Tag: transportation

Review: Second Class Train from Bangkok to Hat Yai by Thai Railway

Posted on by Marya Sutimi

After I took the first-class train from Nong Khai to Bangkok, I decided to take the train again when I left the capital city to Hat Yai. It had been a while since I wanted to stop by Hat Yai in Thailand, so I was quite excited to stop by the city before returning to Malaysia.

Hat Yai is a city in Thailand that is more well-known for Malaysian visitors than the rest. Located in Songkhla province, it’s situated only a few hours by car from Penang. It’s also notable for a higher population of Malay-Muslim and Chinese-Thai citizens than the other cities in Thailand. Long story short, if there’s any city in Thailand that I could relate to my roots, that would be Hat Yai.

Apart from the train, there are also some sleeper bus services available from Bangkok to Hat Yai that you can book through Bookaway. In fact, it was also one of the options when I planned out to leave Bangkok since my first booking was canceled as the ticket to Hat Yai was sold out on my first attempt.

Continue reading “Review: Second Class Train from Bangkok to Hat Yai by Thai Railway” →

Review: Giant Ibis, the Best Bus Operator in Cambodia

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

Ever since I started planning my last Indochina trip, I knew that I wanted to travel overland from my first stop in Ho Chi Minh City to when I flew back home from Kuala Lumpur. 

At first, I didn’t think much about the transportation that I’d opt for my journey. However, since I took the minibus from Ha Tien to Kampot, I figure that maybe the best choice that I could make in terms of transportation would be by bus. It would be more convenient for me since I brought big luggage, and the bus will have a space for it without me feeling guilty that my bag took too much space on the trunk of the car. 

So when I left Kampot to Phnom Penh, I decided to just book a bus ticket by Giant Ibis through Bookaway. 

I initially planned to book a sleeper bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. However, when I was about to book it, the sleeper bus was sold out, so I ended up using the same bus operator again for the road trip in Cambodia. 

So, I’m going to share my insights on using their service as the transportation mode in Cambodia. What’s my review on Giant Ibis, possibly one of the best bus operators in the country? Check this out!

Continue reading “Review: Giant Ibis, the Best Bus Operator in Cambodia” →

Ho Chi Minh City to Chau Doc: Going Out of Town with G5Car Comfort Car in Vietnam

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

Hi everyone!

I don’t mean to be a tone-deaf if I keep updating my blog with some travel posts from my last Indochina trip these days with all coronavirus things going on. I know this, because it seems to be an issue within the travel bloggers community since I’ve seen a lot of posts from some bloggers complaining about the number of traffic declining and whatnot.

But guess what? It won’t stop me from writing more stories about my last trip around Indochina because first of all… I need to keep my blog active. And other than that, it’s still fresh in my memory so I need to write it now before I forget about what happened. Or worse, before the laziness strikes me!

Let’s be honest, I’ve spent my last few days binge-watching the earlier season of The Mindy Show. I need to force myself to do something a little productive today, and that is to share with you my experience of renting a private car from Ho Chi Minh City to Chau Doc.

Continue reading “Ho Chi Minh City to Chau Doc: Going Out of Town with G5Car Comfort Car in Vietnam” →

Bali Travel Tips: What You Need to Know About Fast Boat to Nusa Penida

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

Along with Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida has become one of the hottest spots to visit around Bali and its surroundings these days.

It’s not without any reason that some people strongly suggest Nusa Penida as a part of the itinerary, because now that I’ve been to Bali for the first time… I think Nusa Penida is the only place that I genuinely liked and enjoyed during my last trip.

When I arranged the itinerary for this Bali trip, I was already planning to go to Nusa Penida. From a total of 10 days we spent in Bali, I spared 2 nights on the island.

However, I was a bit hesitant to book a tour since everything I found on the internet is freaking expensive. The average price of the tour for Nusa Penida starts from IDR 600,000 (around $42 USD) per pax, and I was traveling with my mom and my brother.

I’m the kind of person who is absolutely price-sensitive, and I find the price quite expensive. I mean, if the price is that high, with the same amount of money I could actually book a flight back home. Therefore, I decided to just do everything on my own.

It’s not that we were in a really tight budget, if anything I was quite adventurous when I decided to just go to Nusa Penida first and see what options I could find once I get there. At first, I checked the boat schedule from Bali to Nusa Penida through Easybook.

That, only to find out that the boat ticket isn’t so cheap either. The ticket starts from IDR 150,000 (around $10 USD) one way. As I doubt that the price would be that high, I did some research in my mother tongue Indonesian… Only to find out that the average price for the boat ticket is actually half of it.

Continue reading “Bali Travel Tips: What You Need to Know About Fast Boat to Nusa Penida” →