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Samui Sunset
Departing the island I realize the heat and humidity theme is getting a bit tiresome but never in my wildest did I think it would be so insanely hot... much to my shock and chagrin of course. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into since I had already been to both Thailand and Malaysia in April and May way back in '06. I was sadly mistaken... I really should have published this entry before arriving in Sumatra as it is pleasantly cool here.
$US ≈ 29 Thai baht (B) ≈ 3 Malaysian ringgit (RM)
Koh Samui
Accommodation and food I decided against reserving a room in advance and checked out a few places in Lamai before settling on Ninja Place which had justifiably good reviews on Tripadvisor. The bungalows were located on the main road but set far back so very quiet and were a 10-15 minutes walk from Lamai's "strip." Price for a double room bungalow (single rooms seem to on the road to extinction in SE Asia) was 600B with aircon, sat. TV, small refrigerator, HW shower, and WiFi. There is also a pool if feeling too lazy to walk to the beach. Pui,
Gate to Chinatown
Georgetown, Penang the owner, also runs a great restaurant across the street and whips up the hottest red curry I ever had anywhere in Thailand. Great breakfasts at the nearby French bakery serving baguettes and superb espresso drinks. Lunch and dinner were mostly taken at the night market near the beer bars. The pad thai was the best. For an afternoon cooler, the best iced coffee was at the shack on the side of the road past Ninja Place for only 20B.
Transport Combo ticket (train-bus-ferry) to Samui bought at the Bangkok train station was 698B for a second class air conditioned sleeper and 350B for the Lomprayah fast catamaran to the island (including the one hour bus ride from the Surat Thani train station to the ferry dock at Don Sak). The train left Bangkok at 7:30 p.m. and we ultimately arrived at Na Thon on Koh Samui just after 11:00 a.m.
Songthaew depart from a parking lot near the ferry dock. Figure 80-100B to Lamai or Chaweng. Taxis are very expensive: fixed price of 600B to Lamai.
Getting from Samui to Penang was much more of a pain than getting to the island. In Bangkok I bought another
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
1880s Chinese merchant known as the Rockefeller of the East. This was as close as I could get since I missed all 3 daily tours. second class air con sleeper ticket from Surat Thani (actually Phun Phin 20 kms from Surat Thani city) to Butterworth, Malaysia for 842B. Since the train was departing at 1:26 a.m. I waited to take the last Seatran ferry departure from NaThon, which at 6:00 p.m. wasn't really that late, for 240B. The minivan that met us on the mainland at 7:40 p.m. only took us to Surat Thani city so I needed to fork over another 200B for a chartered
songthaew ride to the train station finally arriving at 9:30 p.m. for the 4 hour wait for the slightly delayed train. There were a few food carts and restaurants still open around the train station. Immigration and customs at the Malaysian border were a bit tedious and I thought the official was going to make me empty my backpack as she was inspecting all the other passengers' suitcases. Fortunately I did not have to disgorge the contents of the unwieldy pack. Total time from my bungalow on Samui to Penang was 21 hours. To make matters worse, I met a couple in Penang who flew direct from Samui in one hour on a Firefly promotional fare of $30/person. Always
worth checking the equivalent airfare to any destination in SE Asia where low cost carrier flying was practically invented.
Penang
Visited here a couple of times in 2006 before it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and therefore not on many travelers' radars. It was so much more crowded than 7 years ago. There are also many more hostels. The incredible food scene is still surprisingly cheap given the massive influx of tourists the last few years,
Accommodation and food I booked 4 nights at Old Penang Guesthouse right in the heart of Georgetown on Love Lane. A bed in a 12 person air con dorm was 25RM. WiFi and a light breakfast were included. This street used to have one hostel, the renowned Love Lane Inn which is still there, and was kind of seedy. Now there are a half dozen or more hostels and the area has been cleaned up but it's lost it's personality. Lots of places to get the city's famous Hainan chicken for 5RM or a big bowl of asam
laksa for even less. Jaya and Kapitan serve delicious Indian food 24 hours a day.
Transport Ferry
from Butterworth to Georgetown is 1.20RM while going back is free. At the jetty is a city bus terminal where a free bus does a small loop through Georgetown. There are a few airport buses but I took the express 401E for 2.70RM. This bus leaves from the jetty every 20 minutes on the :10 taking 50 minutes in zero traffic. It also stops at KOMTAR.
Penang Hill For the hiking trail to the 823 m summit, take city bus 10 from the jetty to the end of the line at the botanical garden. The #10 departs every 45 minutes for 2RM. The hike is mostly up a well maintained staircase but after a while becomes a poorly marked jumbled mess of hiking and mountain bike trails. It's fine for the ascent but better to take the road a couple of kms for the descent and pick up the hiking trail at the shelter.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
It is amazing how hot hot can be.
Doesn't sound like growth has changed the ambience of the town. That is great.