Hello everyone!! Today, I will take you guys to travel with me to Malaysia. This trip originally started from me as I would like to take some time off and walk around in Penang on weekend. However, as we have only a little time while the journey would take pretty long time and the air ticket is kind o expensive as well, thus, we wait for the promotion of the cheap air ticket for such a long time that we haven't go to any trip yet. Until, finally we have a long holiday during Buddhist Lantern day, and we luckily find the promotion ticket of Air Asia. Nevertheless, the final destination is not Penang, it is Kuala Lumpur. Moreover, there is only the promotion of the return ticket of Lion Air which flies from Hat Yai to Bangkok. Well! From Kuala Lumpur to Hat Yai, it gets to pass Penang as well, therefore, this route looks quiet awesome. So let's go on travel then.

Photo by Fuji XE2 + XF18-55 mm + XF55-200 mm

©2015 Puripat Lertpunyaroj

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Our travel itinerary

- 29/07 Fly with Air Asia from BKK-KUL. Arrive in the late morning, then go to Putrajaya city, after that head back to travel in KL (Twin Tower, KL Tower).

- 30/07 Travel to Cameron Highlands, look for Half-Day Tour trip to surrounding area.

- 31/07 Travel Cameron Highlands a bit more in the morning and catch a car to Penang in the afternoon.

- 01/08 Go to Penang Hill, Lek Kok Si Temple and travel around George Town.

- 02/08 Take a car to Hat Yai. Travel in Hat Yai, then fly back to Bangkok.

*I have friend at Hai Yai, thus, my friend will pick me up to travel around the town. For those who travel by themselves, you might only able to travel in the downtown area like public park and Kim Yong Market.

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Travel Expenses:

The total expense is 8582baht (not include souvenirs). That time the exchange Ringgit money rate is at 1RM = 9.06 THB and for the simple calculation, I just multiply by 10. For the expense, I divide into categories as follows:

• Air Asia BKK-KUL 1,800 baht
• Lion Air HYT-BKK 995 baht
• Transportation 1,568 baht
• Ticket & Tour 1,796 baht
• Food 1,098 baht
• Hotel 1,322 baht

- Transportation includes all the transportation expenses. The main expense that is rather expensive is the van service from Penang-Hatyai (KST Company 400 baht), a bus to Cameron Highlands (35RM) and a bus to Penang (35RM).

- Ticket & Tour includes the admission fee to all attractions including Tour that I buy in Cameron Highlands which is really expensive.

- Food - 3meals+drinks. The food expense will depend on each person, as normally I will spend approximately 6-10 RM per meal. Except for the meal on Steam Boat at Cameron Highlands will be a bit expensive, it costs 20 RM. As for the drink, I actually buy only 3 bottles of water in this trip, apart from that, I do fill the water from the accommodation.

- Hotel – actually should call Hostel will be more correct. Our accommodation is not a bunk bed but it is a single room with shared bathroom, the price is more expensive that the bunk bed around 100bath and it costs around 300baht per night.

In my opinion, the cost of living in Malaysia is pretty close to what we spend in Thailand. The food is a bit more expensive except for Indian food which will cost rather expensive.

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Before we go on traveling, let's know a little bit more about Malaysia.

- Malaysia mainly consists of 2 parts which are West Malaysia (Malay Peninsula) and the other part is East Malaysia or Borneo Island. West Malaysia (Malay Peninsula) closes to the Southern part of Thailand, and we are going to travel in this area. East Malaysia or Borneo Island is the island that is divided with Indonesia. The nature of the forest is rather abundant. Even in the deep forest of Borneo Island, there is still Dayaks tribesman who performs headhunting culture live inside the forest and they won't make any contact with the outer world. The famous attraction here is Mount Kinabalu which is the highest mountain in Southeast Asia.

- Malaysia's capital city is Kuala Lumpur; it is the city that has a rapid growth in this region. Lonely Planet has presented Kuala Lumpur as the best place for traveling in Southeast Asia, as its cost is cheaper than Singapore, the variety is more over than Hanoi and it is easier to negotiate than Bangkok.

- The origin of this city is from the finding of tin mine of the Chinese, making the deep forest that full of Malaria had been become to Petronas Twin Tower within 150 years only.

- People here have 3 main races which are Chinese, Indian and Malay. The food is likewise. They will live in their own zones such as China Town will full with Chinese food, Little India which all the area is filled with the smell of spices and Malay's original community which is Kampung Baru.

- Sometimes these people with different races might have a little conflict among each other, thus, traveler should check news before traveling and avoid the red zone.

- The locals here speak Bahasa language and use English character in writing. Most of people here can speak English. Sometimes they even talk to me in Chinese and Malay.

- Since the area is close to the equator, thus, the temperature here is quiet humid and it rains all year long. In the afternoon, the sky will get dark with the rain cloud, so please check the weather forecast before traveling here. Dry Season is between June – August, however, during I was there, there are rain falling for 3 days.

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Let's start with our traveling story.

Day 1 : Bangkok - Putrajaya - Kuala Lumpur

This trip starts at Don Mueang Airport; we fly with Air Asia flight time 07:10 to Kuala Lumper. We arrive at the airport around 5am in the morning. It is a long weekend during this time, thus, there are a great number of people here. Luckily, we do online check-in before, hence, it takes us around one hour for loading baggage and the immigration process.

Once I get on board the aircraft, I switch off myself and then go to sleep mode right away. I wake up again when the aircraft has landed at the destination at 10.10am. Malaysia's time is faster than Thailand's time one hour. Our aircraft landed at KLIA2 which is the new airport of Malaysia. Inside the airport is decorated beautifully with the modern look. I am impressed with the restroom here, it's really awesome. The immigration process here will use the finger scan procedure, meaning, we just walk into the immigration channel, the officer will scan our passport and we just place the finger on the machine and it's all done. The process takes only around 3 minutes per person and it is rather fast, we could see that there is no queue line around the exit area.

The exterior of the terminal will be decorated with white tone and the blue windows.

After finish the immigration process, we are waiting for our baggage for quite some time (as we go out from the immigration quite fast). Next, we walk along the KLIA Express sign to catch the train to the town. You could easily observe the ticket counter which will be exactly opposite to Uniquio. There are 2 types of train which are Express and Transit train. Express train will head straight to KL Sentral. As for Transit train, it will stop along the way. Well, the price is also different. We buy Transit train ticket getting to Putrajaya city as we will take a visit there first. The train costs 6.2 RM per round and it is away from KLIA2 only 3 stations. The detail of KLIA Express is as follow link below: https://www.kliaekspres.com/plan-buy/fares-passes/

This is the waiting baggage area, the roof reflects the light from the pole which looks like stripes; I think the design looks interesting.

The fare table of KLIA Transit train.

The ticket is a hard paper card, using by scanning at the machine.

This is the route line that we would take. (Google calculates the time more than we actually take, have no idea how it calculates).

The train runs smoothly and silently, there is a clearly sound of announcement for the arrival station. Inside the train is spacious which makes our Airport link looks small somehow. At the beginning of the route, the scenery along the way would be a wide area of Palm trees and in a while, the train will get pass through the villages and small cities. It takes us approximately 30 minutes to reach at Putrajaya station.

The platform of Putrajaya station.

Going up from the platform, there is the leaving baggage point upstairs. It is baggage lockers with different sizes and the price will vary accordingly, small locker will cost 10RM, and large locker will cost 20RM. The large locker could easily fit two backpacks in it. To use the locker, firstly, we need to get the token by put 10RM or 20RM banknote into the machine beside the locker, please be aware to put the exact amount as the machine will not give change to you. Next, we need to find the locker that has the key on it (which means it is available), then put our stuffs in the locker, put the Token, close the door, twist the key to Close direction and keep the key with yourself.

From the locker, continue walking straight and there will be the direction sign telling the way to get on taxi or bus. There are cuisines and dessert shops along the way. There is the signboard showing the route of the bus at the platform, I plan to go to Putrajaya as I would like to visit Putra Mosque (Pink Mosque) which is the landmark place of this city and moreover, I would like to take a walk to see the buildings around that area. We get on the bus which showing the route to Putra Mosque and it is bus L08, the bus ticket costs 0.5RM each person and it takes approximately 10 minutes to our destination.

You can easily observe the route at the signboard. Moerover, there is an information desk upstairs, thus, should you have any question, you could go and ask them, their English is excellent.

From get off point, we could see Seri Wawasan Bridge that we just got across. Since the sun brilliant shines and it is quiet hot, thus, we take some rest to have lunch before.

At the downstairs from the point that we get off, there is Food Course with the river view located. The food here is a bit expensive at around 6.5 – 20 RM per order, and they offer Chinese, Indian and Western foods here. The highlight menu here is Mini Lobster which having a long waiting line. It kinds of Giant River Prawn at our hometown but its size is kind of huge, I don't take any picture of it as there are a lot of people there.

There is the Secret Recipe cuisine here as well.

It is an Indian food; they would eat by bare hand here.

Well, what are we going to have for this meal? Lobster? The queue is pretty long. Indian food? No spoon provided. Hamburger? A bit expensive. Finally, we end up eating Roasted Chicken with Rice and Steamed Chicken with Rice in Chinese cuisine, each order costs 6.5 RM (It is the cheapest price among that area). For those who would like to buy the drink, you better buy it at the shops in Putra Mosque as the price will be cheaper than outside shops. I buy one bottle of water outside and it costs me 2 RM while the shops in Putra Mosque sell 1 RM per bottle. Moreover, it is just only 100 meters distance walk away.

After finish our meal, we go walking by the river. There is the walkway to promenade around. You also could rent the boat floating in the river; there is a round table boat offer as well. Sometimes, Malaysia people will ride the small bicycle around the area too.

The walkway by the river, the bridge at the front is another bridge that could lead us to the Mosque as well.

We walk up to Putra Mosque, nevertheless, we still could not get inside now as the place is closed during 12.30pm-02.00pm for performing Islamic worship rites. I was there at 01.15pm, thus, I have to kill the time and promenade around in the hot weather. We take a walk back to the square direction and walk along the bridge to take some pictures of the Mosque from the far distance angle.

The weather at Putra Square at that moment is burning hot, I would say.

It would be too close to take the pictures of the Pink Putra Mosque from its entrance, thus, we need to walk back a little far away.

We could see Prime minister's office located at the other side.

Another capture of Seri Wawasan Bridge.

The building is brilliant colorful, however, it doesn't look as spectacular as the one in Russia. (I just recently went to Russia in April and it definitely could not compare with the building in Russia at all)

At two o'clock, the guard opens the gate and we already got into Putra Mosque. For ladies and gentlemen who wear shorts and the sandals, you need to put on the cloak which they offer for free of charge. I got the feelings as I am the witchcraft at Hogwarts School when wearing it. It is just only the weather of Hogwarts School, Malaysia campus is at late 30 to 40 degrees and wearing the cloak is kind of burning inside.

You could queue up to take the cloak here. Please try not to sweat too much as other people would continue to use the cloak after you.

Let's go to study a potion class in the witchcraft school.

Upon getting pass the gate to outside area, there is the corridor around the Mosque and the visitor need to take off the shoes before go up. You could also watch the view here but the scenery doesn't look as beautiful as the scenery by the river. There is a door of the Mosque for the visitor to visit inside, the visitor could walk around inside only a bit, but could not walk around as it could disturb the people who are praying at this place.

Inside the Mosque is also decorated with pink color with spectacular decorative design which looks just along with the color of the Mosque.

After finish visiting the place, we will take a bus again for the return route. We don't see the bus passes by at the get off point so we ask for the direction at Information Center which located around that area. They tell us to catch the bus at other bus stop which they say it is “Ten Minute Walk" away from here. With the extremely hot weather like this, walking ten minutes would make us burn like cooked pork.

This is the way to the bus stop.

Along the way, we walk pass the garden which has the cuisine inside. The atmosphere would be awesome if there is no burning sunshine.

The problem now is the bus that heading back to Putrajaya Sentral (P.Sentral) just rides pass us while we are walking to the bus stop and we need to wait another 30 minutes for the next bus. Hence, we have to wait in the hot weather like this at the platform. There will be the monitor screen showing the arrival time and the bus number that will arrive at the station and beside that there is the signboard showing the details of the bus route as well. Well, we will get back to P.Sentral, thus, we need to take bus no. L02, L07 and L10. And after almost 30 minutes of waiting, bus no. L02 with indicating P.Sentral at the front is riding toward the station; it takes approximately 20 minutes driving to P.Sentral. Upon arrival, we head to take our baggage at the locker and catch KLIA Transit train travelling to KL Sentral, the ticket to KL Sentral costs 9.5 RM and when plus the ticket price from KLIA2, the total price will cost 15.7 RM which is half price cheaper than travelling straight from KLIA2 to KL Sentral.

And now, it is time to explore Kuala Lumpur city.

KL Sentral will connect to the metro or LRC with the clearly direction sign. The ticket price of LRC will be calculated according the number of the station you take. The price starts at 1 RM. We will head to our accommodation first and we choose to stay near LRC Masjid Jamek as it is the junction of two train lines that could travel to KL Tower (Dang Wangi), Petronas Twin Towers (KLCC) and the bus terminal, Puduraya (Plaza Rakyat). Moreover, it is located near to Central Market which is the old town area of Kuala Lumpur and China Town as well.

This is the ticket machine and the environment around. The ticket is a coin alike MRT at our hometown.

This is the scenery on the train, sometimes the train will go up above and then get down into the ground.

Our accommodation is called Submarine Guesthouse, the room costs 60RM per night for two people. We have booked the room from Booking.com website. However, I think the walk-in price would be cheaper as from my observation, the room price around the area starts at 40RM.

It is pretty easy to get here. From LRC, walk along the alley around 10 minutes then you will find the place. There is the light along the way so the walk way is not desolated. The good point is that it is located next to Central Market and situated opposite to Kuala Lumpur Bangkok Bank's head office which you could easily find the location in the map. Our room is air-conditioned room with Free Wifi and small towels provided. The bad point would be the bathroom which is a bit small and there is a loud noise inside; if you get the room at the outside part, you would hear the sound of the across signal all night long.

The hotel link>> http://booking.com/b06a626c4b9c02ba

The road leading to the accommodation.

Walk until the bending archway at the end of the road, then turn left.

The opposite side is Bangkok Bank, the area is just awesome.

The condition of the accommodation overall looks like a normal hostel. The bad point is just the small size bathroom.

After finish keeping our stuff, we will go to reserve the ticket for travelling to Cameron Highlands tomorrow morning. After we leave our accommodation, we take a walk around Central Market and take some photos of Masjid Jamek from LRC a bit, the light is just beautiful but the sky is getting dark a little bit now.

We choose to travel to Cameron Highlands from Puduraya bus terminal. To get to Puduraya, we will start from hop in LRC orange line from Masjid Jamek station to Plaza Rayak station which is only one station away. The way up is at another side of the road, you should carefully look up for the destination station as well. Upon reaching at Plaza Rayak station, then follow the sign to Puduraya. There would be a narrow walkway and go down the stairs, then make a right turn to exit. The place would be similar to the parking lot and there would be a way to get into the building. The floor that we enter would be a floor to go down to the platform which there wouldn't have ticket counter. You could turn right and continue walking for a while; you will see the ticket counter sign. Walk along the sign, it would lead us to the upper floor which there would be a lot of counters like what we have at our hometown bus terminal. Along the way, there would be ticket boys ask us where are we going. Well, if you don't want to find the bus company by yourself, you could have the ticket boys leading you the way to buy ticket, however, you could just only buy the ticket of their companies.

The blue roof in the picture is the walk way to Puduraya.

The ticket to Cameron costs 35 RM, the price might be cheaper depending on each company. At first, I plan to travel with Untiti Express as I have heard that their bus is quite good and right on time. However, we could not find their counter, thus, we ask the ticket boys for the direction but they lead us to another company which the travel cost to Cameron Highlands is around 55 RM which is 20RM more expensive than what we expected, therefore, we tell them that we will travel with Untiti Express as they have cheaper price. When hearing that, they give us discount price right away and tell us that the service is all the same. I would have to agree with them as from what we experienced from observing the ticket counters here; all the details and the information are all the same which the bus leaves at 8.30am and the ticket costs 35 RM. Furthermore, the condition of the bus is kind of similar as well. At last, we end up using the service of Alison Golden Coach. The reason is that their front counter has Thai language and the officer at the ticket counter could also speak Thai which he informs us about the point to wait for the bus, the time that the bus arrives and the plate number of the bus. In addition, the bus ride is pretty nice, the air conditioner is great and the seating area is spacious with only three seats per row, however, there is a little noise at the seats near the driver, I think it may cause from the opened window.

You could see the time table from this link>> http://www.alisangoldencoach.com.my/

When we finish buying our tickets, we take the LRC Red Line to Dang Wangi station to KL Tower or Menara KL. I plan to go to the Open Desk to see the sunset, hence, it turns out that the rain suddenly pours down heavily. Therefore, I think in this condition, it is not likely to see anything there. We have to cancel this program, so sad. I'll be back again then.

We take a chance to ride the train to the Petronas Twin Tower at KLCC station, we plan that if the rain is still falling hard we could walk in the department store first. Luckily, the rain stops at that time, thus, we go out to take pictures of the building. We walk along the edge of the building to the back area; there would be a fountain which will have a fountain show from time to time. You could notice, if there are more people gathering around the area that means the show will begin soon. It is the musical fountain show which is very spectacular. After that, we go to the garden at the back area to take some pictures, we stay there for a while and then head back as it is already late at night now.

The spot where I take a photo.

To look up, my neck starts to hurt, I would say.

I do not plan to go up to the Skybridge at the top of the Petronas Towers because I prefer to have a view of Petronas Twin Towers in my picture, thus, I decide to go to KL Tower instead. For those who would like to visit The Skybridge, you have to book a ticket in advance at the Petronas Twin Towers early in the morning because they are limited to a certain number of visitors each day. Ticket will be running out since morning, and the visitors who have got the ticket could visit the place at any time of the day.

For those who have time and would like to see the best views of Petronas Twin Towers, I would recommend you guys to go to the Sky Bar of Trader Hotel which is located just opposite the Petronas Twin Towers. The scenery is spectacular as its location is perfectly next to the Twin Towers which has been recommended by Trip Adviser >> http://www.shangri-la.com/kualalumpur/traders/dining/

From KLCC, we take a long ride train back to Musjid Jamek to our hotel. Near our hotel, there is 7-11 convenience store which opens 24 hours to buy something to eat at late night (But there are no beer selling here) and there are many homeless here at late night time. They would sleep on a bench and in the front of big buildings, please be careful if you travel alone and do not walk to the isolate street alone.

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Day 2 : Kuala Lumpur - Cameron Highlands

Today we wake up early, pack our baggage and check-out since 07.00am. Then we go to have breakfast around Masjid Jamek. There are the shop opens for working people, the food is mainly Indian food. And in the front of LRC also have a lot of food selling on the street to do a take out.

We head to Puduraya for catching a bus to travel across the city to Cameron Highlands. There is the restroom provided at Pudataya but it is not quite good and you need to pay 0.3RM. We head to Puduraya for catching a bus to travel across the city to Cameron Highlands. There is the restroom provided at Pudataya but it is not quite good and you need to pay 0.3RM as well. In the morning, there would not be any food selling here just only a small convenience store for sandwich or burger.

Our bus parks at the platform 20minutes ahead of time and the bus condition is according to the picture below, it is the air-conditioning bus with 3 seats in one row. The seat is pretty comfortable; however, there is no toilet on the bus. Therefore, you should do the business here before as the journey will take around 4 hours. The bus departs late for 10 minutes and there are only a little people in the bus, not even half of the bus. I think it might be because it is the weekday's morning.

At the beginning when the bus takes off from Kuala Lumpur city, you would see small towns and farms alternately along the way. After 2 hours on the bus, the landscape will change from the plain area to the steep way up to the mountain and it is bad for those who are easily getting dizzy from the ride . During 2 hours from now, lots of stuff and shoes that place on the floor will move to the entire place when the bus takes the turns. There are a lot of winding way in this area that the bus would meanders most of the time.

This is the outskirt area of Kuala Lumpur. I didn't take any picture while the bus meanders on the winding road as I have to hold down to the handrails. Lol

We are close to our destination. Yeah!!

After we experience the amusement and the scary parts from our ride just now, we eventually have reach Tanah rata town which is the front door to Cameron Highlands city.

Cameron Highlands city is not a big city as there is only one main street in the city. The restaurant and hotel also are located near that street. The bus takes us to a transport station. From here, just cross the road, we would see a lot of accommodation and restaurant and if you would like to buy the bus ticket to other places, you could buy it from here as well. Thus, we did buy the ticket for the trip to Penang in the next day. I bought the ticket from CS Travel and it costs 35RM (but the ticket counter shown different company). The destination we will get off is at Jetty in George Town. Actually, other companies' tickets cost only 32RM but they all already sold out. After that, we wait for the Taxi for travelling to Brinchang city which is the second largest township of Cameron Highlands and it is the area where Snooze Hotel which is our accommodation for tonight is located.

Map of Cameron Highlands.

Tanah Rata town.

Taxi point would have the blue color sign which clearly indicated price timetable.

The taxi here do not have a meter to calculate the price, however, the price rate would be clearly shown on the sign instead. Going to Brinchang will cost around 10 RM, and it costs 25RM per hour for taking you on the trip which you need to hire at least 3 hours, moreover, this price rate would exclude going up to the top of Brinchang Mountain. We hire the car to Brinchang town and it takes us around 20 minute. The driver drops us at the taxi stop of the town. From that point, just go across the street, and then we will reach Snooze hotel which there are the obvious signboard to notice.

The area of Brinchang city is similar to Tanah Rata city which only 20 minutes walk would be all around the city. However, Brinchang city is more crowded than Tanah rata city because this city is the gateway to visit many attractions; therefore, there would be lots of car all day. Even though there is a single lane road cutting through, I still have a feeling that it kinds of difficult to cross the street here. For those who would like to stay in a tranquil city, you better stay at Tanah Rata city which also has more tour companies located.

This is map of Brinchang town; you could just take only 15 minutes to walk all around the town. The marking spot on the map is our accommodation and surrounding area would be the hotels and restaurants as well.

Now, it is only afternoon and we still could not do the check-in, therefore, we have to place our luggage at the hotel before. We also ask about the Half Day Tour information for this evening, however, the hotel's Half Day Tour program is already full. Therefore, they suggest us to go across the street to another tour company called Titiwangsa. The salesperson could speak a little Thai and seems rather generous.

We buy the tour which includes Bee Farm Butterfly Farm & Insect Garden (personal expense for the entrance fee), Rose Farm and Sam Poh Temple and we would add the trip to BOH Tea Plantation in the plan (cost 10RM additional), the total price per person costs 35RM+ VAT 6% which will be 37.1RM. It is considerably expensive as the normal price is just only 25RM, however, we don't have much choices as other tour companies that we have contacted are fully booked and the time is quite rush as we will spend the time here only a day and a half.

We meet with the driver in front of the tour company. The vehicle that will drive us to the destination is a van which looks quite old and the driver can speak English but he doesn't talk much. First destination that we are going to is BOH Tea Plantation which the driver will stop the car for us at 2 points, first stop is the scenic spot along the way and another stop is Tea factory and the shop that has the view point in the area. It was raining all the time during the afternoon, the sky is dark and completely white which is really not the good aspect for the photographer. However, we are lucky enough that the rain is not falling hard and we could still get off from the car.

Our car is white color with the green stripe on it. Actually, most of the public van in Malaysia would look like this.

This is the view at the scenic point along the side of the roadway. The light is not good at all.;__;

For the Tea factory, it would take only 5 minutes to explore all the area inside. They would take us to see all the making process which would start from crushing the tea leaves, baking it, then separating and checking on the quality. On another side of the factory, you would come across a museum telling the history of this place. And next to that, you will find a souvenir shop selling many kinds of tea such as dried leaves tea and 3-in-1 instant tea. We walk to the last part of the place which is the cafe that has the best views here. You could order tea and cakes here as well. This is the popular spot where the tourists come to take the photos.

Start from putting the fresh tea leaves into the Rolling machine.

Then crush the tea leaves and bake in the oven. We could not see inside the sorting room as they place a lot of papers on the window. However, the main process is to remove the branch and separate the Tea grade by their sizes.

The shearing machine to cut the tea shoots, I think it looks like a wooden saw.

With the spectacular view here, I feel this place is a dream tea café for me.

This is the outside views which you could walk down to the field below as well.

Let's chill out for a while.

We take the picture of the tea plantation from the scenic point and taste some tea and dessert. Actually, we would like to buy some souvenir before we leave, however, a driver has call us to get back to the car already. Then, we continue travelling to Bee Farm, there is nothing much to see here. It is the building that selling the honey products and there will be the short attractive path way at the below floor. Along the way, there are the beehive boxes and the huge size of bee models place around the area. The point is the rain is falling down so hard that we just take only a while inside.

This is the souvenir shop which mostly sells the products from honey.

I think these models look kind of scary during the night time.

There are many species of flower inside which are the food of the bees.

Wet bees.

Next destination is the Butterfly Farm & Insect Garden which the visitors need to pay 5 RM additional for the ticket. However, if you do not visit inside, you could go to a cactus shop and gift shop upstairs instead. At first, we are reluctant to go inside or not, however, it seems huge inside so we give it a try. After going inside, it is kind of worth paying for the fee actually. The butterfly farm is considerably large and apart from the butterfly, you could find the snakes and many kinds of lizard. Each animal would have reaction with people for example some snakes will come to you or the lizards would climb around their cages. There are also some exotic insects such as Rhinoceros Beetles, Stag Beetles, Long Horn Beetles, Stick and Leaf insects, scorpions which they all are large in size and have good health. (Except the scorpion which looks a bit strange). At behind area, there is also a flower garden with has chicken, birds, rabbits and Guinea Pig inside.

These are the Cactus area. The weather condition here is rather humid; however, the farm is full of cactus. Very surprising.

The Butterfly Zone. There will be a separate cage for the pupa.

I think, the butterfly here might be the same species as in our hometown but it seems far a lot more and larger in size. There would be a staff comes and teaches us how to catch them.

A Stag Beetle.

Oriental Whipsnake.

Do you know what is this animal and where is it?

For the reptiles, you would have to look a little close up.

After leaving Butterfly Farm, we then head straight to Strawberry Farm. Since the rain hasn't stop, thus, people who come with us don't want to get off from the car. Here, they plant strawberry in glass house; moreover, there is the activity for tourist to pick the strawberry. You could weigh the strawberry and pay for the amount you have picked.

We don't pick the strawberry so we could only walk only 4 rows of planting plots and it takes us just approximately 10 minutes here.

We could only walk until this area, unless we need to go picking the strawberry.

It is quiet brilliant idea planting the plant on the shelf that they won't have to bend down to look at the plant.

The mist starts to flow by at the outside scenery.

The next place that we are going to is Rose Farm which the entrance fee costs 5 RM. I have a peek inside and it seems small, therefore, we will skip this place. I see other people skip this place like us as well. We stay around for a little; however, the view of the village is rather beautiful.

According to the plan, actually the driver would stop for us at the Kea Farm which is a regular market that selling fruits, vegetables and souvenirs, however, it rains pretty hard again at that time. Consequently, no one would like to walk there so the driver takes us to the last place which is Sam Poh temple instead.

Sam Poh temple is a Chinese temple which is not large. At the time, the monks are performing the rituals, thus, we just have to wait outside.

In front of the temple, there are Chinese Gods statues to pay a respect; the size is almost the same as the main pagoda size in our hometown.

After heading out from the temple, the driver takes us back to the same place which is at the front of the tour office. It is around 5pm in the evening and every store seems to close all their lights. In the beginning, I thought it is all about the Go Green campaign saving light or something but actually, it was the rain that makes the blackout in the city. The people said the light went out pretty often here. Therefore, if we go up to the tea plantation, we won't have any tea to drink because there would be no boiled water anyway. Well, our hotel also does not have any lights; they do put the candle along the walkway instead.

We take some rest only a while and then go out for a walk to look for some tour program for tomorrow. At first, we plan to watch the sunrise at the top of Brinchang Mountain, but there are some problem as the tour company that we used before is pretty expensive, they cost us 65 RM for a tour program to Brinchang Mountain which they will take us to just only the hilltop area of Brinchang Mountain. Furthermore, other tour companies would not go as they predict that it would be raining in the morning and the visitor also could not see any good scenery under this weather condition. I also agree with them as it rains almost all day today as well.

Since we could not find any tour, so we try to deal and bargain with the taxi instead if we would like to go up to the peak at the Missy Forest and Tea Plantation in the morning how much would it cost. Finally, the taxi offers us around 150 RM which if we come with a group of people it would be worth it. However, we have only two persons so it would be more expensive than the tour.

We continue to ask several tour companies about the tour program but they inform us that the Sunrise Tour will not be opened due to the frequent rain. At last, we have to choose a normal morning tour instead which would go exactly to the same destination; however, the tour would start at nine o'clock in the morning instead and it would finish around 1pm which we could have enough time to catch a bus to Penang. The tour price ranges would be from 40-70 RM, however, most of the tours that offer the cheaper price are already full, thus, we take one tour named Cameron Vocation; the price is at 60 RM and the tour will pick us up at the hotel. On the return leg, the tour bus will drop us at Tanah rata bus station.

The recommend for the accommodation, if you do not drive the car by yourselves then I would suggest you to stay at Tanah Rata because there are many wide selection of accommodations and restaurants than in Brinchang which has less shops and more crowded. The good thing at Brinchang is a Night Market which opens on Saturday - Sunday. However, you could also take a taxi in the evening from Tanah Rata for just 10 RM or walk to the market as the distance is not far at all.

Around Brinchang town.

After I am done booking with the tour and now it's time for dinner. The popular dish at Cameron Highlands is a Steamboat, a traditional Chinese hotpot which we also have this kind of menu in Thailand as well. The highlight of the hotpot is that it has a high chimney attached to it. Here, they sells steamboat at every cuisine and the price are the same around 20 RM per person. In the menu, you will have vegetable set, meat ball, chicken, fish, crispy squid, egg and the noodles. Quite a big portion of food.

This is rather a long chimney.

This meal is delicious and I really enjoy it.

After finished the meal, we went to have a little walk. The rain already stopped but the weather is getting cold. At noon, the temperature is around 18 degrees, but in the evening, I think the weather drops to 15-16 degrees, it is quite a pleasant weather for me. At the opposite side of the hotel we are staying, there is a shop that selling most of the things, if you need anything you could get it there for sure. There are import beer selling there as well, the one I like is Guiness beer which they also have as well. Then we get back to the hotel to pack our belongings because we have to check out tomorrow during the early morning.

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Day 3: Cameron Highlands - George Town,Penang

This morning plan is that we will go to the top of Brinchang Mountain. The vehicle would pick us up at 9am. The vehicle looks like the one we travelled with yesterday but added up one more railing inside to grab while the car takes turn. Our Chinese driver looks kind and he seems also like a tour guide as he explains the information to us along the way which I think it is so much better than our yesterday's tour. The driver we travelled with yesterday, he just drives us to the place with no talking at all. Today, it's just our group in the tour, therefore, it is like a private tour actually so we ask the driver to cut off some places that we have been already for example the Bee Farm and the Butterfly Farm and switch to the Time Tunnel instead. The time is also flexible, just up to us.

The way up to Peak of Brinchang Mountain is the same way as BOH tea plantation. Though, we have to make a turn before reaching the parking lot. The way up is pretty steep and winding , however, at this point, you should be familiar with the winding road here already. The first spot, we stop to see the view at tea plantation. The scenery at this point is more beautiful than watch the view in the tea plantation and you could walk down to the field below as well. We feel delight for being here as the light is bright and spectacular during that time. We take quite a while here that I think the guide may feel confused as usually for normal group they just stay here for a short time but we are here for more than half an hour.

Finally, I think I have a good picture of this tea plantation, and I feel really awesome.

Then, we reach the top of the mountain and it seems like Doi Inthanon to me as there is no good view and you would find only the telephone electric-wire pole at the peak. Nonetheless, there's a small tower at the top for tourists to visit. The tower is not very high but it has narrow and steep stairs inside that only one person could go up per time. Thus, if there are lots of tourists traveling here, they have to wait in a queue for a long time. The view up there is quite common and it could not compare with the view of tea plantation we have just visited. Moreover, at the tea plantation, we could also see the valley at below area through the hills.

After going down from the peak, our next destination is Mossy Forest. The driver tells that he will take us to do trekking on a more nature route as the regular trekking route at the Mossy Forest is a wooden walkway through the forest which provides for the children and the senior, therefore, it's not that much natural nowadays.

The entrance is a small walkway located before the entrance of the Mossy Forest. The walk way is not so clear that the guide need to lead us the way. Moreover, the ground is also muddy and slippery because there are mosses grow all around from the ground to the top of the trees. We walk on the moss and the falling leaves and they stuck on our shoes while we are stepping. Thus, I would recommend you all to wear sneaker. In the forest, the main attraction is the mosses which attached to the trees, making the forest looks like a green velvet carpet. The guide suggests us few spots for photo shoot as well.

This is our generous guide.

He points out to us where should we stand and where should the photographer be.

It's a very precise angle.

Huge Monkey Pod tree.

This is the entrance path, the way back is packed with people. Luckily, we came before them.

Actually, the tour program here has a day tour for sightseeing to the Rafflesia as well, thus, anyone that have a whole day to spend here, you should consider this offer. I guess that the Rafflesia here should be bigger than those in our hometown (Khao Sok National Park), I guess from the size of cucumber we have with our Chicken Rice. Lol

By the time we are heading out of the woods, our shoes are covered with mud. We take a short ride and in a bit we find the entrance of the Mossy Forest. Nonetheless, we just pass it as we have to catch another bus in the evening. Along the way down the hill, there are foreigners hitchhiking and ask for a ride. They walk up the hill from the village downstairs along the hiking route which takes approximately three hours walk. They are kind of exhausted; therefore, they ask us to drop them at the tea plantation. These two foreigners are from Holland and they have already visited Thailand and Malaysia for about 3 weeks now. They travel to Thailand just only in the main city, Bangkok. They give us a clear definition of Bangkok, “Traffic Jam" (Well!! You guys should go to Jakarta to see the real traffic).

Today the atmosphere and the light at the tea plantation are better than yesterday as we could see some bright sky. Today, we have a lot of time to walk around, including going down to the village. We could go on more details this time and we also grab some tea for souvenir as well. The tea here is not expensive and there are many types of them for example tea leaves or tea bags to choose from and they also have Earl grey, Passion Fruit and many more, Moreover, they also have some interesting products such as 3-in-1 tea mixed with coffee.

This picture is taken from the villager's farm next to the cafe, just walk a little further.

From around the store, we could walk down to below area as well.

Down below, we continue walking until we have reached the opposite side of the café.

Then we reach our final destination in Cameron Highlands which is the Time Tunnel. It is the museum where the ancient pieces of this area are collected. Actually you could use the word “Pile" for their arrangement of those antique things inside. Most of the things are like what we have in Thailand as well and Chinese things are apparently popular in the recent periods. The admission fee costs 5 RM here. Besides the antiques, they also exhibit the history of this place since the British explorer, William Cameron, who discovered this place and this is why they called this place, Cameron Highlands. They also tell the story of Jim Thomson, the king of silk who live and end his life here. They said that in the morning of some day in the past, someone saw him walking into the forest and he never came back again. The searching teams try to find him for months, unfortunately no luck. (They even said that they use the best of the best team to search for Jim. Moreover, they have the fortune teller and many more to find him as well). Nowadays, it is still mysterious how he disappeared. The cottage that he stayed before he's gone is opened as a tourist attraction which called Moonlight Cottage; anyone who has time could come and check it out. I think it's really great.

Tell the history from the early periods.

The antiques that have been kept here.

I also have some kind of them on my work table.

Authentic traditional Chinese style.

Where is Uncle Jim??? We just miss you.

We go out from the Time Tunnel very quickly; then our guide takes us down to Tanah Rata and drops us at the tour bus company. He also contacts the staff to keep our luggage for we could take a walk and chill around during waiting and then we say a quick goodbye to our guide. The guide really takes a very good care of us. Actually, when we were on top of the mountain, we met with a Thai guy as he was talking to our driver. He heard us talking in Thai, so he greets us back. Then we have learned that he is the head of this tour agent and our driver best old buddy. The company own by Thai people. Lastly, before we depart, he also tells the driver to take good care of us which it is very generous of him and we are very grateful for that.

We just go out for lunch around the area and come back to wait for the bus. The bus would pick us up around 02.30pm but it comes a bit late today. However, the actual time that the bus really leaves Cameron Highlands is around 3pm as it has to pick other people from the hotels as well. The way back is another route from where we came earlier. The driver would drive pass peak of Brinchang to the other side of the mountain and the route is also full of winding roads as usual. The seat is really uncomfortable and the bus parks really often. By the time we have to cross the island, it is so traffic jam. It might be because today is the last Friday of the month, thus, it is pretty crowded (I guess).

Finally, we reach George Town by 8.30pm and that will be total of six hours travelling on the bus. The bus would stop at the Butterworth station first and most people would get off here. Next station is at Penang (s.nibong) and George Town at Jetty respectively.

From the point that the bus drops us, it is around a kilometer away from our hotel. Therefore, we carry our bags and walk to the hotel along the street called Lebuh Chulia. We walk pass the Little India area which has a famous Indian cuisine called “Kapitan" with the big sign board in the front. Not so far away, we would came across the China town area which is similar to our China town in Thailand and the popular dish in this area is WanTan Mee.

Our accommodation tonight is called Malabar Inn, its take a while to reach here and we are exhausted. The owner is a Chinese Malaysian who is very generous; he also recommends us many good foods. The hotel is a renovated hotel which has a mixed between the renovated area and the old area. The guest room is alright and pretty clean.

You could pin the cuisine you like to try by using Mapme application, you could save the offline map in your phone first to look up later on.

- Kapitan's Restaurant, an Indian cuisine

- Wantan Mee (Chinese zone, like our Chinatown)

- Sky Restaurant is well know for Duck with Rice. Open at 11:30am to 02:00pm only.

- Toh Soon Cafe, a popular coffee shop in George Town. Sell coffee, boiled eggs and custard bread (Open 8:00am but the place will start to get crowded around 07.30am).

- Red Garden (International Food Court and Live music)

- Morning Market

- Night Market walking street (Not so much food).

At this time, I am so hungry. After done with our baggage, we immediately rush out to find something to eat at the Red Garden which looks like a food court and the place is recommended by the hostel owner. The place is not far from our accommodation. The food here offers “Around the World" foods as they have Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Italian and American foods. Moreover, they also have live music and the beer girls (only one beer girl) as well. Here, we would go and order and then tell our table number to them, they would serve us the dishes at our table and collect money.

After finish our meal, we go back to the hotel and fall asleep immediately. I would suggest that if anyone would like to go to Penang from Cameron Highlands, you guys should leave in the morning as from our experience we should reach George Town around 7pm, but we actually spent more time before leaving Cameron Highlands and face some traffic at Butterworth. That's why we are very delay.

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Day 4 : George Town

Today's plan is have a breakfast and coffee at Toh Soon Café. Then take a walk at morning market and take a ride to visit Penang Hill and Kek Lok Si Temple and then return to travel in George Town.

We take off from the accommodation around 7am and take a walk to the coffee shop first. However, the shop hasn't opened yet. (Opening time approximately 7.40am) Therefore, we go for a walk at the morning market first while waiting for the coffee shop to open. The morning market here is just like Chinatown market in our hometown as this area mostly is the Chinese community. This market sells things from fresh seafood to the water filter, almost everything.

They also have a tricycle ride here as well. The foreigners like to ride them and wonder around the town.

After finish walking at the market, we head back to the coffee shop which is open to service and already packed with people. We have to share table with other customers and we order Half Boiled Egg, Egg on Toast and Custard with Bread.

After finish eating, we head to the bus terminal under the Komtar building. When you have reached the building, walk along the street that the bus runs, then you will see the bus platform inside. There would be LCD monitor clearly shows which platform you could take and when the bus would come. We will go to Penang Hill or Bukit Bendera in Malay which we will take a bus no. 204 for a ride till the end of the line. It takes about 30-40 minutes journey and the bus will stop at the front of tram ticket counter.

There are few seats available at the platform.

The scheduled time board.

If you see this monument, meaning that you are close to the destination already.

Round trip tram tickets for the foreigner would cost 30 RM. We need to wait in a tram line for about 15 minutes and for those who would like to see a clear view, you should sit at the front part or at the last part of the tram, the view would be splendid and you would feel a little thrilled as the tram is a bit speedy. When we reach at the top, there is a long walkway to walk along and watch the view; moreover, there are also an owl museum which the admission fee costs about 12 RM, the balcony for the couples to lock their key together and a Hindu Temple.

The binoculars, if you want to use you have to insert 1 RM bill into the machine.

The below area of this square is located restaurants and owl museum. Upstairs is a balcony for the couples to do the key lock.

A great number of key lock.

During that time, it is pretty foggy so I could see only a little view there. In a bit, there are a cloudy sign of rain. Thus, I hurried to go down as I have to visit the Kek Lok Si Temple next.

This picture, I use the Lightroom function to bring up the details already; the real one seems like a white paper.

The scenery at the back area is really good; it feels like you are on a roller coaster ride.

From Penang Hill to Kek Lok Si Temple, you could choose either take the bus no. 204 or walk there. I have asked the information center and they say that it would take just around 20 minutes walk to the place, thus, I choose to walk. I have to walk back from the way the bus takes us here. From Penang Hill, you will see the roundabout that have the tank parked there, turn right and go straight until you see the temple in front of you.

The Catholic Church is on the way. It has a strange shape.

The temple is not so far away now.

The walkway to the temple is quite narrow; please try to look to the path that has a lot people walk on the way. There would be a “For Bus" sign which is actually a parking spot. Therefore, do not walk that way. The way to the temple would pass through the crowded market that you have to squeeze with the people who come to shop at the market. However, when you almost reach the exit of the market, then there will be lesser people and there would be a sign to the temple. If you do not want to walk pass the market, actually you could walk along the road but the distance would be longer and very hot as it is the road up to the hill.

This is the entrance, there would be no sign to clearly indicate the place but you will see a lot of people walking inside.

It is quite crowded like Chatuchak Market in Thailand.

Walking a little further, then we found the sign to the temple. Now, I feel relieved as I worried that I would get the wrong way.

Before we reach the temple, we will walk pass the turtle pond and vegetarian restaurant. Kek Lok Si Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia and the main highlight is “The Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas". The Pagoda has both of the Theravada and Mahayana art which consists of more than 10,000 Buddha stone statutes. The base of the pagoda is in Chinese architecture, the body in Thai style and the top of the pagoda is in Myanmar style. Therefore, the pagoda is a mixture of various styles of art, I would say. Another highlight is the Guan Yin Statue which situated on top of the hill and you can take the elevator to get there. Each ride costs 3 RM or you could walk up the hill along the way which will take approximately half an hour. When we visit inside the temple, the rain starts to fall; therefore, we stuck in the temple quite a while.

There are many chapels located inside the temple and most of them are in Chinese art.

Over ten thousand of Buddha stone statues are situated on each floor of the pagoda.

We would see all the area of the Penang Island here. I am wondering that if there is a clear sky at Penang Hill how much the beautiful scenery will that be.

The temple area when viewing from the top of the pagoda.

Is it the elevator or tram? Going up to the Guan Yin statue, I do not know what is this called, it looks like a tram but inside it's like the elevator.

Guan Yin statue looks very stunning.

Let me take the panorama picture of the island.><

When the rain stops, we continue walking around the area and then go down to head back to downtown George Town. Just take the bus that has the destination to Komtar or Jetty either of them. For me, I take bus no. 504 as I initially plan to get off at Jetty for some meal and then walk to Fort Cornwallis later, however, it turns out that the bus has passed Fort Cornwallis so I get off at the Fort right away.

Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower is in the front of Fort Cornwallis which is one of the famous landmarks in George Town.

There is the admission fee for 20 RM at the Fort Cornwallis. I think for a long time whether I should visit inside or not. However, since the hotel recommends us to visit the place and we are so impressed with the Butterfly Garden which the area inside is kind of big and it is quite worth the ticket price, thus, I decide to visit inside the Fort. Nevertheless, for those who will follow the review, I would suggest that you better skip the place as 90% of the area inside is just a lawn and a little bit of a place to take pictures. The museum inside is just a small room size which located under the Fort and display the replica of the cannon which is covered in the mirror display. There are approximately 10 forts, thus, it is said that there are like 10 museums inside. Overall, there are some cannons, the spar and the storage room of the cannon balls (which it actually is the empty room). I feel like got cheated somehow. Nevertheless, I complain with the person who does the survey of the tourists already. I would say it is not worth for the money you pay at all. Again don't go inside. Though, the great things that we could learn from the place are that we get to know a little history of the George Town and history of Captain Francis Light who came to colonize the city. Moreover, we also learn that the British soldiers who are positioned here have died of malaria and we also could witness the Penang Tree which becomes the name of this island.

It is an open yard with shady trees. This picture shows the whole area of the Fort, the rest will be the remaining walls.

The spar, you could walk to get a closer look.

A small cannon.

Captain Francis Light and Penang Tree.

Next to the Fort, there is a food court which we would going to have a meal there. There are variety of foods like Chinese, Indian and Western food to choose from. Another side of the food court is an open yard called the Esplanade which is a place where the exhibits of this town are held. At that time, there is the exhibit of Transformer Art which is a small exhibit with the robot display. Moreover, there is sound and light show at night too (I heard of it but I don't know actually as I didn't see). Moreover, they also have the imitation pictures of Street Art by painting the Transformer robot characters in George Town lifestyle.

I intentionally get off at the bus stop which is located beyond the Fort. Then, I walk back to the clock tower direction and pass through the Fort to the Food court. After that, I walk to passage along the sea. Then turn into the yard at the front of the Esplanade and walk back down to the main road.

At the Esplanade, there will be a passage along the sea. Well, I don't see they have a beach here.

A giant robot. Lots of kids are here.

The Street Art decorated on the container.

Toh Soon Café in Transformer edition.

Let's pose like the famous “Kids Riding on a Bike" Street Art of Penang city.

Next, I walk along the road opposite the yard to head straight to the Peranakan Mansion. It is the original home of Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee, the person who used to rule Penang city. At present, the house and its belonging are still kept in the same condition as like the time of this house has been stopped at the old days. I quite like it here because of the traditional Chinese style house that blends harmoniously with the Eastern culture. Furthermore, there are plenty things to see including ancient objects and I think it quite worth 21.1 RM ticket fee. At first, there would be a tour guide briefing each room to the visitor as well.

It is the Chinese house style with the design of an open air area in the middle with the balcony.

There are the antique displays here as well. In the picture is the collection of multicolored lamps of the house owner.

There would be a guide to explain the information of various parts in the house.

Chinese room style decorated with European sculptures.

The rear area is a garden where it would be very pleasant place to do the reading.

Apart from the house, there is a museum part which is divided in two sections. One of them is an exhibition which displays shoe, curtain, the Qi Pao and Chinese traditional wedding dress which is decorated with rabbit fur and gold pattern. Another part is a storehouse of various jewels and gems. This section is prohibited for photography.

When we are satisfied with what we have just seen; now it is time for the Street Art in George Town. We have taken the map from our hotel but for those who do not have a map, you could just simply walk around the alley and if you spot the crowded area, you just walk in as there would definitely be a spot of street art for sure. The interesting one would definitely be more crowded than other. The most popular Street Art is the one that kids riding on a bike which is at the Night Market area, you could easily spot it as there are people surrounding at the place all the times.

The Map of the Street Art >> https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zfP8JNnik...

On the way, you will go through a little bit of the Little India. I could hear loud sound of Indian music and smell of pungent spices which are drifted in the air.

Street Art would be hidden along the alleys. I do not suggest you guys to walk during the night time as the path are quite isolated.

I think I just saw the fake one, do you notice it? LoL.

Along the Street Art area, you will also see the temple located nearby as well for example Khoo Kongsi, Cheah Kongsi and Kapitan Keling Mosque. If you are staying in the area, it would be very convenience to walk around; however, it is a bit far away from eating places.

Cheah Kongsi Temple

Kapitan Keling Mosque

When we walk around all the Street Art places, the next destination to go is the Night Market to find something to eat and buy some souvenirs. Overall, the Night Market is just like walking street in Thailand. They even play Thai song of Sek Loso, and there are not much stuff selling here only things like keychain and shirt.

We buy an Ice-Ball to taste; it is a Shaved Ice-Ball costs 3 RM each. Inside the Ice-Ball, they put a plum in the middle and then pour some syrup on it. When you eat, you would have to suck the Ice-Ball until you reach the plum in the middle. Most of the children like it as I see most of them buy it as well.

After walk for a while at the Night Market, then we head to find something to eat for dinner. At first, we want to eat at the night market, however, they sells snack mostly so we change our mind and head back to Lebuh Chulia Street to eat Wan Tan Mee which is the recommended dish in George Town.

Actually, it is like Red Pork Noodles in Thailand, the different thing here is the additional black sauce. The taste is pretty good; however, I do like the noodles in our China Town more. I order lemon tea to drink but it is very tasteless like a tap water. And I think it's tasteless like lemon tea in Hong Kong.

When we finish the meal, it is time to head back and pack our bag preparing to return back to Thailand tomorrow morning. We book a van from KST Travel from Hat Yai to pick us up in front of the hotel to return back to Hat Yai. The van would pick us at 8:15am (Malaysia Time) and will reach Hat yai around noon (Thailand time).

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Day 5 : Penang - Hat Yai

The van comes a little early than the appointed time. The driver as well as all the passengers in the van are Thai. The van would pick the passenger up at their accommodation as inform in advance in the booking. The van would take us across the bridge from the island of Penang and entrance Thailand at the Padang Besar.

The van would stop 3 times; first time for some rest to do the shopping and a restroom. Second time will stop at the gateway out of Malaysia, we have to walk to cross the checkpoint by using just a passport. The third time the van will stop is at the arrival port to Thailand; at this point, we need to use the Arrival Card that we get when we first depart from Thailand. Please fill up all the information and when we reach the custom, you should tell them that you depart Thailand by plane as it would be faster. When it comes to my turn, the officer is really confused with me for some time as normally most of Thai people would travel round trip and have both Arrival and Departure Card; however, I have only the one-way Arrival card. Moreover, at this point, our driver would collect us 10 baht per person for the parking fee.

Goodbye Malaysia.

And let's say hello to Thailand!!!! (I am very happy as I didn't see Thai wording for four days now).

Upon arriving at Thailand, please do not forget to adjust the time and it is about 10.30am right now. From this point, we will travel on the car for a long time to the downtown Hat Yai. I would suggest that if you travel by the van in the morning time, you should choose to sit at the left side seating of the van as the right side would face the sunshine. The van does not have the sun film or the curtain attached; therefore, it would feel like burning riding for four hours in the sunshine. At approximately 11am, we reach at the front of KST Travel which is next to the Robinson Mall, Hat Yai. Our flight will take off at 05.05pm; hence, we would have some time until 3pm to kill. We would take a walk around Hat Yai downtown and I have a local friend so he will be our special tour guide for the day.

My friend (our guide) takes us to eat Bak Kut Teh which is the famous local dish here. The cuisine is called Chok Dee Tae Tiam, one of the popular cuisines here in Hat Yai. I have heard that they have to queue up since the morning; however, we arrive here during the evening time so the crowded are gone and the cuisine has less people.

After finish our meal, we are heading to pray a respect to Lord Brahma Phra Phuttha Mongkol Maharaj at Khao Kho Hong. This mountain is the last forest area here in Hat Yai. It was said that there are flock of hornbills here as well. Moreover, there is a cable car for service; you could ride on the cable car from Phra Phuttha Mongkol Maharaj Buddha statue to the Lord Brahma or you also could directly drive to the place. The view from the Buddha statue is really splendid and beautiful; we could see the wide panorama view from the downtown Hat Yai to the Songkhla Lake.

This is the Lord Brahma Shrine. We have to walk up a little but please beware of the firecrackers that might accidentally fall on your head.

From this area, you could take a cable car ride to the Buddha statue above named Phra Phuttha Mongkol Maharaj.

They also have a private observatory here.

Love is in the air.

Phra Phuttha Mongkol Maharaj.

One of the best views.

Hat Yai Downtown

You could see the Central Mosque of Songkhla at a far distance.

As we still have time left, thus, after we come down from the mountain, we take a visit to the Central Mosque of Songkhla or you could call “ Deenul Islam Mosque". This Mosque is also renowned as the "Taj Mahal of Thailand". My friend tells me that they would open the light at the late evening and it is really beautiful. Unfortunately, when we arrive, the rain is pouring down (again). Therefore, we could not visit the place and just take some photos from our car only. Then we drive back to the downtown to buy some souvenirs at Kim Yong Market and travel through the rainstorm back to the Hat Yai airport later on.

I only have one photo of the Mosque, and I do some editing because the real photo looks kind of dark from the cloudy rain storm.

For those who do not have friend driving you to the airport like me, you could use the van service company to the airport instead. However, you do have to pay the extra charge (a bit expensive) or use local bus transportation as it is affordable.

Fortunately, as on the return leg, we have a chance to see the circular rainbow as well. It is very rare to see this beautiful phenomenon. For the route of Hat Yai to Bangkok, firstly we are flying across the Songkhla Lake, I would suggest you guys try to sit on the left-hand side as you could see a spectacular coast line from above. Then, you can close the window and sleep as we will fly over the Gulf of Thailand to the mouth of Chao Phraya River at Samut Prakan province. And we will pass Bangkok and Pathum Thani area then land at Don Mueang Airport.

Our adventurous trip to Malaysia would have to end here. We do travel to many places and have good and bad impressions which I think it is a feeling of backpacking.

Our fun comes from the unknown things we will face from each adventure. Even though, we do a great job on the trip planning, nonetheless, it is not enough. The best thing is how to survive on the unexpected situation which would help us get the next trip goes better.

Everything that we have faced either happiness or suffering would make us stronger. And the most important things we will have with us are memories, friendships and good experiences during our trip. We will not just "live", but "living" the life.

Thank you to all of you who read this review.