Trip to Thailand: Bangkok, Krabi, Phiphi and Phuket

It all started when me, fika and nico decided to have another trip for our group. This would be our last trip as a coass before we enter the clinical world as a medical doctor, so it had to be awesome. The thought of hey-why-don't-we-go-outside-the country popped up in our mind, and thailand for krabi and phiphi were our best choice.

Our mode of trip was backpacking, so this is a budget trip

We departed from Jogja by economic train. It will cost you around 50.000 rupiah and take you around 10 hours to Jakarta.

If you have choices, take late trains around 7-10 pm, since you will arrive at Jakarta near the sunrise which means you can take the public transportation.

Stayed for 1 night in Tangerang, BSD, and best to take early flight to avoid the traffic jam. *our taxi driver said that the heavy traffic to airport will start at 5 o'clock in the morning! 

Day 1, march 30th 2015

Arrived in Bangkok, Don Mueang International airport at 10am that day. We need to get to 'born free hostel' in samsen road 6. It was a Nice thai hostel owned by a German and his Thai wife. The building was nice, they preserved the Thai atmosphere and culture (toilet and bathroom in the same cubicles, no shoes in the house, and they have walls of traditional ceramics)

 

Born Free hostel

How to go to the town from the airport?

1. Take bus A1 to mo chit, and then take either the underground train, or BST. *see the maps below. The bus will cost you around 30 baht/person

2. There is an airport express train but only depart to certain stations. This will cost you around 15-45 baht/person

 Insert coins to buy the ticket, the price is written in each station you desire to go

We spent that night to Pratunam Market, so they say the cheapest shopping center, and to the thai food fest near isetan. 

Some said, we need to see the night life in Bangkok, and the best place to see is in Kaosan road, where they sell souvenirs, goods, and cafes that provide parties.

Day 2 march 31st 2015

We decided to took the Chao Praya (Bangkok biggest river) transportation to visit the temples. The water bus will cost you around 15 baht to any piers, and 3 baht to get across the pier. Take the orange flagged boat, since it is for the local transportation, and the blue flagged boat is for the tourist.

We went to wat pho

Go to tha tien pier, and you need to walk around 5 minutes to reach this site.

A great and a pretty big area of temples, they have 3 main temples; and the most famous one is the reclining buddha. The architecture itself of the temples are remarkably stunning. 

To enter this site, you need to pay for 100 baht, and for me it was totally worth it

                                 reclining buddha

several temples in wat pho, make sure you visit them all

Next place we went to wat arun. Cross the pier of tha tien, and you'll see the temple right on the side of the river.

 In this place we were supposed to be able to climb to the highest point of the temple and we could see Bangkok city from that point. Unfortunately, it was under constructions when we went there, so we could only see the temple from the ground level. 

They offer you to take pictures with traditional thai clothes with 100 baht per person.

The grand palace is our next destination. 

If you take the water bus like we did, you need to stop in Tha Chang pier.

To get inside this beautiful site you need to pay for 500 baht for 3 places. The site is pretty big, and you may know the king's place by your own eyes. 

The grand palace has a strict regulation for clothes where you are forbid to enter if you wear sleeveless shirt *you can't use a pashmina to cover the shirt, you need to use a shirt with sleeve, no exception; short pants *has to be in the ankle level; short skirt *has to be on the knee level. They provide clothes to cover your body, you may see them at the right side after the gate. *don't worry, you don't need to pay for it.

Day 3 April 1st 2015

Went to krabi island by a plane in the afternoon. From our place to the airport, you can take the same transportation as you arrive.

Once you arrive in Krabi, you'll need bus or taxi to take you to the krabi town.

Bus to krabi will take about 45 minutes, for 150 baht, and it will take you directly to your hostel. We stayed at aonang backpacker hostel which located 5 minutes from the aonang pier. 

Krabi is one of the largest muslim population in Thailand, so there are a lot of halal food restaurants. ;) 

There are a lot of tourist attractions in Krabi;

1. Visit phiphi island and they will take you to the 5 main island surrounds phiphi. This will cost you around 1000-1200 baht

2. To james bond island and have an elephant trekking tour. They don't have a snorkeling tour for this trip. This will cost you around 1500-1700 baht

3.kayak tour and elephant trekking in ao lantha cost you around 1500 baht

4. Kayak and snorkel tour in Hong islands. Cost you around 1000-1500 baht

5. And there are more tours, which you can see in the brochures provided in every hostel. If you stay for several days in Krabi, you can take each tours. :)

Tips: 

A. book your tour 1 day before, since it may be fullbooked. The trip will start at 09.00 and you will be picked up from your hostel at 08.00, so there will be a short time to look for a tour if you book that very same day.

B. Bargain if you are in a group, or better, ask for a private long boat tour if you travel more than 10 person

Luckily, we got the tour at the same day as we book, with several rejections due to the full booked tours.

Day 4 april 2nd 2015

Yes, we decided to take the Hong Island tour.
if you are looking for a nice beach to take pictures and good snorkeling spot, maybe this is not your trip. if you want to see the nice beaches, take the 7 island tours instead. :)
but for me, since I've traveled in my own beautiful country, I want to experience different thing. well, kayak is one of the new thing for me, and thailand have one of the best spot to kayak.

Day 5. Phiphi sunset
You may ask your hostel to book the ferry for you, and they will pick you up around 8am in the morning to the harbor. the harbor located quite far from the touristy beach, it took approximately 20 minutes from our hostel, Aonang Backpacker.

Phiphi, has no land transportation. They didn't even allow bicycle there, so yes, walking is the only way to go around the island. there are a lot of street foods, souvenirs stalls, cafes, thai massages, and tour agencies here. If you have the time to stroll around to compare the trip for your tour, or searching for the best price will be better. But if you don't, you can browse the prices on internet, and go to the agency on the island.

The view point of Phiphi is near the tsunami center. you will find the view point easily, since it is written in the map. Make sure you are there before it's get crowded, so you can have the best spots. :)
to get to the top, to the 2nd viewpoint *I failed to found the 3rd one, you need approximately 15-20 minutes hike.
You may see the town, and both of the beaches, the Loh Dalum Bay and Ton Sai Bay

We stayed on Stones bar hostel,the place was nice, you may see the beach in front of the room. They provided kayak tour, books, and a free fireshow every night at 9pm. if you want a great night life in Krabi near the shore, this place is great. you may stay in the beach with few cushion, and chill with your friends. But the sound is a bit loud, so if you want a good night sleep, then this probably not the best option for you.

the room of stones bar hotel

  Day 6. Phiphi island hopping
The tour in phiphi consist of 5 different spots.

a. Viking cave snorkeling,

b. phiphi lay,

c.maya bay

d. bamboo island kayak,

e. lunch 

f. mosquito island,
g. monkey beach

Day 7. To phuket 

we managed to find a driver who can take us around phuket town full day for 2500 baht along with the gasoline. we didn't have to worry where we would put our stuffs anymore, since we were planning to stay at the airport at night.

we went to jun ceylong to shop, a mall-like building *better to shop at the night market.
saw the sunset in Kata beach
Night market; you can bargain and the price is lowest for the same quality as jun ceylong,

we decided to spend the night at the airport since we had an early morning flight. And the best place is  at musholla *only for Moslems.

Day 8. Malay 

Nasi kandar, chocoLat factory, twin tower, batu cave, kajang.

Satay kajang

Time table       

No	Date	Time	Destination	Price
	29 Maret 2015	06.20-10.10	Jakarta (CGK)-Bangkok Don Mueang	432000/Person
	29 Maret	07.20-10.45	Jakarta (CGK)-Bangkok Don Mueang
	29 Maret	13.00 check in	BornFree hostel
	30 Maret 2015	06.20-10.10	Jakarta (CGK)-Bangkok Don Mueang	432000/Person
	30 Maret 2015	06.20-10.10	Jakarta (CGK)-Bangkok Don Mueang	432000/Person
	30 maret 2015	13.00 check in	Born free hostel
	31 Maret 2015	17.20-18.35	Bangkok Don Mueang Int. airport-Krabi Int. airport	4466.79 baht= 183000/person
	31 Maret 2015		Aonang Krabi	5500 baht total
	1 April 2015	17.00-19.00	Jakarta-Phuket
	1-2 april		Phuket Win-hostel	Total 310 baht
	2-3 April 2015		Chill out house Koh Lanta	80rb/person
	3-4 April 2015		Phiphi Twin Palms Bungalow	DR 1,919,010 (USD 152.00)
	5 April 2015	08.15-10.35	Phuket International airport-Kuala Lumpur Int airport	9440 baht = 435000/person
	5 April 2015	08.15-10.35	Phuket International airport-Kuala Lumpur Int airport	5325 baht= 435000.person
	6 april 2015		Kuala lumpur-Jogja
	6 April 2015	15.15-1650	Kuala lumpur-Jogja	78 MYR
	6 April 2015		KL-Jogja
	7 April	13.10	Kuala lumpur-jakarta