Pre Thailand – Laos Travel

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Greet to all my readers. On December 28, 2016, to January 12, 2017, we’d successfully completed 10 cities in Thailand and one city in Laos. It is quite challenging and there are many obstacles like adventure 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 give priority to the scenery pictures. I used a Canon 600D with an 18-55mm lens. It’s already 5 years old. If you are interested, I would recommend an upgraded version which is a Canon EOS 800D (also called Canon EOS Rebel T7i) with an 18-55mm STM lens.

On December 20, we bought ETS train tickets for Padang Besar for 2 adults and one child. Adult ticket price is MYR77.00 and MYR43.00 for children. Initially, I’d like to buy a ticket on December 25th, 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 got no choice and have to buy on December 28th. Since we are a kind of self-employed, it’s easy to keep up with 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. Actually, 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 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 changed 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, 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)

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?

Originally, 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. Maybe next time we’ll travel to the place that has been the drop down from the list. Most importantly, the Indochina mission is also implemented and walk the talk, rather than none, right?

All transports are carried overland except for a returned trip by plane and these are 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 (hitchhike)
16. Hitchhiking (but unsuccessful)
17. Airplane – Malaysia Airlines

Additional items we’ve brought in the backpack (besides basic 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 latest information such as the daily cost, transportation system, hotel type and so on. All the list of entries will be listed below. If there is a clickable link means the entry has been successfully published and the rest will be updated from time to time.

Completed:

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
6. Thailand – Laos: Day 2 – Part 4 – Salma Restaurant and Trip to Prachuap Khiri Khan
7. Thailand – Laos: Day 3 – Part 1 – Good Morning Prachuap Khiri Khan

In Progress:

1. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 3 – Part 2 – Wing 5 and Ao Manao Beach
2. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 3 – Part 3 – Wat Ao Noi in Prachuap Khiri Khan
3. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 3 – Part 4 – Halal Stall and Night Market in Prachuap Khiri Khan
4. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 1 – City Pillar Shrine in Prachuap Khiri Khan
5. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 2 – Khao Chong Kra Chok in Prachuap Khiri Khan
6. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 3 – Wat Thammikaram Worawihan and Return Back to Guesthouse in Prachuap Khiri Khan
7. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 4 – Maggie Guesthouse Review and Minibus Ride to Hua Hin
8. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 5 – Hua Hin Here We Come! Tong Mee Hotel and Night Market
9. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 6 – Pone Kingpeth Park and Bluport Shopping Mall in Hua Hin
10. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 7 – Cicada Night Market in Hua Hin
11. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 4 – Part 8 – Wat Amparam and An Unforgettable in Hua Hin
12. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 5 – Part 1 – Tong Mee Hotel Review and Hua Hin Railway Station
13. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 5 – Part 2 – Wat Hua Mongkol
14. Kembara Thailand – Laos: Day 5 – Part 3 – Wat Khao Takiab
15. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 5 – Part 4 – Hua Hin Market Village
16. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 5 – Part 5 – Chatsila Night Market in Hua Hin
17. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 1 – Goodbye Hua Hin and Journe to Maeklong Railway Market
18. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 2 – Maeklong Railway Station in Samut Songkhram
19. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 3 – Minibus Ride to Nakhon Pathom and Seeing the World’s Largest Stupa
20. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 4 – Journey to Kanchanaburi and Rainbow Guesthouse Review
21. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 5 – Kanchanaburi Night Market
22. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 1 – Morning Atmosphere in Rainbow Guesthouse & Death Railway in Kanchanaburi
23. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 2 – Sales Bazaars and JEATH War Museum
24. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 3 – Halal Restaurant and Memorial Monument in Kanchanaburi
25. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 4 – War Cemetery at Thai-Burma Research Center in Kanchanaburi
26. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 5 – Relaxing in Rainbow Lodge and Train Journey to Bangkok
27. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 6 – Welcome to Bangkok!
28. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 7 – Searching for Cheap Hotels and Khao San Road
29. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 1 – Lunch at Chakrapong Mosque and Visiting Coin Museum
30. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 2 – Mae Phra Thoranee Beep Muay Phom & The Grand Palace, Bangkok
31. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 3 – Bangkok City Pillar Shrine
32. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 4 – Ministry of Defence & Royal Thai Survey Department
33. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 8 – Part 5 – Hello Kitty Bangkok!!
34. Day 8 (Continue) – More Bangkok – Siam Square One, Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery and MBK Center
35. Day 8 (Continue) – More Bangkok – Chatuchak Park, Underground Train (MRT) and Soi Rambuttri Lagi
36. Day 9 – More Bangkok – Wat Bowonniwetwiharn Ratchaworawiharn, 14 October Memorial, Democracy Monument, Wat Ratchanatdaram Woravihara, Pom Mahakan and The Golden Mount (Wat Saket)
37. Day 9 (Continue) – More Bangkok – Funarium, The Emporium, The Helix Quartier, The EmQuartier and Suzie Walk
38. Day 10 – Journey to Lopburi, Hua Lamphong Railway Station, Lopburi Sunflower Field, Phra Prang Sam Yot, Phra Kan Shrine and Wat Nakhon Kosa
39. Day 10 (Continue) – Wat Phra Si Ratana Maha That, Journey to Ayutthaya and Ayutthaya Night Market
40. Day 11 – Ayutthaya – Morning Market, Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Yannasen, and Wat Thammikarat
41. Day 11 (Continue) – Ayutthaya Lagi – Ayutthaya Historical Park, Wat Maha That, Masjid Ayutthaya and Journey to Nong Khai
42. Day 12 – Nong Khai – Nong Khai – Laos Border and Buddha Park
43. Day 13 – Vientiane – Lao National Culture Hall, Lao National Museum, Jamia Mosque, and Wat Inpeng
44. Day 14 – Patuxay, Bandar Nong Khai and Journey Back to Bangkok
45. Day 15 – Bangkok and Lat Krabang
46. Day 16 – Back To Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia