CHIANG MAI

CHIANG MAI

                                                            CHIANG MAI

Phuket Thailand to Chiang Mai

                                                  Phuket Thailand to Chiang Mai
We decided to try local transport to the airport at Phuket and it was fun but at just over 3 hours it wore thin and we wished we had parted  with the 800 baht for a taxi from Kata that would have taken an hour. Still we were there with good timing for check in and we saved 500 Baht (about $17)
We had a good priced flight to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand and we figured we would return to Bangkok by the well known train trip that had good reports.

Kata Beach PHUKET

Phuket Thailand

                                                                       Phuket Thailand
Well we stayed at Kata Beach and completely avoided the excesses of Patong Beach that give Phuket such a bad name in some ways but I'm sure the old guys on their own wouldn't stay where we were so there is something for everyone in Thailand which makes it so popular. And the people are really very warm welcoming and the hassle isn't too bad.
There is surf here and we went out twice but that was enough because good it ain't. I'm sure every place has its day but a NZ guy who lives here and has a surfboard rental business was honest enough to rank it pretty low and we found the close out shore breaks here ok when you haven't had a feed for awhile but didn't bother again after two sessions.
The hotel we stayed at for 3 days was The Sugar Palm Resort and with Agoda's special prices it was great value for a 4 star place. We got hit for the Holiday Club Spiel by some quick talking Pommies and we got a cheap beach bag and a free holiday at one of their resorts if we come back but my experience is that if you don't join and part with your $19000 and yearly $300 you never can get a booking when you want it. Waste of our 2 hours . The Kata Beach Resort had a setup for the State of Origin and we and about 40 other Aussies where there and the NSW win was pretty popular

PHI PHI ISLAND Thailand

PHI PHI ISLAND Thailand

Roughly half way between Krabi and Phuket by ferry is this small island with an amazing town entirely chriscrossed with laneways full of stalls and shops and I didn't see any cars or trucks. Its built on and isthmus of sand between rock. It was swept away by a tidal wave in 2004 but has been rebuilt . On a nearby island is Maya Beach which was the place where The Beach was filmed . It seems to now have a cult following with young people and heaps of people come here, We stayed 2 nights and it was fun but don't stay at the Orange Tree, I don't know how it could get a 9.4 rating from Agoda!

KRABI Thailand

pictures of the 2 hotels we stayed at in Krabi

view from the beach Krabi

KRABI Thailand

KRABI Thailand

After that long trip of 10 hours by very average mini buses we finally reached Krabi town and they stung us 150 baht ea to take us out to our hotel at the beach area. Guess its all part of the game but I thought when you went by minivan they pick you up and drop you at your hotel when you get there. The Ananta Burin Resort was great in every way but only had luke warm water and a bath was kinda spoilt, so the next morning we moved to the Buri Tara hotel next door which had everything the other place had plus hot water for $20 less. Nice pools in both places and very near to the beach and shopping etc. A very nice introduction to Thailand when we had our first massage back at the 2^nd hotel and the food was great in the restaurants we used.

THAILAND TRAILS

Butterworth bridge from Penang

Thai border

Hat Yai lunch waiting for 2nd minibus

Loaded up with people and baggage

THAILAND TRAILS

THAILAND TRAILS

We took a funny approach to Thailand and used many modes of transport. We started with a 10 hour trip in a minibus from Penang in Malaysia to Krabi on the west coast of Thailand. This is a pretty neat place with a big reputation for rock climbing and some very nice resorts and lovely offshore islands with great beaches. From there we used ferries to hop from Krabi to Phi Phi Island to Phuket with about 3 days in each place. From Phuket we used local buses to get to the airport 40 kms out of town and flew to Chiang Mai which is in the north of the country. Another 3 days in a great city and then the 4.30 pm train back down to Bangkok. This is an overnight sleeper with a bit of good scenery at the start before it gets dark. A few days await us in Bangkok and then we fly on to Hanoi in the north of Vietnam

CORNWALLIS FORT GEORGETOWN PENANG

PENANG HILL