Actual Costs – Thailand

Thailand can be cheap and it can be expensive, it depends on what kind of holiday you are on. We met up with friends of ours from South Africa, so we upped our backpacking budget a little to be able to enjoy the holiday with them. We stayed in more luxurious resorts, we rented a scooter for 16 of the 22 days and we drank a lot more beer than we usually would. We also needed to extend our visa which cost a fair bit. To give you an idea of actual costs we have listed the cost of some common things:

• Phad Thai from a street market = TBH60
• Thai green curry from a restaurant = THB150
• Bottle of beer from a pub = THB80
• Vodka sprite bucket = THB300
• Scooter hire per day = THB130-THB150

Below is the table of what we spent our money on. Our average daily cost came to US$90 for the two of us.

Actual Costs – Thailand

Thailand Summary

We have always loved Thailand! It is our favourite holiday destination. It just offers travellers everything. The food is great, the beaches are beautiful and it is so cheap! This time was no different; we loved every second of our three weeks here. We had some issues with our border crossing, but in the end it was our fault as we hadn’t done our research properly. Any backpacker should definitely add Thailand to their itinerary, you won’t regret it!

The people in Thailand are generally friendly, just be aware that there are people who will look to make an extra buck by ripping off tourists. Most people speak English or will understand some English and sign back. Transport is very efficient with tourist packages being available everywhere for reasonable prices. Always check AirAsia for prices as often their flights are just as cheap.

Safety in Thailand is generally not an issue. We did get some warnings to be careful though so I will just pass this on. Our AirBnB host explained that if you are ever in a motorcycle accident the police may hassle you to pay a bribe so just be aware of this and be careful. Also if you are going to drink don’t walk home alone along deserted beaches as you could be mugged. Having said this though, we had no issues.

So now that we’ve done it what would we say were our top experiences? In no particular order we enjoyed the following:

1. Exploring Koh Phangan on our scooter
2. Day trip from Koh Samui to Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park
3. Koh Tao Pubcrawl
4. Ping-pong show in Phuket
5. Rooftop dinner in Bangkok

If you would like to see all our photos from Thailand follow the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/rolien.slotema/media_set?set=a.10153318690224506.542994505&type=3&uploaded=62

Phuket and Bangkok

We had a great three nights in Phuket, enjoying the luxury of Baan Laimai Resort, which was right on Patong beach. Our room was huge, we had aircon and the pool was so big they describe it as a lagoon in their brochure! We arrived just after 2pm after our boat/bus transfer from Koh Tao. We settled in and then headed straight for the pool. That night we thought we would hit the town so we went to the nearby Bangla Road where they have plenty of bars and ping-pong shows. We had some happy hour cocktails and then headed to a ping-pong show. You get hassled by many promoters to come and see their show, promising that the show is free; you just need to buy a drink. We decided on a show and went in through a dodgy entrance. We were then given a menu and the cheapest beer was THB900! Needless to say we refused to pay that and ended up getting two thirds off. The beer was still way overpriced but we did get the show of our lives! We are still a bit scarred!

Patong Beach

Bangla Road

Bangla Road

Bangla Road

Bangla Road

The next couple of days we just relaxed on the beach or by the pool. The beach is quite touristy, with hawkers hassling you to buy their goods constantly. The water is nice though, and for a small fee (THB100) you can hire a nice beach lounger to relax on. When we weren’t on the beach we were either eating delicious sushi or playing intense games of Shark, a card game we learnt from an English couple in Central America. Christo started off very well, but in the end Chris came out victorious!

Patong Beach

Sushi in Phuket

After three very relaxing days in Phuket we took an AirAsia flight to Bangkok. We booked these flights about a month ago for only US$33pp including luggage. We have found that sometimes AirAsia can be just a cheap as a bus. We flew to Don Mueang and took a taxi from the airport to our hostel. The airport taxis add THB50 to their fare and you have to pay the highway toll fees, so in the end it can be a little expensive. The total fare to the Siam BRT station was THB400. We were just too lazy to find an alternative mode of transport!

We stayed at Cooper House Hostel which is very close to the Surasak BRT station and the Myanmar Embassy. We paid THB1000 per night for a private room with private bathroom and aircon. That day we headed to MBK mall to do a little shopping and have some lunch. I stocked up on makeup which is so cheap here! We also indulged a bit and had some KFC! That evening we met up with Christo and Chantelle and had some great Mexican at Taco and Salsa near the Asok BRT station. We then headed to Soi Cowboy, another party street with plenty of girlie bars. We dodged the girls though and just had a drink before heading home!

The next day we spent the morning deciding what we wanted to do for the next couple of weeks. Christo and Chantelle were leaving us that night so we were now going to be on our own again. We did a lot of research about how to get to Cambodia and most of what we read gave horrible descriptions of scams and hassles at the borders or with transport. Basically the best way to do it is to travel on your own and avoid transfer packages sold in Bangkok. When you get to the border avoid anyone trying to help you and only pay $30 for the visa. After reading the very comprehensive Tales of Asia we saw that it would cost us approximately $45-$75pp to get from Bangkok to Siem Riep. So we decided to check AirAsia and found a very cheap flight ($122 for the two of us including luggage) directly to Phnom Penh which would save us the hassle of crossing the border.

This took us the best part of the morning to figure out so we only got out of the hostel after 1pm. We headed to Central Pier to catch the ferry to Wat Pho which houses The Reclining Buddha. The ferry departs every 20 minutes and costs THB15 one-way. The ride is something to do in itself with great views of the buildings hanging over the water and some temples. We got off at pier 8 and walked to Wat Pho. The entrance is THB100 which includes a free water. Wear respectful clothing, covering your knees and shoulders. The temples are intricately decorated and the reclining Buddha is huge! After 30mins of walking around we felt we had seen enough, so we headed back to the pier to have a cheap local lunch after which we headed home.

Ferry in Bangkok

Wat Pho Bangkok

Wat Pho Bangkok

Wat Pho Bangkok

Wat Pho Bangkok

Wat Pho Bangkok

That night we had our last dinner with Christo and Chantelle. They were very sweet and treated us to a very luxurious, rooftop dinner at Above Eleven. The views of the sunset were spectacular and the food was amazing! This is usually not something we could do as it was way out of our backpacker’s budget, so it was so nice to be spoilt. I even had some wine! We said our sad goodbyes and then headed home early as we had a very early flight to Cambodia the next day.

Above Eleven Rooftop Bar and Restaurant Bangkok

Above Eleven Rooftop Bar and Restaurant Bangkok

Above Eleven Rooftop Bar and Restaurant Bangkok

We woke up at 4am and got a taxi to the airport. AirAsia flies from Don Mueang even if it’s an international flight. This time the taxi was cheaper as there was no traffic, so we only had to pay THB310. The flight was great and so hassle free that we 100% don’t regret our decision to fly! One good tip when flying with AirAsia is that when you add your luggage allowance you should know that the allowance is only by weight not by the number of pieces. So we only added 20kg luggage to Chris’ ticket and managed to check in both of our backpacks as they together only weighed 19kgs. We saved $15 by doing this. As long as you are both under the same booking number there will be no issues.

How to extend your visa in Thailand

We were very confused when we only got a 15-day visa stamp at the border coming from Malaysia as every time we have come to Thailand in the past, we received 30 days. We have since done some research and the Thai embassy states: “Foreigners entering Thailand via border posts at Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Malaysia without securing a prior visa will now be granted only 15 days of stay in the country as opposed to the previous Visa on Arrival, which was valid for 30 days.” They say they have done this to try and encourage foreigners to get visas in advance. They will also limit the number of back-to-back visa runs foreigners can do to extend their stay. We were silly to not have known this but luckily for us, a very helpful traveller on Koh Phangan explained that we could extend our stay at the immigration office on Koh Samui (where we were going anyway) without having to leave the country. Before learning this we inquired about doing a visa run from Koh Phangan to either Myanmar or Malaysia, and it would have taken us an entire day and would have cost THB1770pp. So we were lucky to meet this traveller!

So how does a visa extension work? It’s very simple, the staff are friendly and it’s quick and efficient. We met our friends on Koh Samui so we were already on the island. We headed to the Thai Immigration office, which is about 1km south of the Nathon Pier, on the way to Lamai. It is open Monday to Friday 8:30am-4:30am. There is a guy there that can take photos and photocopies for you if you need. This is what you need for a visa extension of 30 days.

• Your passport
• THB1,900
• 1 x Passport photo
• 1 x Photocopy of the front page of your passport with your details
• 1 x Photocopy of your entry card and stamp you received when you arrived
• The address in Thailand where you are staying

When you arrive you receive a form that you need to fill out so also bring a pen. They provide a glue stick for you to stick your passport photo to the form. You then wait in a queue where a lady checks all your paperwork. If everything is in order she gives you a number. Once they call your number you go inside and hand in all the paperwork along with the THB1,900. You then receive a receipt and a number and they tell you to wait outside again. Eventually your passport comes back and your number will be called to collect it.

We arrived at 8:30am and were 8^th and 9^th in the queue. The whole process took us 30mins from start to finish. We now have 30 more days to enjoy in the country! Even though it cost us a fair bit of money it was no hassle at all!

Thai Immigration Visa Fee Rate

Koh Phangan, Koh Samui and Koh Tao

We had a great nine nights on Koh Phangan. We took relaxing to the next level, sometimes not even leaving our room the whole day! It did rain a bit, so we had an excuse! When we had some energy to go exploring, we took our scooter (THB130per day) and headed to various beaches on the island. We found beautiful hidden gems, with pristine beaches! We also explored the island for various delicious Thai dishes.

Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan

Delicious Thai food

Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan

One activity we did was a cooking class where we learnt how to make five different Thai dishes. We were first taken to the local market and shown how to shop for fresh produce. I love these markets as you can get everything fresh, from coconut milk to prawns. There are also bowls and bowls of freshly ground pastes to make any curry you want! I wish we had this back home! The course was THB1250pp and took 3hrs. It was just the two of us so we really enjoyed it. Thai food is so easy to make if you know how to make it! I can’t wait to try these dishes when we get home.

Koh Phangan food market

Koh Phangan food market

Koh Phangan food market

My Wok and Me Cooking School

My Wok and Me Cooking School

My Wok and Me Cooking School

After nine nights of relaxation we were ready for some more action. Our friends Christo and Chantelle were joining us for two weeks, which we were so excited about. We took the 30min ferry to Koh Samui (THB300) and met up with them in the AirBnB rental we had organised for four nights. We spent the next couple of days being very active. We climbed up Na Muang waterfall to a beautiful viewpoint and swam in the natural pools, which was nice and refreshing. The next day we went on a full day tour to the Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park (THB1300pp + THB300 park fee). We spent the day on a boat sailing from one island to the next. We climbed to a viewpoint for a great view of the surrounding islands. We also got to kayak and snorkel. I even found some treasure, 40 baht on the ocean floor! On one of the islands we climbed to the secluded Emerald Lagoon which was beautiful.

Hiking to Na Muang waterfall

Na Muang waterfall

View from Na Muang waterfall

On the boat in Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park

Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park viewpoint

Kayaking in Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park

Kayaking in Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park

Emerald Lagoon in Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park

On our last day Chris and I woke up early to sort out our visa extension (click here for more information). We then came back and woke up the others to explore the island on our scooters, driving up through the island’s forest which was beautiful! We stopped along the way to see the famous Grandfather and Grandmother rocks which look like male and female genitalia. We also stopped at a cute, little family run bar where we fed a wild monkey and played pool.

Scooting around the island

Scooting around the island

Scooter brothers for life!

Grandfather rock

The following day we took the 8am ferry to Koh Tao (2hrs, THB600pp). This island is much smaller than Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, which was a nice change. It really has an island-life vibe about it. The first night we stayed in an amazing villa with it’s own private pool and everything, but unfortunately the aircon wasn’t working so we had to move. It’s impossible to sleep at night without aircon! We moved closer to the main beach to Lotus Paradise Resort, which has great rooms for THB1040per night. That night we joined the famous Koh Tao Pubcrawl which Chris and I did two years ago with my brother. For THB400 you get a vest, a vodka sprite bucket, a fire show, a lady boy show and free shots along the way at each bar. It was a great night!

Ko Tao Pub Crawl

Ko Tao Pub Crawl Fire Show

The next day we just chilled on the beach, working on our tans and reading our books. That night we watched the Springboks narrowly lose to the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup semi-final. We had a great time watching it at Choppers bar with tons of other South Africans though. Exhausted after a couple of days of activity we just relaxed the next day before our transfer to Phuket. The next morning we got up at 4:30am and walked to the pier to catch the 6am ferry to Don Sak. You can get a package deal from Lompraya at the pier for THB1100pp. This includes the ferry to Don Sak (3hrs) and a bus to Phuket Town (5hrs). We arrived in Phuket Town at 2pm and took a minibus transfer to our hotel for THB150pp. We are now staying in luxury at Baan Laimai Resort, a deal our friend Christo found online that even fits our budget!

Actual Costs – Malaysia

Malaysia was by far the cheapest country we have visited on our trip so far when it comes to eating out. We could not believe how cheap things were at first. We had meals for two for $3 that were delicious. We also bought souvenirs, as we couldn’t resist how cheap they were! One thing that is expensive though is alcohol as the country is mostly Muslim. So this pushed our costs up a bit. To give you an idea of actual costs we have listed the cost of some common things:

• Indian meal from a restaurant= MYR10
• Satay from street food stall = MYR0.70 each
• Noodles from street food stall= MYR5
• Pint of beer at a pub = MYR35

Below is the table of what we spent our money on. Our average daily cost came to US$77 for the two of us.

Actual Costs – Malaysia

Malaysia Summary

We were really looking forward to Malaysia as so many people had told us how awesome it was and we had only read good things. We however failed to see it’s unique charm. It seems to be just like any other South East Asian country, except the alcohol is three times the price! The food was also not that great, except for the satays and Penang street food. One positive of Malaysia is how cheap the food is. We could not believe how cheap a good meal from a street food stall could be. So in the end we would say that it is worth a visit, but only as part of a bigger trip. We didn’t go to any islands though, which may have changed our minds a bit.

Transport in Malaysia was pretty good overall. The busses are comfortable. You will never get the seat you booked though – seats are taken on a first-come-first-serve basis. We were misinformed a couple of times about the duration of the trip or where we would be dropped off which we heard also happened to other travellers.

Most people in Malaysia speak English to some extent, which is great. Sometimes their English might not be great though so its better to double and triple check with them to ensure they understand. Tour operators and hostel staff all speak English.

So now that we’ve done it what would we say were our top experiences? In no particular order we enjoyed the following:

1. Melaka Jonker Walk weekend food market
2. Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur
3. Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur
4. Full day tour in the Cameron Highlands
5. Food market in Penang

If you would like to see all our photos from Malaysia follow the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/rolien.slotema/media_set?set=a.10153284741509506.542994505&type=3&uploaded=61

Getting to Koh Phangan, Thailand from Penang, Malaysia

We had met some travellers along our way in Malaysia who were all heading back to Kuala Lumpur to fly into Thailand, Laos or Cambodia. We didn’t understand why as there is, what seemed to be, an easy overland crossing at Bukit Kayu Hitam (Sadao on the Thai side). We now know why they decided to do that, as this day was one of the more painful days of travelling we’ve had the entire year!

We were told that for MYR80pp we would be in Surat Thani in Thailand by 12pm, from where we could catch a ferry to Koh Phangan. We thought that sounded easy enough, so we booked our tickets from our hostel and got excited to get back to island living. We woke up at 4am and waited outside for the bus at 4:30am. The bus was late and we were only collected at 5:30am. We then spent about another hour fetching others around town. Finally we were on our way. We reached the Malaysian border at about 8am Malaysian time. We waited in a queue for about 30mins before we were stamped out of the country. We then got back in the minivan and headed to the Thai border. This is where our troubles started!

We have been to Thailand many times and never had issues with coming into the country, as South Africans normally don’t need a visa. We experienced some of the most arrogant, rude officials we have ever come across – worse than our hellish Bolivian border official! We were told that we needed to go to the visa office to get a stamp. When we got there we were told we could only get a 14day stamp into the country. We did not know this so we had written 3weeks on the form. The most indignant lady then refused to let us in due to this. Luckily another official told her off and she grudgingly stamped us in for 14days. This is going to be a problem as we have friends meeting us in Thailand for two weeks in nine days time, which means we will now need to do a visa run from Koh Phangan to extend our stay. This involves going back to the Malaysian or Myanmar border to leave the country and then enter Thailand again. We will deal with this next week some time.

If it had ended there we would probably have been fine, but then we got to Hat Yai and the driver began dropping people off at their respective hotels and we were dropped off at a travel agent. We were then told to wait for our next bus to Surat Thani. We were promised a direct transfer, which was obviously not the case! We waited about 20mins and then were fetched by another minibus, which again fetched more people on his way out of town. We lost another hour here easily. We finally got to Surat Thani at 3pm, 3hours late, but the driver didn’t know where to drop us to get the ferry to Koh Phangan. We finally found another travel agent and booked a bus to Don Sak from where the ferries leave to the islands. We got there at 4:45pm after a 45min ride, only to be told that there wasn’t a 5pm ferry as promised. We could only get the 6pm ferry. This was the last straw for me and Chris had to calm me down to avoid a mini-meltdown! We waited in the restaurant (which didn’t sell beer!!!???) and caught the 6pm ferry (which also didn’t sell beer!!!???). We arrived on Koh Phangan at 8:30pm after a hellishly long day of travel, but we immediately sat down for a delicious Thai meal of green curry and Pad Thai (with beer!!!) so all was semi-forgotten! We are now here enjoying island life. We only have the visa-run hanging over our heads but we will deal with that when the time comes!

Cameron Highlands and Penang

We arrived in the Cameron Highlands in the afternoon so we just walked around the town a bit, eating lunch at some food stalls along the road and enjoying a delicious strawberry cheesecake dessert at one of the many cafes. After reading about what we should do in the area we decided to book a full day tour (MYR70pp) for the next day through our guesthouse, which would take us to all the major tourist attractions in the area. The next morning we were fetched at 8:45am and headed to our first stop of the day, the butterfly farm. Here they have tons of butterflies, exotic bugs, snakes, frogs and bunnies. We then drove on to the tea plantations, where for as far as the eye can see there are just tea trees. Tea trees have been in this area for the past 86 years. The idea to plant tea in these highlands all started with British businessman J.A. Russel in 1929. We visited the BOH tea plantation, which is still in his family even after his early death and World War II. The land is impressive and the tea factory is really cool to see. Tea is made in two days from being picked to being bagged for transportation to be packaged.

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Tea Plantation

Tea Plantation

Tea Plantation

BOH tea factory

After the tea factory we continued up to the highest point in the Cameron Highlands, which is reachable by car. Unfortunately the haze blocked a fair bit of the awesome view. We then walked for about 30mins in the Mossy Forrest before we headed to the strawberry farm. This was rather underwhelming compared to South African strawberry farms as the farm is indoors and the strawberries were not ripe for picking yet. We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant followed by a few uneventful stops at a Market, Cactus Point (which is just a nursery with cacti!), the Time Tunnel that gives some random information about the Cameron Highlands and a Buddhist temple. We arrived back home at 4pm – a little exhausted after the long day! That night we headed out for a Steam Boat, a traditional Chinese fondue-like meal. We were given a big pot with two different soups over a burner. We chucked many different plates of raw food into the boiling soup to cook. It was a fun experience but not as delicious as we expected it to be!

Mossy Forrest

Mossy Forrest

Mossy Forrest

Strawberry Farm

Buddhist Temple

Buddhist Temple

Steam Boat

The next morning we took the 9am bus to Penang (MYR35pp, 5hrs). We were meant to be dropped off in George Town but were instead dumped at a bus station 20kms outside of town. We took another local bus to our hostel and headed out for some Indian lunch. Later that afternoon we thought we would just head out for a drink and dinner before the 10:45pm South African rugby match against USA. We ended up staying the whole afternoon and night at this bar that was having an Oktoberfest party. We ordered a 3.5l beer tower and participated in some of the random Oktoberfest games. I won a Carlsberg t-shirt and South Africa demolished USA, so it was a great night!

Oktoberfest Games

Beer Tower

Oktoberfest Games

We woke up a bit under the weather the next day, which was to be expected. We left the hostel at 1pm for some lunch and a DIY tour of the city. We rented a tandem bicycle, which lifted my spirits immediately. Tandem bikes are so much fun! We first headed to the food market where we sampled some of the famous Penang dishes including Chee Cheong Fun, Char Kway Teow, Nasi Lemak Ayam and Ban Chang Kueh. All these dishes were delicious, albeit a bit foreign! We then continued through the city to see the Victoria clock tower, old fort, navy base and some street art. That night we had some more delicious Indian and hit the hay early as we were taking a 5am bus the next morning to cross the border into Thailand. More on that in the next post.

Tandem Bike Penang

Tandem bike ride through Penang

Char Kway Teow

Nasi Lemak Ayam

Chee Cheong Fun

Ban Chang Kueh

Victoria Clock Tower

Naval Base Penang

Street Art Penang

Melaka and Kuala Lumpur

We arrived at the bus station in Melaka after the four-hour bus ride from Singapore. We waited for the local bus to take us to the area we would be staying in but it never arrived, so we just took a taxi for MYR15. We stayed at Old Town backpackers, which is walking distance from the preserved, historical city center. We stayed for two nights but you could easily see everything there is to see in one day. This port city has a rich trading history and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its colonial history can also be seen in many Portuguese, Dutch and British structures.

The first night we just enjoyed some local food across the road from our hostel including spring rolls and peanut satays. We are thrilled with how cheap things are here! We had a delicious meal for MYR13, about $3 for the two of us! Beer is more expensive at $3 for a 620ml bottle, still not too bad! The next day we walked to the center of town and saw all the main sites including Christ Church, Stadthuys, the revolving tower, the Maritime Museum and the canal. All of these sites are within 10mins walking distance from each other. We were lucky to be in Melaka over a weekend. That night we also got to experience the weekend food market called Jonker Walk. We ate some delicious local food and bought some cheap souvenirs!

Chicken satay and sticky rice

Christ Church Melaka

Flora de la Mar – Maritime Museum

Dutch windmill

Market food – fried dumplings

Market food – octopus tacoyaki

Market food – fried squid

The next day we headed back to the bus station and took one of the regular busses to Kuala Lumpur (MYR10, 2hrs). As we were driving into the city we were pleasantly surprised to see how modern and clean it was. We took the efficient metro to our hostel and then headed out for our first Indian meal in Malaysia. We were a little disappointed as no places were serving naan bread until the evening and I had bones in my “boneless” curry. We will persevere to find delicious curry though!

That night South Africa was playing rugby against Scotland so we headed to Bukit Bintang, a trendy area with bars and restaurants. The vibe was awesome and we enjoyed a couple of beers while witnessing our team defeat the Scots with some champagne rugby! Lots of Tiger beer meant we didn’t feel so great the next day but we still headed out to do some sightseeing. We took the train to the Batu Caves. These impressive caves contain Hindu worship shrines and the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world. The site is crowded but worth an hour visit. I decided to try out a hand henna tattoo, which they offer at many stalls at the caves. I think it looks really pretty! We then took the train to the Petronas Towers, the twin towers of Malaysia. These were the tallest buildings in the world until 2004. We just took some photos and then walked through the park in front of the buildings.

South Africa vs Scotland

Batu Caves and Lord Murugan statue

Batu Caves

Henna tatoo

Petronas Towers

Park at Petronas Towers

That night we decided to go watch The Martian at the MAXX cinema, the largest cinema in Malaysia! It was awesome! The next morning we took a bus to the Cameron Highlands (MYR35, 3.5hrs), which is where we are now. The weather is really nice and cool here and the noises of the bugs in the forest surrounding our guesthouse are enchanting!