An Ninh and Sang are two young people with a passion for travel and photography, who founded OntheMars to share their travels. The couple traveled together along the southern coastal provinces of Thailand and Penang Island, Malaysia for 13 days.
During that journey, An Ninh and Sang went through the provinces of Trang, Hat Yai, Krabi, Phang Nga, all of which are located along the Adaman Sea in the South of Thailand. Each province has its own attractive destinations and beauty.
If you are too familiar with destinations like Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket... and want to see a more exotic Thailand, this journey of An Ninh and Sang will help you have a new perspective on Thailand and Penang.
Visit Trang province
The first destination of the two friends was Trang province, located in the southern sea of Thailand, pronounced correctly in Thai as To-rang. In Trang province, An Ninh was most impressed with Hat Chao Mai National Park and Yong Lin beach. Hat Chao Mai National Park stands out with its rocky island separated from the sea, walking along the rocky island on wooden paths with resting places and a view of the blue sea. And at Yong Lin beach, the most interesting thing for him was the lonely dry tree trunks scattered among the vast sea and sky.
In front of Yong Lin beach is the blue sea, on both sides are rocky mountains rising from the water, in the middle are a few bare, upright dead tree trunks.
Hat Chao Mai National Park
An Ninh recounted the first time he arrived in Trang province: “When the ladies saw us coming, they spoke Thai fluently, we were stunned because we didn’t understand, then they were surprised and called a lady to help us with English. After a while of struggling, we ordered crispy roast pork, spicy and sour clams, stir-fried vegetables and mushrooms, and a bowl of tomyum soup to make us feel like we were in Thailand. The food was quite good, just delicious, only the tomyum soup was too sour for someone like me who can’t eat sour food. After eating our fill, we planned to go sightseeing, but at night in Trang, people close very early, so we didn’t know where to go.”
From Trang to Hat Yai is 1 hour. From Hat Yai to Penang, the car picks up at Kim Yong market at 12 noon and arrives in Penang at 5 pm.
Discover culture in Hat Yai
From Trang, An Ninh moved to Hat Yai to cross the border to Penang, Malaysia. Although only in Hat Yai for a short time, I could feel the ethnic diversity here. The markets have a variety of Muslim, Chinese and Thai cultural products with a bustling and attractive atmosphere.
Not far to the north is Krabi. This was his second visit to Krabi but he still couldn’t visit all the places there, so he spent a whole day exploring the Hong Islands.
Penang Old Town is quite similar to Hoi An with rows of Chinese houses close together, but more messy and smaller, especially with more murals.
On Google, the location of each famous mural is clearly displayed.
But over time, many of the frescoes have faded visibly.
Explore nature at Hong Islands
Hong Islands is not too far from the coast. Here, An Ninh can dive to see the diverse coral reefs with colorful marine life. On the island, he climbed to the top of the highest mountain and when looking down, the curve of the mountains and the coastline created the image of a pair of gentle blue eyes that really impressed him.
Another quite adventurous destination here is Bat Cave at Phra Nang Cave beach. Bat Cave is a cave in the rocky mountain on the coast. The way up is not too difficult but there are sections that require the use of ropes and ladders to climb. From inside the cave, he found a small path overlooking the beach below, which is extremely beautiful.
Hong Islands - an island with long sandy beaches between rocky mountains, the water here is also a light turquoise color very typical of Krabi and Phuket
Leaving Krabi, An Ninh and Sang took a van to Phang Nga, a land that seemed to have been forgotten on the tourist map of Thailand. Phang Nga has all the destinations from mountains to sea. If you like mountains, go to Samet Nangshe. From here, you can admire the whole Phang Nga Bay with towering mountains, clouds above and the vast sea below.
If you prefer clear blue beaches, you can choose Khao Lak. Located not far from Phuket, this is a gentler sea area, less crowded and can easily move to visit Similan Islands.
Bat Cave is a cave in a rocky mountain on the coast. This is one of the must-see spots at Phra Nang beach.
From Khao Lak, it takes 1 hour by speedboat to reach this archipelago. The white sandy beaches, the naturally arranged rocks and the clear blue water make it unforgettable.
Thailand is a fairly easy destination for Vietnamese tourists. However, because An Ninh's journey explores quite new destinations, learning about transportation between locations probably takes the most time.
“Many destinations do not sell tickets online, so I had to contact the local bus company or station directly. However, fortunately, I received enthusiastic support from the locals. Another regrettable point of the trip was the weather. Last year, the weather in Thailand was quite unusual. Although it was already November, the end of the rainy season, the rains were still persistent and prolonged, forcing us to always bring raincoats just in case. We can see how climate change affects Thailand,” An Ninh shared with Travellive about the difficulties of traveling to Thailand this time.
Phang Nga town is truly a forgotten destination because there is so much to explore here but we mostly just pass by it on the way to Phuket or Krabi.
In addition, An Ninh also gives some notes and tips for Vietnamese tourists when traveling to Thailand.
Always try to book train and bus tickets in advance on Thai websites to avoid sold-out tickets. Most websites have English versions so we can easily book and pay by card. Or you can ask the hotel staff directly for support. In particular, Thai people are extremely friendly.
After many historical ups and downs, Ayutthaya is now just ruins, but still retains the captivating beauty of a majestic, ancient land.
The Buddha's head lying neatly in the roots became a relic that made all visitors curious.
Prioritize the experience by motorbike in Thailand. Many of you may find it difficult to travel by motorbike continuously, but with An Ninh, when traveling by motorbike, you can go deeper into the destinations or stop at any time if you suddenly see a beautiful scene on the side of the road.
In addition, the further south or the countryside An Ninh and Sang go, the more difficult it is to communicate with the locals because very few people know English. Therefore, you should equip yourself with a 3G sim and a translation application to use when needed. You can rest assured because although it is difficult to understand each other, the people you meet will try to understand and help enthusiastically.
Bang Pu Recreation Center is a migratory bird conservation center located near Bangkok with a mangrove forest system stretching along the southern coast of Bangkok. Pictured are seagulls swimming, flying and catching food from visitors.
“For us, traveling is not about following the beaten path or imitating someone. Therefore, we always try to find newer and further destinations and experience new things, at least for ourselves. Thailand is not only about Bangkok, Phuket or Pattaya, but also many other famous landscapes that can give you a completely different view of the Thailand that we are familiar with,” An Ninh said.
Detailed itinerary of An Ninh and Sang's 13-day tour of Thailand:
Day 1: Travel Hanoi - Bangkok - Trang
Day 2: Sightseeing around Trang province
Day 3: Travel Trang - Hat Yai - Penang
Day 4: Visit Penang
Day 5: Morning play in Penang, afternoon travel to Penang - Hat Yai
Day 6: Morning travel to Hat Yai - Krabi, afternoon walk around Ao Nang beach, Krabi
Day 7: Hong Islands tour from Krabi
Day 8: Morning play at Ao Nang, afternoon travel to Krabi - Phang Nga town
Day 9: Morning play around Phang Nga town, afternoon move to Phang Nga town - Khao Lak
Day 10: Similan Islands tour from Khao Lak
Day 11: Morning walk around Khao Lak and Takua Pa, afternoon travel to Khao Lak - Bangkok
Day 12: Visit the ancient capital of Ayuthaya from Bangkok in a day
Day 13: Morning go see seagulls to avoid the cold at Bang Pu Recreation Center, afternoon travel to Bangkok - Hanoi.
