Hello Pantip friends, after following many of your threads,
I would like to share my travel experience with my friends.
This trip will be a journey to the south.
The first destination is Koh Phangan, where we will have fun at the Full Moon Party, then continue to Khao Kiri Wong, and end in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
The main theme of this trip is Low Price High Experience.
There are 5 people in total, and we have set a budget of 4,000 baht per person.
We will travel on February 22nd and return on February 26th, 2016.



Let's wait and see =D

1st Destination : Full moon party at Koh Phangan


February 22, 2016

We started our journey from Bangkok by taking a BKS bus from the Southern Bus Terminal to Don Sak Pier in Surat Thani province. The price was 557 baht. We traveled at night because it was hot during the day. Anyone who thinks that BKS buses are uncomfortable, you're right. You have to sit curled up and it's freezing cold!

Got the tickets, body and mind ready


February 23, 2016

The next morning, we arrived at Donsak Pier around 6 am. The ferry was scheduled to depart at 7:30 am. We didn't have to go down to buy tickets at the pier, as a ticket seller came up to the tour bus and sold us tickets for 210 baht each. While we were waiting for the ferry, we took care of some personal business. We planned to eat at the pier, thinking that the prices would be cheaper than on the island. However, to our surprise, there was no food for sale at the pier. Oh well, we could eat on the island instead.

Hey guys, I think we're lost for sure. This island is way too big.


On the Ferrari boat... oops! Ferry boat... oops! Ferry!!! From asking people around there, we found out that the boat takes about 2 and a half hours to travel, which means we won't be able to eat anything for 2 and a half hours. Luckily for us, there weren't many passengers, so we had a seat in the air-conditioned room. Inside the air-conditioned room there was a restaurant selling food, and this was our first meal. 20 baht instant noodles, haha xD

Upon arriving at Koh Phangan, we headed to our accommodation to drop off our belongings and continue exploring. Oops! We didn't have any accommodation booked. We had agreed before the trip that we would find something on the spot. So, we set off on foot, walking and walking to find a place to stay.


Auntie, auntie, is this the way to Pann Phrue?


As Koh Phangan is a large island and Haad Rin, where the Full Moon Party is held, is far from the pier where we disembarked, we decided to take a songthaew to Haad Rin and find accommodation on the spot. The fare was 100 baht per person.

It was around noon, and we were looking for a place to stay, but most of them were fully booked. It was hot and our stomachs were growling. The situation was getting desperate, and we were starting to feel discouraged. Finally, we walked into a pharmacy, where a kind Thai lady told us that there was still a place to stay. It was a hostel with air conditioning, and she charged us 400 baht per night. Was she being kind? At that moment, we were so desperate that we didn't even know what a hostel was. It turned out to be a shared room with bunk beds, mixed with men and women. And of course, there were two women already sleeping in the room. I was so embarrassed. >///<

Dormitory (I'm sure it will be done tonight)


We quickly packed our things and went out to find something delicious to eat. At this point, I was willing to pay any price. The kind lady, who had previously recommended a restaurant, suggested another eatery that served made-to-order dishes for 70 baht. The portion size was reasonable for the price. The restaurant is called My Friend and is located in the alley shown in the picture below, opposite Family Mart.

After finishing our meal, we headed to our accommodation to rest up for tonight's Full Moon Party, the main highlight of Koh Phangan.

My Friend Restaurant Alley


In the late afternoon, we woke up and went out to take pictures, soak up the atmosphere, and play in the sea.


Having fun sunbathing


For our dinner tonight, we decided to eat at Family Mart, which is the cheapest restaurant in the Rin Beach area.

It's time for some fun, Full Moon Party. The party culture is body painting with glow-in-the-dark paint. We bought a bucket of juice from the same kind aunt, plus glow-in-the-dark paint. The aunt gave us a tube of paint. It's time for the art in my hand.


The full moon party takes place on the beach, with EDM music playing in the background. The crowd is mostly made up of foreigners, including Westerners and Japanese people. The atmosphere is lively and we met many people from different countries. Everyone was friendly, even strangers, and we had a great time greeting each other.



Selfie with a British gentleman 2nd Destination: Kiriwong Village



February 24, 2016

The next day, we planned to visit the Ratchaprapha Dam. However, due to limited budget, we decided to go to Kiree Wong Village instead.

The scene cuts to our bright morning. It is now 9:30 am, and we are at our accommodation. One of our friends has not yet showered, and the first boat leaves at 10:00 am. The next one is at 1:00 pm, and we still haven't found a songthaew (shared taxi). Who else could it be but our good old aunt? We finally got a songthaew to the pier, with about 20 minutes to spare before the boat leaves. As we were riding, we prayed that we would make the 10:00 am boat. Our friend, who was sitting next to the driver, told us that the driver was worried that we wouldn't make the boat, so he called the pier to ask if the boat had left yet. The answer he got was: It's already left!! Hey, what about us? What are we going to do for the next three hours? We don't even have a place to sleep. But the driver was still determined and took us to the pier. When we arrived at the pier, we saw that the boat was still there but was closing its doors and getting ready to leave. At that moment, some foreign tourists were negotiating to get on the boat, and... they got on! Lucky them. Although this was the first trip of the day, the number of people was very different. On the way back, there were so many people that we couldn't sit in the air-conditioned room and had to sit outside instead.

Upon arriving at Donsak Pier, we looked for a car to Nakhon Si Thammarat. At the pier, there were vans going to Nakhon city for 130 baht. When we got on the van, we slept all the way. We woke up when we arrived in Nakhon city. Before going to Khao Kiriwong, we still had some time, so we went sightseeing in Nakhon city first.



We visited Wat Phra Mahathat, an ancient temple with lush greenery and a large population of pigeons. The interior of the ubosot is just as beautiful as the exterior.


It is truly magnificent.


You're as handsome as a Korean actor, but I don't have any money to pay you.


We then took a songthaew to Kiriwong Village. We traveled by songthaew for 25 baht. Most importantly, we still didn't have accommodation as before, which was 4 pm at that time. In the songthaew, there was an aunt who saw us as tourists and asked where we were going and where we were staying. We told her that we were going to Kiriwong and didn't have any accommodation yet. Both the driver and the aunt helped us find accommodation and called the accommodation for us, which, as usual, was fully booked. But the highlight was that the nephew of the deputy village headman was also in the car, and he volunteered to take us to see the deputy village headman. The deputy village headman said that he would take us to find accommodation in his pickup truck. In the end, we got a house by the stream for 1,000 baht. Next to the accommodation, there was a stream flowing through, the water was clear and very cool. We rested and played in the water for a while. After we finished playing in the water, the owner of the accommodation took us to rent bicycles for 50 baht each to ride around tomorrow and took us to a great restaurant for dinner.


Kind Uncle Lek, the assistant village headman


The shop where we rented bicycles.


Toast for 10 baht a pair


Kiriwong, the atmosphere here in the evening is lonely, quiet, the air is good, shady, suitable for relaxation in a slow life style. The villagers here are lovely, kind and friendly. Tonight we sat and talked about random things before falling asleep exhausted from the journey.



February 25, 2016

On a bright morning in Khao Kiri Wong, we woke up early to watch the sunrise at the Muj Bridge, a landmark of Khao Kiri Wong. Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy today, so we couldn't see the sunrise. It was a bit of a shame, but that's okay. We then cycled to the market to buy breakfast.

You can feed the fish.


Fried chicken


After breakfast, we will cycle to the suspension bridge, which is about 3 km from our accommodation. (It's an uphill climb, so it's going to be exhausting)


Crystal clear water, cool and refreshing, revealing the fish beneath.


In Kiriwong, there are various groups that produce handicrafts from villagers. We had the opportunity to visit the lace group, which has a wide variety of lace jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, and rings.


3rd Destination: Surat Thani City

We left the village of Kiriwong by taking a shared taxi for 25 baht each to Nakhon Si Thammarat railway station. From there, we took a train to Surat Thani, which cost 87 baht each.

While waiting for the train, we also looked for lunch near the train station.


Very spicy southern Thai curry for Khanom Jeen noodles


The train has arrived!!! Let's go to Surat Thani. Yay!

The weather today is not too hot, making the train ride smooth. We're taking a nap to recharge our batteries. We'll be back later (just kidding).


After a four-hour train ride, we arrived in Surat Thani at 5 pm. We grabbed a bite to eat near the train station before heading to the Surat Thani Walking Street. However, the Walking Street was closed! What a coincidence. But that's okay, we went to the nearby Shrine Market instead, which also has a variety of food stalls to choose from, just like the Walking Street.

After our stomachs were full, we walked along the Tapi River to admire the bridge crossing it. Then we headed to Surat Thani Railway Station to travel to Prachuap Khiri Khan, the final destination of our trip. The free train to Prachuap Khiri Khan departs just after midnight. In the meantime, we went to sit at a coffee shop near the station. There is a shower room at the train station, with a shower fee of 20 baht per person (the water flows as slowly as an ant's pee).


The free train has arrived. There are a lot of people, unlike the seats I took during the day.


I thought there wouldn't be any seats left, but in the end there were, but everyone ended up sitting separately. One friend got to sit next to a monk and was full of merit all night (the monk slept very soundly). The weather was quite cold, and it rained around 3am. 4th Destination: Prachuap Khiri Khan


The translation of the sentence is:

We arrived in Prachuap Khiri Khan early in the morning at 6 am.

The morning sky is so beautiful.



We walked into the city center to find breakfast. We had rice porridge/congee for 40 baht each. It was delicious... or maybe we were just hungry!??

We then rented motorbikes for 200 baht each to ride to Ao Manao. It was a biker's paradise.


The Ao Manao Bay is located at the 5th Air Wing, where we planned to climb Lom Muak Mountain. However, due to our mistake of not researching properly, we were unable to climb the mountain as it was closed on weekdays! It was a real shame, but luckily, there were still other beautiful spots to see within the 5th Air Wing. So, even though we missed out on the mountain, it wasn't a complete waste of a trip.

Stuck in traffic, the soldiers had to drop off their friend first before coming back to pick up the person who was left behind. T T


Besides the 5th Air Force Wing, another interesting highlight in the city of Prachuap Khiri Khan is Khao Chong Krachok with its mega-herd of a billion monkeys! I'm not sure if we came to Khao Chong Krachok or Khao Din, there are so many monkeys. More importantly, they say that the monkeys are quite fierce. This herd of monkeys won't scratch us, but if anyone brings food up there, I guarantee you won't have any left. One of our group, wanting to challenge the monkeys' intelligence, wanted to know who was stronger, humans or monkeys. He took a bag of a famous yellow-colored potato chip brand and held it tightly all the way. Before he knew it, a little monkey snatched it from his arms. That's the result of the monkey vs. human showdown.

Very good, monkey. Eat your snacks and enjoy them.


Upon reaching the summit, the first thing I felt was exhaustion. But the fatigue was worth it for the view from the top.


Every journey has a beginning and an end. Even though we may make mistakes along the way, the destination is always beautiful and worth the journey.





Total Trip Expenses Summary



The cost of a bus from Bangkok to Don Sak Pier is 557 baht.

Round trip ferry fare from Donsak Pier to Koh Phangan is 420 baht.

Round trip to Haad Rin is 200 baht.

Accommodation at Rin Beach costs 400 baht.

The cost of a van to Nakhon Si Thammarat is 130 baht.

The fare for a songthaew to the bus station is 30 baht.

The round-trip fare for a songthaew from Nakhon Si Thammarat city to Khao Kiri Wong is 50 baht.

The cost of accommodation at Khao Kiri Wong is 200 baht.

Bicycle rental fee 50 baht

The train fare from Nakhon Si Thammarat to Surat Thani is 87 baht.

Round trip fare from the train station to Surat Thani city center is 280 baht.

The fare for a songthaew to the walking street is 20 baht.

Free train tickets from Surat Thani to Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Motorcycle rental fee 80 baht

The cost of a van back to Bangkok is 220 baht.

The food cost around 800 baht.

Other expenses 400 baht



Total 3904 baht





Thank you to everyone who has followed our trip to this point. The end….



They said it's over, but you're still sitting in front of the computer screen. There's no end credit. Hey, let's go.

Thanks again (:

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