"The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook..." - William James
Sunday - 22 Dec 2013
Sunday - 22 Dec 2013
Day 04: Kawthaung (Victoria Point), Myanmar
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| (Arriving at Myoma Jetty) |
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| (King Byint Naung Memorial) |
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| (A group of tourists from Thailand) |
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| (The golden Aungdawmu Pagoda) |
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| (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.
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| (Panoramic view of Victoria Point) |
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| (A Policeman controlling traffic) |
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| (Favorite form of transport) |
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| (A monk in the middle of the road) |
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| (Beware of dangerous potholes) |
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| (Another form of transport) |
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| (Leaving Victoria Point) |
By 1300hrs 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.
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| (The Andaman Jet Ferry) |
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| (Arriving at the Andaman Club Pier in Ranong) |
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| (Riding out of Ranong towards Krabi) |
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| (Catching up with a biker from Germany) |
At the jetty, we cleared Myanmar Immigration border checks and collected our passports. We then boarded the 1430hrs 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.
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| (A few road blocks on the main highways) |
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| (Riding the coastal road towards Phuket) |
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| (Lonely road crossing many National Parks) |
We started riding towards Krabi via the coastal road on Highway 4 at 1600hrs. 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 2000hrs 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.
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