OPZON Goes Siam!!!!
Alhamdulillah syukur…. After more than 6 months of planning, the KL-Hatyai-Krabi trip is now in our past. Although this is our 4th OGE, but each and every one gave different challenge and worry – this one is the top since the destination is far and route unfamiliar for the gang.
At around 7 am Saturday 2nd June, 5 cars left Rawang R&R – MyZafira, Chir, ZulPJ (2 cars) & Azizi aka “Penghulu”. Each driver was given a walkie-talkie @ handy so we could communicate to each other during the journey (thanks “Penghulu” for supplying most of the handies). As planned, we stopped for breakfast at one of the Ipoh gang’s – Mee Rebus Mak Yah in Jelapang. We were greeted by a few more Ipoh gang joining for breakfast. Great food – we had Roti Jala & Curry (thanks tawkey for this treat), the famous Mak Yah Mee Rebus, half boiled egg on top of toasted bread, Chee Cheong Fun and some other good stuff.
At 10 am we headed back to the highway to continue our journey upnorth – heavy traffic all the way. We reached Changloon at around 3.00 pm, stopped for lunch at Jo Cendol Pulut, done up our entry documents into Thailand (9 days Vehicle Insurance for RM15 and RM1 for each embarkation card) and exchanged RM to THB as well.
About nearly 6 pm, we were already queuing at the Immigration. Since it was during school holidays and that day was a public holiday, a huge crowd was already there. As usual, vehicle owners have to queue twice, so I decided to go to the nearer queue to the Customs counter while the rest queued at a few other Immigration counters. After stamping our passports, we queued at the Customs counter for bringing in our cars. ZulPJ brought 2 of his cars, so he needed to prepare an authorization letter – the Customs officer handed him a form-like authorization letter for him to fill in authorizing his lovely sister – Nurul as the driver. Then we were free to enter Thailand. By then it was already about 7 pm Malaysian time. The journey to Hatyai was uneventful and smooth.
We then checked into Hatyai Paradise Hotel and rested for awhile. About 830 pm, we arranged for 3 tuk-tuks to bring us to the KlongHae Floating Market (thanks Penghulu for the tuk-tuk ride). This market starts from 5 pm till 10 pm. So since we reached there nearly 9 pm, quite a few of the sellers had finished selling their wares and packed. When we arrived, the show was about to start.. don’t ask me what’s it all about – can’t understand a single word and even can’t interpret what’s it about. We lingered around looking for the stuff and food sold there. Bought some – like the quail’s eggs, bbq squid with fiery sauce, seafood “otak-otak/pais”’ etc etc. Couldn’t stay very long as it started to rain after an hour we were there. We jumped back on to our tuk-tuks for some real dinner. Our initial destination was Salma’s but on the way, I sighted Kai Tod Daycha Restaurant which had a lot of good reviews on its food and price. So, we decided to give it a try. Apologise once again for the other 2 tuk-tuks that had to turn back after reaching Salma’s. Alhamdulillah, it was a good try – all the reviews that I’ve read were proved to be true. It was good food with a good price. The place was clean and has a few bamboo “pangkin” for sheltered outdoor dining. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for some rest before another journey tomorrow.
Day 2 : Around 11 am, we checked out and headed to Highway 4 enroute for Krabi. Since we’ve talked about this before on two of our previous trips, the details can be found at the previous write-ups. The journey was uneventful, weather was still quite good. We stopped by in Trang for a quick lunch at a small eating shop in front of the Train Station. Food was quite good, spicy but a bit on a high side. Then we’re back on Highway 4. Some construction works is underway to have better roadways – it was somewhat sad to see this as this stretch was so scenic and refreshingly green before. But happy that we would have a bigger roadway for our next trip J. After a couple of toilet stops, we reached Krabi at around 4 pm. We were greeted warmly by the staff and were given welcome drinks while waiting for our room keys. After keys were given out, we reminded that we would be going out into Krabi town for dinner and to check out their night markets – I believe there are 2 night markets in Krabi town during weekends – one is in town, somewhere near Vogue Supermarket, and the other one is near to the pier. So, around 730 pm Thai time, we gathered at the lobby and we left for Krabi town which is about 45 mins drive. We had our dinner at the foodie place within the fruit market in Krabi town. This food stall opens from 5 pm onwards and by the time we reached there, there were not as many choices as we had during our previous trip there. But food was still good – not that cheap anymore, but still on an okay side. As soon as we were all seated for dinner, heavy rain started to pour and by the time we finished our meals, it subsided to a slight shower. Since it rained heavily earlier, all the stalls in the night market had to close early, so we had no choice but to head back to the hotel for rest and a good night’s sleep.
Day 3 : We woke up with a glorious sun shining upon us. We had breakfast at the hotel’s café - all were geared up for snorkeling. Around 9 am, the tour agent arrived with a Pink lorry tuk-tuk to bring us to the pier which was only about 5 mins ride. Today, we will be going for the Phi Phi Island tour. At Noppharat Thara pier before boarding our brand new 3 engined speedboat, we were briefed by our tour leader, Peter, on what to do and not to do, the brief itinerary on this trip etc etc. On boarding the speedboat, the teenagers and not so teenagers managed to snatch the best seats on the boat ie at the bow (frontside), while the rest of us seated within the boat. On starting the engine, Peter has mentioned that they will be a bit more cautious as the seas are not that calm nowadays due to the not so good weather, so he had pre-alert us on the strong current and waves. We couldn’t go to Maya Bay due to this and we might have to skip a few snorkeling spots as well. So with that, we’re off into the wide blue sea.. and true enough the speedboat glided up and down with the waves followed by shrieking laughters from the gang – most of which the ones that were seated at the bow J. It was definitely an exhilarating but enjoyable boatride ! After like 40 mins, we reached our first destination – Bamboo Island for some swimming action. Here, we were given longer time ie 2 hours since we could not go to Maya Bay. The waves were rolling quite high so we made sure all the gang especially the younger members to be suited with the lifejacket at all times. Time flies when you’re having good times.
Then, were back on our speedboat – to Phi Phi Ley Island for buffet lunch. Our seats have already been booked and set. Peter helped to serve the drinks while we gobbled down our lunch. The buffet spread was rather simple but tasted good – plain rice, clear tomyam, sweet & sour fish fillet, mixed vegetables, fried fish fillet with thai sauce dip, chicken dish and spaghetti bolognaise. After filling our tummies, we roamed around the area checking out the souvenirs shops near the restaurant as well as another bunch 200m away – while the kids playing at the beach. When we were back onto the boat, Peter told us that the condition of the underwater current is still quite strong and it is not advisable to go snorkeling that far off, so we were brought to one snorkeling area – not that far off from the beach for some snorkeling. True enough, the underwater current was strong. It was very tiring – you kept on paddling but you’re not going anywhere and when you looked into the water to enjoy the fishes, without you realizing it you were being pushed far and far away from the boat. As this is the first snorkeling trip for most of the gang, this was definitely not a very enjoyable experience for them. Even the water was not as clear as we had during our last trips due to the rain. So the snorkeling trip had to be shortened, the boat crew flung a lifejacket tied to the rope so that our gang can hang on to the jacket while the crew pulled them back to the boat, another rope was also thrown into the water so the rest can hang on to that so we wouldn’t be pushed far out into the sea. When all of us trying to get back to the boat, my mom and my husband had been stung by the sea urchins. May be the water was receding and without us realizing it, we had nearly reached the corals down below. According to my mom and hb, it was quite painful at first but it went away after sometime. Peter and the rest of the crew assured us that there is nothing to worry about, they took the pineapple stem and brushed it on the area and smacked the area with the snorkel. One of the crew jumped into the water and picked one sea urchins out to show us that the spikes are actually very brittle so when we smacked it with the snorkel, it will break off and comes out on itself. By this time, all were ready to be back to shore. On our bumpy ride back to shore, we were given slices of juicy and sweet pineapples and watermelon. In less than 1 hour, we were back to Noppharat Thara pier to be shuttled back to our hotel. Just as we entered our room, heavy rain poured down – but this didn’t deter the kids to enjoy the pool – although shivering.
As planned, we gathered at the lobby at 730 pm for our dinner pick up. Tonight we are to enjoy the local bbq hotpot buffet spread at a restaurant called Nai Suan. Nothing to shout about, for us it was just okay – same concept to BBQ Land in Kuang and even the food spread are more or less the same – except for seaweed kerabu and the fiery thai sauces and condiments. But it was still quite okay and filling. By the time we finished dinner, all were exhausted from the snorkeling trip earlier. So we headed back to the hotel for a blissful sleep.
Day 4: At 3 am I awoke and looked out to see heavy rain pouring down. I was very worried that the snorkeling trip to Hong Island scheduled today might not be able to proceed. I know that even though the rain had stopped, the undercurrent would still be very strong and the water will definitely not be clear for a great seascape sightings. So, half of me has already realized that this trip won’t happen. By 730 am, the sky was clear once again, although still gloomy but rain has cleared. At 8am, I went to the tour agent to ask whether it was okay to proceed with the trip, they said, yes, no problem, so my worry went off a little bit for awhile. So we had breakfast and waited for the pick-up then at 9 am – then suddenly another heavy downpour L this time definitely dashed away our snorkeling plan. Once again, I went to see the tour agent. This time, the boss was there and he informed that their Maritime Dept has instructed that no island activities to be conducted for these few days due to the bad weather. So, not wanting to just sit around, do nothing and wasted our time and monies spent, we decided to take part on the 4 in 1 Jungle trip incl lunch. For this trip, we will be going for the Elephant trekking, Tigercave, Emerald Pool and Hot Spring Pool. So by 1030 am, 3 minivans arrived to shuttle us to these places. Rain has cleared once again by then. The agent has arranged for 2 vans to proceed to visit the Tigercave while 1 van will start with the Elephant Trekking as this will take around 50 mins/trip so that the other members wouldn’t have to wait for a long time. Me and family were on the 1st van to go to the Elephant Trekking. I’ve never ride on an elephant before – although we went to Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary on OGEIII, but I wasn’t keen on riding it barebacked. But this time, there was proper seat provided ;). It was definitely an adventure. The muddy trek was up and down the hills. Going uphill was okay, but downhill hmmmm it can be quite a scare especially with the height and unsteady seat. And since it had rained before, the mud trek was even more muddier. We could see the elephants’ legs submerged into the mud up till its knees! When we finished our trek and got back to the starting point, the other members had come back from the Tigercave and they suggested that we skipped the cave which we did. So we waited for the whole group to finish their elephant ride. It started to rain again but they were given umbrellas – someone commented that it’s kinda romantic of sort – riding on an elephant with an umbrella at hand ahaha…
Afterwards, we proceeded for our lunch. We thought the lunch would be a packed lunch, but it was a proper lunch by the lake! Food was again rather simple – plain rice, tomyam, of course, mixed vegetable, chicken dish and fried omelette. After lunch, we proceeded to Emerald Pool for a nice freshwater dip. To get to Emerald Pool from the entrance is 800m walk on gravel road. Although it was raining on and off, the road wasn’t slippery at all. Halfway through, heavy rain started again. I immediately radioed the faster group ahead to abort trip, but they proceeded anyways. We then asked the ones that were with me, they said, just continue.. rain won’t hurt us – we would be drenched when we are in the pool later anyway… good sport!! So we continued our walk in the rain. Shortly after we reached the Emerald pool, the water was still very clear not murky at all despite the rain and the water temperature was surprisingly not cold at all! I was imagining everyone shivering once in the water – nope – it was just nice. Can’t stay here very long as we were only been given 1 hour for this stop as the according to the trip itinerary – there is still the Hot Spring pool to be visited. But by the time we reached back to the minivan, it was getting darker and the weather wasn’t getting any better. Should we decide to proceed, we would still have to walk some 200m to get to the Hot Spring Pool. So I decided not to go and asked the minivan drivers to bring us back to the hotel. The journey back felt very long. I’m quite sure that some of us were a bit disappointed not being able to continue the trip but I had to think about the younger ones as well as the elders. But, look at it this way… this is a reason for you to repeat Krabi!!
After having a good rest, around 830 pm we gathered at the Hotel’s restaurant for our last dinner in Krabi. Here, I felt a bit sad knowing that this trip would soon come to an end. After dinner, the ladies and the kids went up to the rooms, while the guys had a round of coffee in the hotel’s café – since there is no mamak joints selling teh tarik anywhere in Krabi or Aonang ehehe..
Day 5 : Our last day in Krabi. At 10 am, the guys had to take over babysitting for awhile as we have arranged for 1 hour’s Thai massage for all the ladies. As usual, the massage was good and too bad we couldn’t do this often. Around 1230 pm, we left the Aonang Orchid Hotel’s compound and headed back to Hatyai. Rain was still on and off. We were told that island activities were still put on a halt for the next few days. Before going out of Krabi, we stopped by at Krabi Outlet Village for some retail therapy, but this time around, we found that the prices weren’t as cheap as they were before – so no point of buying anything there. Afterwards, we headed to Tesco Lotus for our lunch at the halal section in their foodcourt. Although not much choice, but what was there was more there enough for us and taste and pricewise were good. Then we’re back to the roads again – heading to Hatyai. The journey took longer due to the intermittent rain, we could see that certain parts of the areas we passed by, water has already risen. By the time we reached Hatyai, it was already dark, so we decided to go straight to Kai Tod Daycha again for our last dinner in Thailand since everyone was happy after our first one there. While the gang was having dinner, we proceeded to the hotel, Golden Crown Hotel, to make sure that all has been arranged and to get the roomkeys. We headed back to the restaurant, distributed the roomkeys and joined the dinner. After dinner, we checked into the hotel and rested for the night. The guys went out for a drink – teh tarik is available at the roadside stalls in front of Lee Garden Hotel which is a short walking distance from our hotel.
Day 6 : Our last day in Thailand. Though it kept on raining on and off, but this definitely didn’t deter us to maximize what’s left of our time exploring all the lanes that sells good stuff in Hatyai. We checked out at 1 pm and headed to Dannok for our lunch. While waiting for our food, some of us ventured out to buy some stuff like thai rice, locally made rice soap which was said to be good, redbull drinks which is very cheap in Thailand and some other stuff. After lunch, we proceeded into the Immigration complex for exiting, Alhamdulillah the queue wasn’t that long this time and it took us less than half an hour for everyone to pass. Then we stopped for nearly 1 hour at the Duty Free outlet before getting into the highway. This time the handy proved to be very very important when we are on a convoy. When we were approaching Bukit Semanggol R&R, suddenly Aie, Azizi’s brother in law radioed saying that one of the tyres had burst, so we immediately pulled over and slowly made our way back into the R&R stop. The others were all well in front by then and since Chir and wife had earlier invited all of us for some Prawn Mee (Zetty Mee Udang) goodness at a place near South Ipoh exit, we asked them to continue the journey hb, ZulPJ, Aie and Azizi managed to change the tyre using the spare one and we were back on track. We finished our dinner at around 11 pm – we thanked Chir & wife for the yummylicious Prawn Mee and bid them goodbyes as they were going back hometown for a visit. We had to make a short stop at the nearest PLUS office to lodge a report on the tyre burst incident. We continued our journey home and it felt the longest time to reach our homes. Alhamdulillah, all arrived safely by 230 am Friday. Total mileage clocked for this trip was about 1700 km.
All in all I think it went great, although not everything planned materialized but we still had a great time together. And I think this trip is rather complete – we rode on : cars, minivans, tuk-tuk, speedboat, pink lorry, on an elephant and by foot! We had water action in the sea, swimming pool, natural freshwater pool and lots of rain! Food was great as always. But the best thing was definitely to be around good friends and families – having great times together – no matter under the sun or rain!
For this memorable trip, we have had a lot of kind understanding and cooperation from every single member of this trip – this meant a lot to us. We were honoured by the sponsorship given by ZulPJ which we used to purchase the Tshirts, drybags, life hammers, breakfast in Jelapang, some petrol money and massage for the ladies. Thank you Penghulu for suppling the useful handies and the tuk-tuk ride. Thank you Chir and wife for the Jo Cendol lunch as well as Prawn Mee dinner. Thank you each and every one of you for the great time spent together and lets hope that we shall have more opportunities for such a gathering in the future.
Until next time, i bid you
all a fond adieu!