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Phuket
to Kuala
Lumpur
Phuket
to Penang
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Bus Phuket Kuala Lumpur, Phuket to Penang, Phuket Kuala Lumpur, Phuket to KL.
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Phuket to Kuala Lumpur travel
is a scenic drive,
passing Phang Nga Bay,
Krabi,
Trang, Hat Yai, Langkawi, Penang and Ipoh.
Road travel Phuket Kuala Lumpur
is through
Krabi
and
Trang via
Hat Yai and the
border crossing is at Sadao or Padang Besar. Phuket Kuala
Lumpur is about 13 hours on
usually excellent roads via
Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang to the
border it takes about 8 hours. After the border it
takes about 5 hours travel Kuala
Lumpur on a good motorway,
actually the KL motorway starts
after a couple of kilometers
before the exit to Langkawi. On
the road are Butterworth with a
turn to Penang via Penang Bridge
or Penang Ferry. After the drive
passes Ipoh and leads to Kuala
Lumpur which is arrived from the
north. The excessive time is
mostly on the Thai side because
they stop every couple of km to
take passengers, on the Thai
side it functions like a local
bus they don't know how to
handle long haul buses its just
the greed for every Baht.
The Thailand bus Kuala Lumpur
follows the same road but there
is a change from a Thailand bus
to a Malaysian bus at Hat Yai.
There is one direct bus
connection Bangkok
to Padang Besar at the border, but there also
the bus must be changed. The
alternative is a flight Phuket
Kuala Lumpur via Phuket Airport.
A train Kuala Lumpur is also
available from Bangkok to Hat
Yai and further to Malaysia via
Butterworth there is no train
via Phuket and also no train to
Penang. The train and the
highway from Bangkok runs along
the eastern side of southern
Thailand, by train Kuala Lumpur
is a plenty of hours away.
The fastest way to do the trip is take a Air Asia, Firefly
or Malaysian Airlines flight out of
Phuket
airport, they have
flights twice a day and its just
about 1 hour flight time. But be
careful when you want to buy a
ticket they always will tell you
about double the price as
announced, that's the way they do
it, don't ask them why, they
will always lie. |
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Its a little bit
more than Euro 100,- for a one
way ticket. The
alternative would be to take a
bus from Phuket to Hat Yai,
change the bus at Hat Yai, no
problem and only minimal wait
and go to Kuala Lumpur. From
Phuket to Hat Yai its about Baht
400,- there are different
busses, fast and slow. From Hat
Yai to Kuala Lumpur its about
Baht 800,- . A Thailand bus and
a Malaysian bus used on this
long haul travel are excellent
vehicles
with service inside the bus,
toilet and frequent stop. They also help you to get
through custom and immigration
at
Sadao check point at the
Thai - Malaysian Border.
There is also a train
for
Bangkok
Kuala Lumpur
if you are out for adventure,
check at Bangkok Railway
Station or at Hat Yai train
station. A typical travel route
could be to go from Phuket to
Hat Yai, after have a bus to
Langkawi, stay some days, go to
Penang either by ferry or bus
,stay there a few days and
continuo to Kuala Lumpur.
On the way to Kuala Lumpur is
one of the best
Malaysian
National Park, Taman Negara,
its great stuff, almost a must
when you travel in Malaysia.
There is
another
flight
from Phuket airport, its from Firefly, a commuter airline owned by Malaysian
Airlines,
for
firefly
have a
look
here.
What
also
could be
done is
to go to
Satun,
that is
on the
southern
west
coast of
Thailand
and
proceed
to Bak
Para all by
bus. Bak
Para is
the
gateway
to the
Tarutao
Archipelago
with Ko Lipe.
When you
are at
the
small
port at
Bak Para
just ask
around
you will
easily
find a
ferry to
Langkawi,
there
are also
some
ferry
from Ko
Tarutao
and Ko
Lipe to
Langkawi
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Hat Yai Kuala Lumpur near Sadao
Train Bangkok Kuala Lumpur at Hat Yai
Flights from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur
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Rent a Car in Phuket |
but no
regular,
they go
or they
don't.
There is
no
possibility
to rent
a car in
Phuket
and give
the car
back in
Kuala
Lumpur.
What
could be
done on
car
travel
is to
rent a
car.
You
could
rent a
car in
Phuket
using
Pure Car
Rent in
Phuket
Town
drive
with the
car all
the way
down to
the
Malaysian
border,
cross
into
Malaysia
and very
important,
make a
full
Malaysian
car
insurance,
covering
everything
and
proceed
to Kuala
Lumpur.
The car
insurance
will
cost
about
baht
1500,-
for a
few
days. In
Malaysia
the Thai
car
insurance
is not
valid
and if
they
catch
you
without
insurance
it costs
Malaysian Ringit
300,-
fine, you run
into
deep
trouble
when
having
an
accident
and no
insurance. The insurance offices at the Thai - Malaysian border are only open from about 8 am to about 6 pm.
Use a
insurance
office
before
the
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border
on the
Thai
side,
there
are
small
booth on
the
right
side of
the
road.
Don't do
it on
the
Malaysian
side,
the
people
in the
offices
there
are very
lazy and
unwilling
to work
at all.
The
people
in both
countries
can get
their
driver
license
without
any
serious
driving
education,
means a
real
helter skelter
on the
roads.
If a
accident
happens
on your
drive
in
both
countries
they
will
always
blame
the
foreigner
to be
responsible
for the
accident.
It wont
matter
even if
it
absolute
and 100%
clear
that you
might
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not be
responsible.
They
will
bend and
twist
and come
up with
some
strange
excuses
to make
you
responsible.
If you
do this
relatively
easy and
exciting
trip
also
consider
that the
border
crossing
between
Thailand
and
Malaysia
at Sadao is
closed
from
11pm to
5 am and
at
Padang
Besar at
few
kilometers
northwest
the
border
is
closed
from 9pm
to 5am. At
Sadao,
that’s
on the
Thai
side
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Padang Besar |
Sadao |
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of
the
border
are some
hotels,
discos,
bars and
quite a
very
active
and
vibrant
nightlife
to serve
the
people
who got
stranded
on their
way from
Phuket
to
Penang.
The
road
from
Phuket
to
Penang
is a
excellent
4 lane
road
except
for the
segment
Phang
Nga to
Patthalung,
that's
behind
Trang.
But even
the 2
lane
road is
in very
good
conditions.
Just
watch
out for
the
small
motorbikes,
they are
totally
chaotic
and
careless
just a
flies,
this is
in both
countries.
On your
Phuket
to
Penang
trip
you
could
first
drive
from
Phuket
to Phang
Nga,
on the
motorway
just
before
Phang
Nga and
right
behind
the
Phunga
Hotel is
a right
turn to
Phang
Nga Bay.
At the
end of
the road
is a
jetty
with
plenty
of long tail
boats
hanging
around
there.
Just
take one
for
about
baht
800,-
for
maybe 3
or 4
hours
and have
a look
around
in the
Phang
Nga Bay
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Road Phuket to Penang |
limestone
caves,
mangrove
forest
and
maybe do
a
kayaking
tour at
Ao Luk. On
your
travel
from
Phuket
to Kuala
Lumpur
just
before
Krabi
the turn
to Trang
will
come,
keep on
going
straight
and
after a
while
the
right
turn to
Ao Nang
or Ao
Phra
Nang bay
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will
come. At
the end
of the
road is
starts
one of
the most
exiting
beaches
in the
world,
this is
Railay
Beach
at Ao
Nang.
Take
a
long
tail
boat at
the end
of the
road an
have a
small
Krabi
beach
tour
along
Railay
Beach,
passing
some
limestone
islands,
around
the cap
to
Railay
beach
east and
have a
look for
some of
the most
spectacular
rock
climbing
area on
the
world.
The
long tail
boat is
about
Baht
300,-.
If you
want to
stay on
Railay
beach
Krabi
on
your
travel
from
Phuket
to Hat
Yai,
no
problem,
there
are
several
small
beach
resorts
on
Railay
beach.
A few
minutes
further
south is
Krabi
fossil
shell
beach
cemetery
with
a
marvelous
panorama
over the
beach
and the
islands
one of
the
islands
is
Chicken
Island,
because
the
limestone
formation
there
really
looks
like a
gigantic
chicken.
A
top Krabi sightseeing spot attracting several hundred
visitors per day. The
Krabi fossil shell slabs are about 80 million
years old and have been layered with
shell fossils over time. Today a
flat platform of slabs from compacted
fossils is along the shore. You
can se the slabs in the middle of the
picture on the very left. About
40 million years ago
today's Ban Laem Pho Cape in
Krabi
was an
large
freshwater
swamp
with
large
amounts
of
snails.
More
about Krabi
fossil
shell beach is here.
-The next sector on our Thailand travel trip from Phuket to
Hat Yai is
Trang province and Trang Archipelago.
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Trang has miles of fine sandy beaches along the coast and on the islands of the archipelago. There are plenty of Trang beach resort on the islands. |
Waterfall between Pak Meng Beach and Trang City |
The best beach
resort in Trang Thailand is at the southern part of Pak Meng
Beach, its the Amari Trang Hotel, be aware that its very
isolated, there is no village.
This Trang beach resort is
very popular by Guys from Bangkok who go for a weekend with
their girlfriends without being seen. On the Trang islands
are all kind of other hotels and resorts. There are also
quite cheap hotels and resorts on the islands in the Trang archipelago.
More on Trang is here. Probably the most famous attraction at
Trang Thailand is the
Morakot cave or emerald cave use link above for on |
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Morakot or Emerald Cave Trang |
on this. On our trip from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur
we have the choice should to have a look into Songkhla or
just keep on driving to Hat Yai and Sadao on the Thai Malaysian border.
There is moderate nightlife at Songkhla and some museums
showing what happen in the past. Now all the way down to
Songkhla and Hat Yai
there is not much to see, its just a flat piece of land with |
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Long tail boat at Railay Beach
Krabi fossil shell beach cemetery
Trang Islands
Travel Trang to Patthalung.
From Trang to Patthalung is a ride through a mountain range with breathtaking views and lush tropical jungle. Behind the mountain range is Patthalung and at the first intersection we meet the basic Thailand north south highway.
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The big mosque between Hat Yai and Songkhla
Hat Yai
Hat Yai Train Station |
limestone formations popping out from the paddy fields plus endless rubber plantings. A train Kuala Lumpur starts at least once a day from the Hat Yai train station. Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur train connects via Padang Besar and all the way down to the south reaching finally Singapore. It's possible to use trains all the way through from Bangkok to Singapore but interchange is not coordinated and it's not possible to make reservations out of Bangkok beyond the border.
Songkhla is for sure a city to do a stop and a look around. they have some good and not expensive hotel such as the Pavilion Hotel Songkhla, |
Fishing Village at Songkhla
View over Songkhla
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bus. If you are with a car on your travel from Thailand to Malaysia, coming from Trang, just keep on driving the motorway towards Pattani, the road signs are very confusing and not thought through. If you see a road sign indicating Sadao, its not marked orderly, drive to the left and turn under the bridge to the right after its only straight on. The problem with this routing is, this part of the road from Phuket to Malaysia runs from one town into the next. Actually this part after leaving the highway is the worst part of the whole travel from Phuket to Malaysia. There is one traffic light after the other and all are switched in a way that you will get red at every intersection. Its the usual nightmare when people do something and don't think first what they are doing.
- Arriving at Sadao border,
the Sadao border crossing is closed from 11pm to 5 am, if you get stranded enjoy the great nightlife at this remote Thai village, its unbelievable what energy sexy business can unfold bringing hundreds of good paid job to the Thai people, especially to Thai bar girls who come from all over southern Thailand to make money in the Thailand nightlife business.
There are plenty of Sadao discos, nightclubs, bars and pubs, everything is dedicated to all kind of nightlife fun mainly for the guys. Passing the border is no problem, at the Thai side as usual its confusing, no straight line through with long cues, just as Bangkok Airport. At the Malaysian side its very well planned and organized, you go through in 2 minutes. The Malaysians charge money for going through, be aware that they sometimes ask the foreigner a much higher price as they are allowed, especially when you pay in Baht, the Thai don't charge anything. If you are with a car on your travel from Phuket to Penang keep in mind what was written further above concerning insurance. The next stop could be the island of Langkawi, actually a nice place. For a couple of kilometers on the road to Kuala Lumpur, behind the border |
Sadao
Sadao Bar |
Sadao Nightlife |
Sadao Tuk Tuk |
Sadao Road |
Sadao Disco |
Sadao Nightclub |
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there is a four lane road merging into a toll highway after a while. Petrol is much cheaper on the Malaysian side but if you didn't already change money it might be a problem to get money since the first ATM at the Petronas Station is manipulated in a way only allowing you to take Ringit 50,- and this is for sure not enough to fill your tank. Anyway enjoy your drive towards Kuala Lumpur to the south and the fact that the Malaysians obey at least a little bit traffic rules and also not driving all the time on the overtake lane, as it is usual in Thailand, the whole is a little bit more civilized. But in any case buy the insurance for the car if you are with the car, there are frequent controls in the border area to check if the foreigner has a local insurance. A couple of km behind the border is a road sign to Langkawi. Langkawi is almost a must to have a look for on your road travel to Kuala Lumpur. At the end of the road, when you take this turn you can find a ferry to Langkawi also used for the car. If you want to do a side trip to Langkawi on your travel from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur you need to drive to the pier a couple of kilometers behind the border, leave the car at the car park and take the ferry. The Langkawi ferry is only for passengers, the only way to do a trip to Langkawi with the car is to drive to Penang first and take the Penang ferry to Langkawi there.
Its a puzzle why they wont offer a car ferry service from the border area since there probably would be be enough car traffic, this is better organized in Thailand where even small islands such a Ko Lanta have full passenger and car ferry service, they just use smaller ships. Anyway its a great Malaysian vacation destination only the |
Langkawi
Langkawi Beach |
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weather is not always the best, if you go drive there check the weather first. |
Its about 3 hours drive from the Thai -
The other Penang Bridge |
Malaysian border to Butterworth, the gateway to Penang.
Try to avoid coming into Penang in the morning between 7 am and around 9 am since the |
| ride over the Penang Bridge is a traffic nightmare at that time. It is also very difficult to find the way |
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Penang Bridge |
Penang Ferry |
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