prevent the backpack harness or strap that might be stuck in the baggage carousel).
11. 20L Daypack
12. First Aid Kit
13. Important medicines for travel
14. 0.5L Thermos
15. Kid’s clothing
16. Pampers

I will try to prepare the latest entries for Thailand-Laos travel as quickly as possible with the newest information such as the daily cost, transportation system, hotel type, etc. All the list of blog entries will be listed below. A clickable link means the blog entry has been successfully published and I will update the rest from time to time.

Note: This blog post for Thailand-Laos is 100% completed.

Malaysia – Thailand – Hat Yai

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 1 – Journey Begin, ETS Train and Malaysia-Thailand border
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 1 – Part 2 – Journey By Bus to Hat Yai, around Hat Yai and Lee Garden Plaza
3. Thailand – Laos: Day 2 – Part 1 – Around the city of Hat Yai and Wat Hat Yai
4. Thailand – Laos: Day 2 – Part 2 – Thai Primary School and Wet Market in Hat Yai
5. Thailand – Laos: Day 2 – Part 3 – Kim Yong Market and Reviews About Park Hotel

Hat Yai – Prachuap Khiri Khan

1. Thailand – Laos: Day 2 – Part 4 – Salma Restaurant and Trip to Prachuap Khiri Khan
2. Thailand – Laos: Day 3 – Part 1 – Good Morning Prachuap Khiri Khan
3. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 3 – Part 2 – Wing 5 and Ao Manao Beach
4. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 3 – Part 3 – Wat Ao Noi in Prachuap Khiri Khan
5. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 3 – Part 4 – Halal Stall and Night Market in Prachuap Khiri Khan
6. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 1 – City Pillar Shrine in Prachuap Khiri Khan
7. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 2 – Khao Chong Kra Chok in Prachuap Khiri Khan
8. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 3 – Wat Thammikaram Worawihan and Return Back to Maggie Guesthouse in Prachuap Khiri Khan

Prachuap Khiri Khan – Hua Hin

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 4 – Maggie Guesthouse Review and Minibus Ride to Hua Hin
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 5 – Hua Hin Here We Come! Tong Mee Hotel and Night Market
3. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 6 – Pone Kingpeth Park and Bluport Shopping Mall in Hua Hin
4. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 7 – Cicada Night Market in Hua Hin
5. Thailand – Laos: Day 4 – Part 8 – Wat Amparam and Something Unexpected in Hua Hin
6. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 5 – Part 1 – Review of Tong Mee Hotel and Hua Hin Railway Station
7. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 5 – Part 2 – Wat Hua Mongkol
8. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 5 – Part 3 – Wat Khao Takiab
9. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 5 – Part 4 – Hua Hin Market Village
10. Thailand – Laos: Day 5 – Part 5 – Chatsila Night Market in Hua Hin

Hua Hin – Samut Songkhram

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 1 – Goodbye Hua Hin and Journey to Maeklong Railway Market
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 2 – Maeklong Railway Station in Samut Songkhram

Samut Songkhram – Nakhon Pathom

1. Thailand – Laos: Day 6 – Part 3 – Travel to Nakhon Pathom and See the Largest Stupa in the World

Nakhon Pathom – Kanchanaburi

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 4 – Trip To Kanchanaburi and Reviews About Rainbow Guesthouse
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 5 – Kanchanaburi Night Market
3. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 1 – Morning Atmosphere at Rainbow Guesthouse & Death Railway in Kanchanaburi
4. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 2 – Sales Bazaar and JEATH War Museum
5. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 3 – Muslim Restaurant and Memorial Monument in Kanchanaburi
6. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 4 – War Cemetary and Thai-Burma Research Center in Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi – Bangkok

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 5 – Relaxing at Rainbow Lodge and Journey to Bangkok
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 6 – Welcome to Bangkok!
3. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 7 – Finding Cheap Hotels and Khao San Road
4. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 1 – Lunch at Chakrapong Mosque and a Visit to Coin Museum
5. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 2 – Mae Phra Thoranee Beep Muay Phom & The Grand Palace, Bangkok
6. Thailand – Laos: Day 8 – Part 3 – Bangkok City Pillar Shrine
7. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 4 – Ministry of Defense & Royal Thai Survey Department
8. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 5 – Hello Kitty Bangkok!!
9. Thailand – Laos: Day 8 – Part 6 – Siam Square One & Siam Paragon, Bangkok
10. Thailand – Laos: Day 8 – Part 7 – Siam Center & Siam Discovery
11. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 8 – MBK Center & Chatuchak Park, Bangkok
12. Thailand – Laos: Day 8 – Part 9 – Underground Train & Soi Rambuttri
13. Thailand – Laos: Day 9 – Part 1 – Aesah Rotdee Restaurant & Wat Bowonniwetwiharn Ratchaworawiharn
14. Travel Thailand – Laos: Day 9 – Part 2 – 14 October Memorial & Democracy Monument
15. Thailand – Laos: Day 9 – Part 3 – Wat Ratchanatdaram Woravihara & Pom Mahakan
16. Thailand – Laos: Day 9 – Part 4 – The Golden Mount (Wat Saket)
17. Thailand – Laos: Day 9 – Part 5 – Funarium
18. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 9 – Part 6 – The Emporium, The Helix Quartier & The EmQuartier
19. Thailand – Laos: Day 9 – Part 7 – Khao San Road & Suzie Walk

Bangkok – Lopburi:

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 10 – Part 1 – Hua Lamphong Railway Station & Travel to Lopburi
2. Thailand – Laos: Day 10 – Part 2 – Lopburi Sunflower Field
3. Thailand – Laos: Day 10 – Part 3 – Phra Prang Sam Yot & Phra Kan Shrine
4. Thailand – Laos: Day 10 – Part 4 – Wat Nakhon Kosa & Wat Phra Si Ratana Maha That

Lopburi – Ayutthaya

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 10 – Part 5 – Trip to Ayutthaya & Ayutthaya Night Market
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 11 – Part 1 – On the Roof of Saifon Hotel & Morning Market
3. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 11 – Part 2 – First Time Cycling In Thailand & Visiting Wat Ratchaburana
4. Thailand – Laos: Day 11 – Part 3 – Wat Yannasen & Wat Thammikarat
5. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 11 – Part 4 – Ayutthaya Historical Park & Wat Maha That

Ayutthaya – Nong Khai

1. Thailand – Laos: Day 11 – Part 5 – Ayutthaya Mosque & Travel to Nong Khai
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 12 – Part 1 – Good Morning Nong Khai, Border Crossing & Hello Vientiane!

Nong Khai – Vientiane (Laos)

1. Thailand – Laos: Day 12 – Part 2 – Unique Architecture At Buddha Park

Vientiane (Laos)

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 13 – Part 1 – Vientiane, Lao National Culture Hall & Lao National Museum
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 13 – Part 2 – The Only Mosque in Vientiane & Wat Inpeng
3. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 14 – Part 1 – Reviews of Chindamay Hotel
4. Thailand – Laos: Day 14 – Part 2 – Patuxay

Vientiane – Nong Khai (Thailand)

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 14 – Part 3 – Halal Restaurant In Nong Khai & Return Trip To Bangkok

Bangkok – Malaysia

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 15 – Bangkok We’re Coming Again & Hotel In Lat Krabang
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 16 – Our Adventure Is Over & Time To Return Home

See also:

1. Summary Of 10 Major Cities In Thailand That We Visited
2. Overland Travel Map Summary from Thailand to Laos
3. Overland Travel Expense Summary from Thailand to Laos