My MX5 road trip Kuala Lumpur-Krabi 2016

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The dream and planning to visit some interesting destination both locally and perhaps cross border have long been playing in my mind. To jump start on a rather challenging trip, I chose Krabi, Thailand. However, as a warm up, I made a day trip to Frasers Hill recently. Thus in January 2016 alone, I have covered two road trips.

On 26 January 2016, @9.30am on a cloudy morning, the engine revved up to embark on a long road journey between Kuala Lumpur and Krabi. Considering there will be toll charges along the NS Highway, I have topped up my T&G card to RM200. With a full tank filled to RM60 in KL, I only topped up another full tank at Sg. Perak R&R for RM50 to reach Alor Setar at 3pm and stayed for a night. Earlier at Tapah R&R Utara, I stopped for a quick lunch.

Early morning on 27 January 2016, the journey began at 9am. The process involved buying the Thai insurance for my car for RM14.00 and filling up a form, sort of Letter of Conveyance, to declare the vehicle you are driving including the detail of accompanied passenger where relevant.(this form was newly introduced last November 2015 by the Thai Customs). As usual I went through the immigration process and the Customs process for the car. Once in Danok, I bought a data SIM card for my gps. From the Bukit Kayu Hitam Complex to Krabi, the distance covered is approximately 400 km and will take 4-5 hours. The road was good and even better than ours at some points. What makes me envy of them is the Thais do not have to pay a single cent to drive as there is no toll charge. I arrived in Krabi at 4.30pm local time and checked into a hotel. Dinner that night was at Hasna Halal Restaurant, a popular choice among Malaysians.



On 28 January 2016, I spent the whole day in Krabi town and Aonang beach. Halal food or restaurants is not an issue as 40% of Krabi population are muslims. You can surf and read Krabi profile and the must visit places there. Buying things or souvenirs is a test of your bargaining skill. Forget about eating other dishes except authentic Thai cuisines. Focus on your food and not so much watching people walking along the street. Frequently, many young foreign girls and even matured ladies will pass by, cladding in only bikinis and G-strings. You may choked yourself to death if you don’t listen to my caution. Heavy rain that night kept me confined to my hotel room even though there are some “happenings” here and there where foreigners were dancing the night away.

On 29 January 2016, I decided to drive direct from Krabi to KL and not spending a transit night anywhere in Kedah or Penang. I had a good sleep and was ready to drive all the way with stop overs for refuelling, lunch, dinner and prayers. The return journey kicked off at 8am local time (9am MST) with kind send off by the hotel owner, Mr Gao. Coincidentally, he’s a staunch member of the Krabi Superbikers Club. Total return distance covered (to and fro) was 1811km inclusive of town drives and traffic diversion. On return trip, fuel refilling at Baht520 and RM105 on Malaysian route. Total toll charges is somewhat around RM110-120+-. On the way back, stopped over at Changlun for lunch and also Taiping side R&R for prayer and stretching. Dinner and evening prayer at Tapah R&R where there was a real heavy downpour and visibility was very poor. Too risky to continue driving then. After all no rushing. Due to the delay, I reached home at 10pm safely. Alhamdulillah. Time spent on the return road journey was around 12-13 hours. It was a success as far as I am concerned.

My motorsports Club Leader whatsapped me informing he has registered my name for the Bangkok-Chiangmai road trip end of this year. The drive on the first leg will be from KL-Hatyai. From Hatyai to Bangkok, the cars will be loaded on trailers to Bangkok while we will be taking a flight to Bangkok. Our counterpart, the Thai club members will lead the convoy from Bangkok to Chiangmai. That’s the plan. Sounds good.



In the February 2016 plan after CNY 2016, the tentative destination will be either Lumut/Pangkor OR East Coasts covering Kuantan, KT and KB.

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