Day 04 - Ep 07 - Good morning guys and join us in preparing our breakfast today. This will going to be our last day here in Doi Inthanon National Park and right after breakfast, we will wrap up our camping gear, load it into our car and head straight towards our home in Bangkok. This return journey would be somewhere around 13 hours as it took us 12 hours to reach from Bangkok to Chiang Mai city center. So for such a log journey, we want to make sure we have enough energy and that's why we will be preparing a heavy breakfast, rich in proteins and much needed energy.
We are going to prepare english breakfast today with two modifications. First, we will going to use flat bread or paratha instead of sliced bread (or toasts). Second, we will going to use pepperoni instead of beef bacon, because we are unable to find halal beef bacon yet in Thailand (Bangkok or Chiang Mai). BTW, if you guys know a place in from where we can get halal beef bacon, please do share and comment.
So our english breakfast, that we will going to prepare includes:
Fried Chicken Sausages
Fried Chicken Pepperoni
Fried Eggs
Baked Beans in Red Tomato Sauce
Cheddar Cheese
Fried Flat Bread
English Black Tea with Milk
Gala Apples
Flavored Yoghurt
Apple juice (Chabba)
So common, lets start our preparation...
Showing posts with label thailand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thailand. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Royal Agriculture Project and Siribhume Waterfall - Day 03 - Ep 06
Day 03 - Ep 06 - Royal Agriculture Project is yet another wonderful location within Doi Inthanon National Park. We didn't expect to find so much varieties of flowers, specially roses of almost all colors and sizes.
Previous Ep 05 - Day 03 - Thailand's Highest Elevation Point, Doi Inthanon Summit and Natural Trail
Next Ep 07 - Day 04 - Cooking English Breakfast while Camping at Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai
The accommodation inside this Royal Agriculture Project were so beautiful and like small, well equipped huts on top of the mountain, overlooking green lush tropical garden. We will definitely try to stay at least one night here on our next tour.
Besides that, you can view the famous Siribhume waterfall from a vantage point within Royal Agriculture Project. We saw amazing plantations of tomatoes, cabbage and countless flowers of different varieties. A whole dedicated section was of different kind of coffee beans and they were also available for sale in small packets at the adjacent souvenir shop, along with other locally produce fruits and vegetables.
Previous Ep 05 - Day 03 - Thailand's Highest Elevation Point, Doi Inthanon Summit and Natural Trail
Next Ep 07 - Day 04 - Cooking English Breakfast while Camping at Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai
The accommodation inside this Royal Agriculture Project were so beautiful and like small, well equipped huts on top of the mountain, overlooking green lush tropical garden. We will definitely try to stay at least one night here on our next tour.
Besides that, you can view the famous Siribhume waterfall from a vantage point within Royal Agriculture Project. We saw amazing plantations of tomatoes, cabbage and countless flowers of different varieties. A whole dedicated section was of different kind of coffee beans and they were also available for sale in small packets at the adjacent souvenir shop, along with other locally produce fruits and vegetables.
Thailand's Highest Elevation Point, Doi Inthanon Summit and Natural Trail - Day 03 - Ep 05
Day 03 - Ep 05 - Good morning from the Highest Elevation Point in Thailand :D. Yes, we are at the Doi Inthanon Summit and today we are going to trek the beautiful Yod Doi Natural Trail which also known as "Forest of the Sky" Trail.
This natural trail is designed beautifully with carved rock stairways and wooden pathways, taking you to different vantage points and during the way, keeping you abreast with interesting/unique facts and information about this area and the surroundings. This trail is quite an easy one, so if you are accompanying elderly and children with you, they can easily follow the trek without getting exhausted.
At the end of this trek, there's a Museum with detailed history and geographical information about the natural and wildlife, flora, fauna and the habitat of Doi Inthanon mountain and surround areas.
This natural trail is designed beautifully with carved rock stairways and wooden pathways, taking you to different vantage points and during the way, keeping you abreast with interesting/unique facts and information about this area and the surroundings. This trail is quite an easy one, so if you are accompanying elderly and children with you, they can easily follow the trek without getting exhausted.
At the end of this trek, there's a Museum with detailed history and geographical information about the natural and wildlife, flora, fauna and the habitat of Doi Inthanon mountain and surround areas.
Friday, March 13, 2020
BBQ Grill, Camping & Night Life at Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand - Day 02 - Ep 04
Day 02 - Ep 04 - It's BBQ time now! no further wait, we hit the sunset time and that means our wait for Big Game is over... yes!!!. For today's BBQ we are going to inaugurate our brand new BBQ Grill. During the BBQ preparation we discovered a new tool, a small hand-held fan.
My wife actually, bought that for her, to use during hot sweating days of Bangkok, but I thought to utilize that during BBQ preparation and it worked like charm... so highly recommended if you guys want to save your shoulders from that kind of a labour.
From the time I started setting up the BBQ Grill to the time I tasted from the first batch, it took around 2 hours. The second and final batch of BBQ sticks were done in additional 30 minutes. So all in all, it took around 2.5 hours, but o'boy that was worth it!
Once we tucked in ALL THAT BBQ and our tummies are all-overloaded, we set out for a nice 'n chill stroll around the camping site. What a wonderful day was today!
:) Shukar Alhamdolillah (Thanks All Mighty Allah)
My wife actually, bought that for her, to use during hot sweating days of Bangkok, but I thought to utilize that during BBQ preparation and it worked like charm... so highly recommended if you guys want to save your shoulders from that kind of a labour.
From the time I started setting up the BBQ Grill to the time I tasted from the first batch, it took around 2 hours. The second and final batch of BBQ sticks were done in additional 30 minutes. So all in all, it took around 2.5 hours, but o'boy that was worth it!
Once we tucked in ALL THAT BBQ and our tummies are all-overloaded, we set out for a nice 'n chill stroll around the camping site. What a wonderful day was today!
:) Shukar Alhamdolillah (Thanks All Mighty Allah)
Monday, March 9, 2020
Camping Site at Head Quarters of Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand - Day 02 - Ep 02
Day 02 - Ep 02 - We woke up at a hotel in Chiang Mai city center and without wasting any time further on breakfast, we went straight to Makro Chiang Mai to do some groceries for our camping trip and then head towards the Doi Inthanon National Park.
It took us:
Previous Ep 01 - Day 01 - Traveling by Car from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand
Next Ep 03 - Day 02 - Camp Setup, BBQ preparation and colorful stalls around Camping Site
Next Ep 03 - Day 02 - Camp Setup, BBQ preparation and colorful stalls around Camping Site
- 15 minutes to reach Makro from city center
- 1 hour and 15 minutes from Makro Chiang Mai to Doi Inthanon National Park Checkpoint #1 or main entry gate
- 45 minutes from checkpoint #1 to head quarters of Doi Inthanon National Park
So, if you are traveling directly from Chiang Mai city center all the way to head quarters of Doi Inthanon National Park, it would take around 2 hours to reach your destination.
The entrance to Doi Inthanon National Park is free and you don't have to pay anything for the entry. The road that leads you from the checkpoint #1 or entry gate towards the head quarter is all marked properly with signs guiding you along your way, and you can reach the head quarter easily by following them.
The first public campsite and the biggest and the one with most facilities is the one that's right adjacent to the head quarters of the park. You will find all necessary amenities including:
- Public and free parking
- Public and free restrooms - separate toilets and shower rooms
- Plenty of tap water (not recommended for drinking or cooking)
- Electricity charging points
- Proper street lights and flood lights - well lit area in the night as well
- Restaurants
- Small to medium sized grocery shops having almost everything you need for your camping trip including Ice, beverages, drinking water bottles, etc.
- Food stalls (meals, soups, snacks, etc.)
- Various stalls for winter wearables like gloves, woolen caps, socks, shawls, etc.
- Small gadgets and camping gears etc
Do checkout this video comprising of a quick tour of the facilities around this main camping site and other information like, registering for camping pitch, fees, renting camping equipment on site etc.
Previous Ep 01 - Day 01 - Traveling by Car from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand
Next Ep 03 - Day 02 - Camp Setup, BBQ preparation and colorful stalls around Camping Site
Next Ep 03 - Day 02 - Camp Setup, BBQ preparation and colorful stalls around Camping Site
Traveling by Car from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand - Day 01 - Ep 01
Day 01 - Ep 01 - We left from Bangkok around 7am and travelled for almost 12 hours, with few quick stops in the middle, and reach Chiang Mai city center around 7pm. Now, we already knew that the Doi Inthanon National Park closes at 6:30pm, so we do not have a chance to checkin today, so we head straight to city center to do an overnight stay at Chiang Mai city.
So guys if you are planning to checkin the same day and you are traveling from Bangkok, then you should leave early like 5am and we did planned to leave that early, but unfortunately our last minute errands took too much of our time (we should have completed the packing at night instead of leaving some stuff to pack in the morning). Lesson learned, the hard way :(
So we reached Chiang Mai city center, quite exhausted and very hungry. So, we went straight to the city center food street and found this fabulous Turkish cuisine restaurant called Little Istanbul. The food was superb. Check out the video to see what we ordered and how it was? :)
So we reached Chiang Mai city center, quite exhausted and very hungry. So, we went straight to the city center food street and found this fabulous Turkish cuisine restaurant called Little Istanbul. The food was superb. Check out the video to see what we ordered and how it was? :)
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
4 Day Camping Trip To Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand - All Episodes
Camping trips are best of the breed, and I'm just crazy about every aspect of camping trips... starting right from the planning phase, I love contemplating different available options about where to go for camping, which locations have what benefits, their unique offerings etc., and then within a location, what campsites are available, which offers what views and so on. What kind of temperature we can expect, other weather conditions, distance, scenery, flora and fauna. What's activities are available in the surroundings, experiences that are unique and different, people, cultural sights and sounds. I mean, honestly, I can spend a weekend or two, enjoying just the planning phase :D
So this time, we planned to visit the very north of Thailand and you know what? for people like us, who love cool weather and avoid hot sunny days for outdoor activities, north of Thailand is just the right place for us. Unfortunately, for people like us, the climate of Thailand is not very appealing, its hot.. hot.. and hot, throughout the year :( and therefore, what a better treat for us to have a pleasant cool weather specially when you are outdoors for several days :)
Chiang Mai, is kind of a dream place for us, living in Thailand. It is so lush green, hilly and is much cooler in comparison to rest of the Thailand. Thailand doesn't have winters... yes :(... no winters... but if you really wanna enjoy something close to winter, you can head towards the northern Thailand to places like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and few others.
Now Chiang Mai, is a whole province, and it has a lot to offer. It is lush green and has mountains and hilly areas and one of the best offerings of Chiang Mai is it extremely popular destination attracting both locals and tourists a like... the one and only... Doi Inthanon National Park.
And yes! we are going to an exclusive 4 days camping trip to Doi Inthanon National Park, so pack your virtual bags with us and hop on!
Ep 01 - Day 01 - Traveling by Car from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Ep 02 - Day 02 - Camping Site at Head Quarters of Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Ep 03 - Day 02 - Camp Setup, BBQ preparation and colorful stalls around Camping Site
Ep 04 - Day 02 - BBQ Grill, Camping & Night Life at Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand
So this time, we planned to visit the very north of Thailand and you know what? for people like us, who love cool weather and avoid hot sunny days for outdoor activities, north of Thailand is just the right place for us. Unfortunately, for people like us, the climate of Thailand is not very appealing, its hot.. hot.. and hot, throughout the year :( and therefore, what a better treat for us to have a pleasant cool weather specially when you are outdoors for several days :)
Chiang Mai, is kind of a dream place for us, living in Thailand. It is so lush green, hilly and is much cooler in comparison to rest of the Thailand. Thailand doesn't have winters... yes :(... no winters... but if you really wanna enjoy something close to winter, you can head towards the northern Thailand to places like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and few others.
Now Chiang Mai, is a whole province, and it has a lot to offer. It is lush green and has mountains and hilly areas and one of the best offerings of Chiang Mai is it extremely popular destination attracting both locals and tourists a like... the one and only... Doi Inthanon National Park.
And yes! we are going to an exclusive 4 days camping trip to Doi Inthanon National Park, so pack your virtual bags with us and hop on!
Ep 01 - Day 01 - Traveling by Car from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Ep 02 - Day 02 - Camping Site at Head Quarters of Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Ep 03 - Day 02 - Camp Setup, BBQ preparation and colorful stalls around Camping Site
Ep 04 - Day 02 - BBQ Grill, Camping & Night Life at Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Ep 05 - Day 03 - Thailand's Highest Elevation Point, Doi Inthanon Summit and Natural Trail
Ep 06 - Day 03 - Royal Agriculture Project and Siribhume Waterfall
Ep 07 - Day 04 - Cooking English Breakfast while Camping at Doi Inthanon National Park
Ep 06 - Day 03 - Royal Agriculture Project and Siribhume Waterfall
Ep 07 - Day 04 - Cooking English Breakfast while Camping at Doi Inthanon National Park
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Fin Burger Halal Fast Food Chain in Bangkok, Thailand
Who doesn't like Burgers? :) we too are fond of this crazy fast food snack and if they are made to perfection with quality, balanced spices, fresh ingredients and cooked on order, they'll make your meal all the more enjoyable and memorable. So, we are always on hunt for good fast food joints that offer delicious burgers, and to our good luck, we found a new one, for us at-least because these guys are operating since 2015; Fin Burger... tada!
The only thing that would've gone wrong for us was that we reach the spot at the time, when they were about to close their operations for the day, so we requested them to take our order and thankfully they obliged! we took some time, to finalize what to order, as they have a big line up of burgers, from chicken to beef to lamb, and then single patty to multiple patties. With, a number toppings to choose from. Various options for fries as well, plain, spiral, waffle & pom poms. Apart from a huge variety of burgers, they also serve limited options of fried chicken, rice and noodles. Standard beverages plus the new ones we tried there were Sparkling Apple Juices goes by the names of Adam and Eve, creatively designed bottles and good soft drink to accompany your meal.
Now because we wanted to try all the varieties, we decided to order single patty burgers, otherwise we wouldn't be able to finish all of them. So, we went for Lamb Bacon Cheese burger, Beef Bacon Cheese burger and Chicken Bacon Cheese burger. Along with a bucket of plain fries and Sparking Apple Juices (Adam and Eve).
The order we placed was prepared fresh and was cooked to perfection. Quality, fresh ingredients, juicy burger patties, balanced spices and a lot of filling, makes these burgers best in class and made a lovely dinner meal for us. Definitely recommended :)
Watch the video for full menu options, prices and detailed review and please do not forget to subscribe, click the bell icon, share this episode and provide your valuable feedback and comments or questions.
The only thing that would've gone wrong for us was that we reach the spot at the time, when they were about to close their operations for the day, so we requested them to take our order and thankfully they obliged! we took some time, to finalize what to order, as they have a big line up of burgers, from chicken to beef to lamb, and then single patty to multiple patties. With, a number toppings to choose from. Various options for fries as well, plain, spiral, waffle & pom poms. Apart from a huge variety of burgers, they also serve limited options of fried chicken, rice and noodles. Standard beverages plus the new ones we tried there were Sparkling Apple Juices goes by the names of Adam and Eve, creatively designed bottles and good soft drink to accompany your meal.
Now because we wanted to try all the varieties, we decided to order single patty burgers, otherwise we wouldn't be able to finish all of them. So, we went for Lamb Bacon Cheese burger, Beef Bacon Cheese burger and Chicken Bacon Cheese burger. Along with a bucket of plain fries and Sparking Apple Juices (Adam and Eve).
The order we placed was prepared fresh and was cooked to perfection. Quality, fresh ingredients, juicy burger patties, balanced spices and a lot of filling, makes these burgers best in class and made a lovely dinner meal for us. Definitely recommended :)
Watch the video for full menu options, prices and detailed review and please do not forget to subscribe, click the bell icon, share this episode and provide your valuable feedback and comments or questions.
9 Days Road Trip to Malaysia by Car from Bangkok, Thailand - 19 Episodes
Road trips have always been close to my heart and I strongly believe that road trips on one's private conveyance is the best form among others (air, bus, train, etc.). And, if a road trip includes crossing into the border of neighboring countries and exploring the new landscapes for the first time, then the excitement level reaches to new heights :)
So, me and my wife, were planning to do such a trip for quite sometime. We do had experience of doing road trips within Thailand and we had been to Phuket, Krabi and Koh Chang, Trat, all by road from Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. However this trip was one of a kind for us because we never did a road trip all the way to another country, which also means that we had to do a lot of legal preparations as well like visas, vehicle permits, license, insurance, etc.
The whole tour was a great learning experience for us and we believe its worth sharing for others as well, who can benefit from our learning, the unique facts and figures of the places we visit, some wonderful traveling tips and tricks that will help you in planning yours.
Although first 6 episodes/videos are in Urdu language but it has sufficient English captions of all important information and tips. All other episodes/videos are in English language. Please do not forget to provide your feedback and comments. If you have any questions please feel free to ask and we will be glad to provide answers. Also please subscribe to this blog and our YouTube channel and click Bell Icon as well to get latest updates.
So, me and my wife, were planning to do such a trip for quite sometime. We do had experience of doing road trips within Thailand and we had been to Phuket, Krabi and Koh Chang, Trat, all by road from Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. However this trip was one of a kind for us because we never did a road trip all the way to another country, which also means that we had to do a lot of legal preparations as well like visas, vehicle permits, license, insurance, etc.
The whole tour was a great learning experience for us and we believe its worth sharing for others as well, who can benefit from our learning, the unique facts and figures of the places we visit, some wonderful traveling tips and tricks that will help you in planning yours.
Although first 6 episodes/videos are in Urdu language but it has sufficient English captions of all important information and tips. All other episodes/videos are in English language. Please do not forget to provide your feedback and comments. If you have any questions please feel free to ask and we will be glad to provide answers. Also please subscribe to this blog and our YouTube channel and click Bell Icon as well to get latest updates.
- Day 01 & 02 - Ep 01 - Traveling by Car from Bangkok, Thailand to Malaysia via Padang Besar Border
- Day 02 - Ep 02 - Ferry to Kuah, Langkawi from Kuala, Perlis jetty
- Day 02 - Ep 03 - Padang Matsirat Sunday Night Market in Langkawi
- Day 03 - Ep 04 - Dataran Lang, Geo Park and Jetty Point, Kuah in Langkawi
- Day 03 - Ep 05 - Tanjung Rhu Beach - The Best Beach of Langkawi
- Day 03 - Ep 06 - Oriental Village in Langkawi
- Day 03 - Ep 07 - SkyCab, SkyBridge, SkyGlide and SkyBistro in Langkawi
- Day 04 - Ep 08 - Penang Bridge and Upside Down Museum in Penang
- Day 04 - Ep 09 - World's Largest Toy Museum in Penang
- Day 04 - Ep 10 - Penang Hill or Bukit Bendera and Char Koey Teow
- Day 05 - Ep 11 - Exploring Cameron Highlands in Pahang
- Day 06 - Ep 12 - Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur
- Day 06 - Ep 13 - Trying Malaysian Cuisine at Signatures Food Court of Suri KLCC in Kuala Lumpur
- Day 06 - Ep 14 - Dataran Mardeka, Sultan Abdul Samad Building and Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur
- Day 06 - Ep 15 - China Town or Petaling Street Market in Kuala Lumpur
- Day 07 - Ep 16 - Trying Malaysian Cuisine Breakfast - Roti Cenai, Tosai and Teh Tarik at Kuala Lumpur
- Day 07 - Ep 17 - The Mesmerizing Genting Highlands
- Day 07 - Ep 18 - Skytropolis - Indoor Theme Park in Genting Highlands
- Day 07 - Ep 19 - Metro City, Star Lake, Food Trucks and Winter Wonderland in Genting Highlands
- Day 08 - From Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Padang Besar, Perlis, Malaysia
- Day 09 - From Padang Besar, Perlis, Malaysia to Bangkok, Thailand. End of Tour.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Traveling by Ferry to Kuah, Langkawi from Kuala, Perlis Jetty in Malaysia - Day 02 - Ep 02
Day 02 - Ep 02 - Langkawi was among the top places which we planned to visit during our trip to Malaysia and although we initially planned to reach Kuala, Perlis as early as 6am in the morning, to get onboard to the very first ferry that leaves at 7am for Kuah, Langkawi; we were late because of border crossing delays mention in previous episode.
So, we reached Kuala, Perlis at around 2:00 pm and I read online that there's an option to take your car to Langkawi as well via the Auto Ferry, but they mentioned online that it would require you to bring your car at least 2 hours before departure. Now, because we were already too late and I don't want to wait further, we decided to leave the car at Kuala, Perlis and go via Passenger Ferry to Langkawi and then get a car rental there. But even then, I went to offices of 2 different Auto Ferry operators to check the booking status and both were fully booked and were only offering booking for next day. There was at least one more Auto Ferry operator, whose office (cabin) I can see right after these two. So, if you are planning to take your car along, make sure you book your slot with one of these Auto Ferry operators early on and yes they provide option to do booking online as well. Do note that these Auto Ferry operator offices/cabins are right beside the beautiful Mosque Al Hussain.
The Passenger Ferry Terminal and operators are a little further, few minutes walk from the Mosque Al Hussain. I went further to the newly constructed building right opposite to Kuala Perlis Ferry Terminal. This new building hosts a number of different passenger ferries operators, and you can get your passenger ferry tickets from here. This building also hosts a number of other stalls selling food, snacks, beverages, souvenir items, etc..
The Passenger Ferry operates from 7am to 7pm with departures to Kuah, Langkawi after every 30 minutes and the price for single ticket for one person one-way is RM 18. So, I bought two tickets for me and wife and then I went a little further ahead to make arrangements for my car parking in one of the several Charged Car Parking Sheds/Areas. There are options for both covered and open parking spaces and they charged me RM 15 per day for covered car parking. Do note that, the day ends at 12 midnight, so although I parked my car at around 3pm and if even if I took it out before 3pm next day, they would charge me for 2 days. The parking operator gave me a parking ticket with a contact number of person to contact once we return back to Kuala, Perlis from Kuah, Langkawi.
Because, we haven't purchased the Malaysian SIM cards yet, and I saw Celcom counter in the building from where we purchased the ferry tickets, so I head straight back to that counter. Our total trip of Malaysia was of 10 days and we need good voice and data coverage for that period of time and we end up purchasing two similar Celcom packages for me and wife, with following configurations:
Celcom SIM Card = RM 10
Pre-loaded credit on new SIM = RM -6
1 x week package with 5GB data = RM +19
2 x day package with 2 GB data = RM +6
Topup for additional voice calls = RM +1
Total Cost per package = RM 30 and you will get total 9 GB of data and voice coverage for 9 days. Do note that, throughout the next 9 days, the data was ON on our smartphones 24/7, though we used only Google (Maps, Navigation, Search, Translation), WhatsApp (with on-demand media settings) and sometimes Facebook only for check-ins. No uploads on WhatsApp or Facebook. And, the total data we consumed in these days was less than 2 GB.
Next, we headed towards the passenger ferry terminal of Kuala, Perlis. It was good, centrally air conditioned with entry and exit gates for departure/arrivals. There was too much rush and we were unable to find seats to sit back and relax for sometime while waiting for our 4pm ferry. During that time, we enjoyed very delicious home-made ice-cream (checkout video for details).
Few minutes after 4pm, they announced the boarding on our ferry and we lined up carrying our luggages. It took another 10 minutes to finally settle down on our seats inside the ferry. The ferries were quite big, air-conditioned and have too many seats covering two floors. The total ferry time starting from departure from Kuala, Perlis to arrival at Kuah, Langkawi was an hour and fifteen minutes.
We arrived at Kuah, Langkawi, around 5:15pm and the first thing we noticed that the jetty at Kuah, Langkawi was much better than Kuala, Perlis (though Kuala, Perlis one was not bad either) and looked more like an airport.
As we were walking out of Kuah, Jetty ferry terminal (called Jetty Point), we saw different car rental operators handing over their cards to incoming passengers and because we were trying to safe as much time as possible, we picked an automatic hatchback which was one of the recent year models of Perodua Myvi. It turns out to be quite good one throughout our stay in Langkawi and was smooth to drive all along and costs us RM 90 for a day.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Traveling by Car from Bangkok, Thailand to Malaysia via Padang Besar Border - Day 01 & 02 - Ep 01
Day 01 & 02 - Ep 01 - We left from Bangkok at round 4:00 am because we knew that we had to cover a distance of almost 980 kilometers to reach the border town of Padang Besar in Perlis, Malaysia. The total travel time alone (without any stopovers) is around 14 hours and if you add a minimum of 4 stopovers of around 30 to 45 minutes each then it would become a total of 16 to 17 hours road trip, quite an exhaustive one :)
Road conditions throughout the way was very good, except for a very few places where either road maintenance or extension work was going on. However, there were quite a few patches where there was no street lights at all and it might become dangerous to drive at night if you are not a seasoned driver.
Gas or Petrol stations are available throughout the route and the gasoline or petrol prices varies from station to station as well as from location to location. In our experience, the best prices are of PTT Station. Moreover, PTT Stations have the most facilities that you might look for a stopover, like, spacious and clean toilets (men, women, disabled/senior, baby/infants), ATM machines, 7-Eleven, Amazon Cafe and many other shops including fast food, fresh fruits and juices, etc.
Law and order situation in general all-over Thailand and Malaysia is quite good and are considered to be safe travel destinations for both local and foreigners. So, no safety concerns or issues throughout the route.
Halal options are quite limited along the route as you will see very few halal food stalls or restaurants. All popular fast food chains are not Halal in Thailand, like KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Burger King, Mc Donalds, Subway, etc.. However, you can get some ready-to-eat snacks like sandwiches, burgers, noodles, hot dogs etc., from 7-Eleven. They have microwave(s) as well. Besides that you can grab some fresh bakery items, chips, biscuits, hot and cold beverages as well. If you still feel like that it's not enough, then we recommend pack some thing home-made and carry along. We did the same and it helped a lot.
The border crossing at Padang Besar opens daily at 5am and closes at 9pm according to Thailand time zone (Malaysia time zone is one hour ahead +1). And, we missed this bit of information. It took us 17 hours to reach the border and the border gates were closed right in front of us and we had to layover for a night on this side of the border although we had a booking for a rest-house on the Malaysian side, which we booked via Agoda. So, just because we didn't knew that border crossing have timings as well, we thought they are opened 24/7 :), we end up wasting one night's rent and a bit of a disappointment of not making it to Malaysia the same day :(
Following are the necessary documents that are legally required to cross Thailand-Malaysia border by road on your private vehicle:
If you like long drives and are a fan of doing road trips then you'll enjoy that, like I did. But, if it is too exhaustive, you can break it down into two and stop for a night stay in between, sleepover and then continue your journey next day. My goal was to keep as much time as possible for rest of the trip itinerary and cover the distance as quickly as possible and within a day.
Road conditions throughout the way was very good, except for a very few places where either road maintenance or extension work was going on. However, there were quite a few patches where there was no street lights at all and it might become dangerous to drive at night if you are not a seasoned driver.
Gas or Petrol stations are available throughout the route and the gasoline or petrol prices varies from station to station as well as from location to location. In our experience, the best prices are of PTT Station. Moreover, PTT Stations have the most facilities that you might look for a stopover, like, spacious and clean toilets (men, women, disabled/senior, baby/infants), ATM machines, 7-Eleven, Amazon Cafe and many other shops including fast food, fresh fruits and juices, etc.
Law and order situation in general all-over Thailand and Malaysia is quite good and are considered to be safe travel destinations for both local and foreigners. So, no safety concerns or issues throughout the route.
Halal options are quite limited along the route as you will see very few halal food stalls or restaurants. All popular fast food chains are not Halal in Thailand, like KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Burger King, Mc Donalds, Subway, etc.. However, you can get some ready-to-eat snacks like sandwiches, burgers, noodles, hot dogs etc., from 7-Eleven. They have microwave(s) as well. Besides that you can grab some fresh bakery items, chips, biscuits, hot and cold beverages as well. If you still feel like that it's not enough, then we recommend pack some thing home-made and carry along. We did the same and it helped a lot.
The border crossing at Padang Besar opens daily at 5am and closes at 9pm according to Thailand time zone (Malaysia time zone is one hour ahead +1). And, we missed this bit of information. It took us 17 hours to reach the border and the border gates were closed right in front of us and we had to layover for a night on this side of the border although we had a booking for a rest-house on the Malaysian side, which we booked via Agoda. So, just because we didn't knew that border crossing have timings as well, we thought they are opened 24/7 :), we end up wasting one night's rent and a bit of a disappointment of not making it to Malaysia the same day :(
Following are the necessary documents that are legally required to cross Thailand-Malaysia border by road on your private vehicle:
- Original valid passport - should have more than 6 months of expiry
- Malaysian tourist e-visas - printed copy
- Thailand original driving license (accepted in Malaysia for driving)
- International Transport Permit - or purple book
- Vehicle Inspection Certificate
- Malaysian Car Insurance Policy
- Car Registration or Number Plate Stickers as per Malaysian standards
- Malaysian currency i.e. Ringgit (RM or MYR)
Next morning, we woke up early and were able to reach the border immigration at around 5:30am. We (me and wife) parked our car at the designated parking area, locked our car, didn't carry along any of our luggage items and walk across to the immigration building. We joined the queue of people who were lined up for the immigration process. When our turn came, we stepped towards immigration counter and handed over following to the immigration officer:
- Our original passports (along with TM6 cards)
- Malaysian e-visas
- Blue Book or Car Registration Book
- Fees
- One Vehicle Driver = THB 25
- One Vehicle Passenger = THB 5
- Total THB 30
After crossing the immigration counter, there were luggage scanning machine and because we had not carry along any of our luggage items, I asked the office that our luggage is on our car and she said no need to bring that and you are good to go. So, we exit the immigration building, get back to our car and drove straight through the border gates, exiting from Thailand and entering into Malaysia :)
The road leads us to the drive-through Malaysian immigration booths and we stopped at one of the booths and handed over following documents to the immigration officer:
- Our original passports
- Malaysian e-visas
The immigration office did the fingerprints scanning of both of us and then referred us to another booth, for which I had to park my car and we walk towards that second booth around 20-30 steps away from drive-through booths. They told us that they are trying to verify the e-visa and ask from where we are coming from and where we are going to, where we will stay and which places we are planning to visit and when we will return. We showed them our complete itinerary (a printed paper of places to visit and stay). After getting confirmation over the phone, they made entries on their registers and stamp our passports with entry stamps and stamp our e-visas (printed copies) with "used" stamps and return them back to us.
We get back to our car, and drove it to the JPS or Malaysian Motor Transport office, right next to the immigration checkpoint, to get ICP. We again parked our car and this time my wife stayed in the car and I go to the JPS office and handover following documents to the officer there:
- Original passport
- Malaysian e-visa
- Car Blue Book or Registration Book
- International Transport Permit or purple book
- Vehicle Inspection Certificate
The officer asked for car inspection and we walk towards the car park and he inspected the car, checked chassis number, etc.. He said that the car should have registration or number plate stickers at the front and back. He also inquired whether I have the car insurance policy or not. I didn't had it at that time and because I read it online that you can get the stickers and insurance policy from same shop once at the border. But unfortunately, we reach the border at night around 8pm and by that time all shops are closed because in these border towns, shops are closed early. So, make sure you get your car stickers and Malaysian car insurance policy during normal business hours i.e. from 9am to 5pm from cities/towns that are close to border.
The JPJ officer told us that in order to get ICP, we should have number plate stickers affixed at the front and back side of the car in required Malaysian format/pattern (white letters/digits over black background). Also, we have to get the Malaysian car insurance policy before applying for ICP. Now, the bad luck for us was that, first when we reached the border last night, it was too late and all shops were closed, secondly the next day was Sunday, so all shops on Malaysian border dealing with car stickers and Malaysian car insurance policy were closed, except for one:
Wakil Insurans - Padang CT SDN BHD
Address: No. 83, Jalan Besar, Perlis, 02100 Padang Besar, Malaysia
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/9wVBzfhn6mQzznvU6
We purchased the Malaysian car insurance policy from above at a price of RM 63 and it took almost half an hour. We then went to JPJ again and told them that we got the insurance policy but no stickers shop is open today because of Sunday, is it possible if you allow us to go and we will get the stickers tomorrow when market opens on Monday, but officers, said that ICP is necessary and without that you are not allowed to take your car inside Malaysia. They suggested to request the Malaysian Immigration Officer that we want to go back to Thailand to purchase the stickers and will come back again. So, we did the same and requested the office, she nods in approval and (without exit stamp, because we have to come back again) we went straight back to border gates and entered into Thailand. The closest sticker shop we found on Google Maps was:
MK. Sticker Car
Address: Phetkasem Soi 20, Hat Yai, Hat Yai District, Songkhla 90110
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/jkpVVSRQAWo8Lme66
We reached above shop in about an hour and 10 minutes and it took additional one hour to get the stickers printed and affixed on car front and back. It costs us THB 200 for these stickers.
The requirements for Malaysian JPJ is that the your Thailand car should have stickers on front and back with white font on black background and should contain the official english translation of Thailand car registration number (which contains Thai characters) from Department of Land Transport of Thailand. You will have the translated english version mentioned in International Transport Permit or purple book and also on the Vehicle Inspection Certificate mentioned above.
We head back to Padang Besar, border crossing of Thailand, crossed the border again without going through the immigration process, head straight to Malaysian Immigration booths, go to the same booth and the immigration officer recognizes us and let us pass through. I parked the car besides JPJ parking area and went inside JPJ office, fill out and submit the form, provide all the documents mentioned above and waited for few minutes and they handed over the ICP to me finally!
The JPJ officer told me that if I will enter Malaysia again next time on the same vehicle than this ICP will be used again, therefore keep it safe somewhere and bring along next time as well.
Finally, we fulfilled all the legal requirements and now we can move freely inside Malaysia on our own vehicle :)
The JPJ officer told me that if I will enter Malaysia again next time on the same vehicle than this ICP will be used again, therefore keep it safe somewhere and bring along next time as well.
Finally, we fulfilled all the legal requirements and now we can move freely inside Malaysia on our own vehicle :)
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