About Me

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I am married to my loving husband for more than 40 years now. I am a mother to 3 beautiful children, until years ago when I lost my youngest son. Since then my life is forever altered but yet unbroken....

My Travel Journal

"There isn't much I haven't shared with you along the road and through it all there'd always be tomorrow's episode" - Elton John

I started traveling around the world since early 80s when I had the opportunity to combine business trips with vacations. Then later when my rezeki is in abundance, there were numerous other trips along the way for vacations, most of the time with hubby and the kids when the timing is right. I have also started to compile the journal and photo-pages covering almost more than 45 years of world wide travel. Some destinations I visited just once, others many times. Many of those places are the obvious famous places people would like to visit but some, the casual traveler doesn't even think to try. I have placed links to my travel at the side bar of my personal page, My Life Reflections, and will be updating them from time to time.

My wish is to continue my travel and complete circumnavigate the globe, insyaAllah…

Sunday 22 December 2013

2013 Solo Ride: 04 - Kawthaung

"The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook..." - William James 

Sunday - 22 Dec 2013
Day 03: Kawthaung (Victoria Point), Myanmar

This morning we had buffet breakfast of cereal, roti canai and fried eggs at Victoria Restaurant. After breakfast, we packed our bags and checked out. We left our bags in the hotel lobby as we planned to go for a tour on the mainland Myanmar.

(Arriving at Myoma Jetty)
(King Byint Naung Memorial)
(A group of tourists from Thailand)
(The golden Aungdawmu Pagoda)
(The Temple Complex on the hill)

Earlier this morning we booked a 2-hour tour to Kawthaung on Myanmar mainland for B450 per person. But one has to pay double if there is less than 10 person in the group. We joined a group of 70 tourists from Thailand and we were accompanied by a tourist guide. The ferry ride to Victoria Point took less than 15 minutes from Koh Son jetty terminal. The tour included a visit to the King Bayint Naung Memorial, a Buddhist Temple and the golden Aungdawmu Pagoda. Ample time was also given for souvenir shopping.

Kawthaung was known as the Victoria Point. It lies on the southern most part of Myanmar. The city is about 800 km from Yangon. Kawthaung retains the atmosphere as a fishing port city. The port lies right to the pointed tip of the Tanintharyi Peninsula.

Nearby Attractions is the Tha Htay Kyun (Koh Son) or Richman's island where the Andaman Club Resort is built. This island has beaches but its coast is too rocky for swimming. The Myeik Archipelago is also an interesting place to explore while one is in Kawthaung. There are nearby interesting islands that can be visited by boat.

(Panoramic view of Victoria Point)
(A Policeman controlling traffic)
(Favorite form of transport)
(A monk in the middle of the road)
(Beware of dangerous potholes)
(Another form of transport)
(Leaving Victoria Point)

By 1300 we boarded the Andaman Jet Ferry back to Koh Son island. As the next ferry out to Ranong was at 1430, we have time for an ala-carte lunch at Victoria Restaurant. Later we retrieved our bags from the concierge and took the hotel van to the jetty terminal.

(The Andaman Jet Ferry)
(Arriving at the Andaman Club Pier in Ranong)
(Riding out of Ranong towards Krabi)
(Catching up with a biker from Germany)

At the jetty, we cleared Myanmar Immigration border checks and collected our passports. We then boarded the 1430 ferry to Ranong. At the jetty, we went to the Thailand Immigration counter and submitted our passports and arrival/departure white cards for entry stamping.

(A few road blocks on the main highways) 
(Riding the coastal road towards Phuket)
(Lonely road crossing many National Parks)

We started riding towards Krabi via the coastal road on Highway 4 at 1600. Before we left Ranong, we stopped to refuel. If we missed refueling in Ranong there will only be one more petrol station in Kapoe. From Kapoe onwards there is no petrol stations until the next town. In Kapoe we stopped for prayers at one of the many mosques. The highway 4 took us on a hilly winding road through the forest of the National Parks.

After riding for almost 4 hours we reached Krabi around 2000 and headed direct to J Mansion Hotel but the rooms there were fully booked. There we met with a few Malaysian bikers who informed us about the bombings that happened this afternoon at the Thailand/Malaysia borders.

We checked-in for the night at Ben Guest House for B1500 per night which is quite expensive for Krabi's standard. As we were very hungry and tired, we rode straight to Restoran Shareefa for a nasi goreng dinner. While having our dinner we updated the kids back home to inform them that we were safe and not affected by the bombings and will ride back to KL tomorrow morning.

πŸ‘ˆπŸ‘ˆ 2013: Krabi, Thailand

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