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| Koh Hong Islands in Phang Nga Bay |
Our Thailand trip was a sudden decision. It was December 30th and impulsively we chose a destination that gave visa on arrival and was a short flight. Air Asia had a good last-minute deal luckily. Our journey started with an early morning flight from Delhi. By 9:00 am on December 31st, we were at Bangkok airport.
At the airport, we went through the immigration process and received the on-arrival Visa. The immigration officer was kind, though we did not have a hotel booked he didn't question us much and filled Novotel's address in the form. The paperwork was simple. Luckily we had a passport photo which is mandatory for a visa on arrival. After stamping the visa, we exchanged some Bahts at the currency exchange counter at the airport. We didn't have to look for them, there are many kiosks near the immigration section.
Day 1:
We had no plans, no hotel bookings, and no idea where we wanted to head. We decided to have a hearty breakfast and then figure out our way forward. Randomly, walking through the airport, we reached the airport bus terminus. There were some restaurants and cafes at the terminus. We were hungry and we wanted to start on something that was authentic Thai. The lady at the counter suggested a shrimp omelet and minced chicken rice platter. Trust me it was one of the best stuff I ever had or perhaps I was way too hungry!
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| Suvarnabhumi Airport Bus Terminus |
After the scrumptious meal, we pulled out our phones to plan our next destination. We were about to buy tickets to Bangkok City when a bus stopped at the bay right next to where we were sitting. The bus was heading for Aranyaprathet, at the Cambodian border. Since a Cambodia visa was also available on arrival, we decided to go to Siem Reap first. Point to mention here, we were smart enough to opt for a multiple-entry Thailand Visa.
Aranyapretha is a tiny town, we reached there after almost 6-7 hours. It was almost 6:00 pm in the evening when the bus reached its final destination. The town was quite desolate, maybe because it was evening and stores were ready to shut down in a couple hours. We picked a decent-looking hotel close to the bus terminus. The hotel was small but very clean. They had just one room available on the 4th floor and had no lifts :( The climb up with our heavy bags turned out quite a task. The room was tiny, neat, and well done. The best was the tinier toilet with a mustard yellow WC :) I loved it. I was so awed by the yellow WC that I forgot to even take a photograph. When I returned to Delhi, one of the first things I did was look for a mustard yellow WC which I did not get to date :( still on my bucket list.
Day 2:
Early the next morning, the hotel arranged for an agent, who helped us get our visa at the border and arranged for our pick up across the border. We did not have extra passport-size photos, so we had to get those at the visa office and it cost us 5 times the cost. Advice to be noted: Always carry at least 10 sets of passport-size photographs when traveling abroad. You never know when you need them. The Visa process at the border was not quite a cakewalk! We had to walk a lot, it was crowded, long queues and too warm for winter. Almost took 2 hours. The walk to Poi Pet, Cambodia was about 30 minutes. Not sure if I would take this route again :) At Poipet, we exchanged Riels. A vehicle arranged by our agent in Aranyapretha then took us to Siem Reap. We went and booked the hotel suggested by the driver. The hotel was good and just minutes away from the night market, and Angkor vat.
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| Sunrise at Angkor Vat |
We stayed in Siem Reap for two days. Will share details in a separate post.
Day 3:
On Day 3 we went to Angkor Vat and Ta Prohm. We were at Angkor Vat at 4:00 am. It was crowded. Everyone waited eagerly with cameras for capturing the magical sunrise. I certainly didn't do a good job :( We spent almost half a day at the temple complex. There's lots to see and perhaps a day is too less.
We spent the second half of day 3 at Ta Prohm and the temples near it. I loved Ta Phrom. It has a haunting allure. The tall silver cotton trees add to the eeriness.
At night, we had a lovely Cambodian dinner and a walk through the night market.
Day 4:
On day 4 we went to Phnom Bakheng at 4:00 am to watch the sunrise there. It was as crowded as Angkor Vat. We headed back to Bangkok by road with a group of other tourists on day 4. We reached Bangkok's most famous street Khao San Street at midnight. Looking for a hotel at the hour makes for a separate post will share later.
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| Watching Sunrise and hot air balloons from the terrace of Phnom Bakheng |
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| Angkor Vat |
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| Ta Phrom |
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| Night Market at Siem Reap |
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| Emerald Buddha at the Grand Palace of Bangkok |
Day 5:
We spent Day 5 in Bangkok. We walked around the City. Most of the day was spent exploring the Grand Palace. It is indeed grand! I loved the detailing and intricacies of the architecture of the temples and palaces in the complex. Spellbinding!
In the evening we came across an ad about a 7-day Scuba certification course in Koh Tao. As impulsive as we were, we decided to go for it. We enrolled in the course and headed for Koh Tao that evening. An overnight bus took us to Chumphon. We reached early morning.
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| Koh Tao |
Day 5-8:
From Chumphon, a ferry took us to Koh Tao. The transfers were all a part of the package. Koh Tao is a beautiful island and it was one of my most memorable stays. The resort was beautiful. We were given a cottage close to the beach. Classes for the certification started the same day. Three days went by great. On the fourth day, we realized we were not ready for scuba diving. Our swimming expertise was not enough, rather we had no expertise :P The instructor said it would be risky for the entire team. So our course and stay was cut short. The agency refunded, 3 days stay booked at the resort. We decided to head for Phuket.
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| Sunset at Koh Tao |
Day 9:
On day 9 we reached Surathani after an 8-hour journey on a sleeping boat. The story of the journey from Koh Tao to Surathani is shared in a separate post. We took a bus from Surathani to Phuket. The route was through a forest area and it was pretty scenic. We booked a hotel within walking distance from Patong Beach. We spent day 9 at the beach and the market at Patong.
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| Patong Beach in Phuket |
Day 10:
On day 10, we booked a Phang Nga Bay tour. It was a whole day tour and we hopped on three to four islands at the bay and also took a canoe ride to the ice cream caves. This region has spectacular karst formations - Karst Topography in South Thailand
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| Ice Cream Caves, Phang Nga Bay |
Day 11:
On Day 11, we booked a tour of the Raya Islands. It is a beautiful island with pristine clear blue waters and white beaches.
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| Komodo Dragon in Raya Island |
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| Shoal of fish at Raya Beach |
Day 12:
On day 12 we headed back to Bangkok. We had run out of money and had just enough for a bus ticket and a loaf of bread. It was a long journey of 15 + hours by bus.
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| Mirrored Yaksha (demon) at the golden temple at the Grand Palace in Bangkok |
Day 13:
We spent Day 13 in Bangkok. We received the refunded amount from the scuba agent which we spent on shopping :) The market in Bangkok has quite many interesting stuff, from wigs to coconut artifacts to beautiful handicraft decor items. Not to mention Ikat fabric and clothes.
We headed back to Delhi.