Super VIP Bus tour organised by Cai Shen Yeh Tour and Travel, Batu Gajah
During the Merdeka / Hari Raya Puasa holidays, Connie and I joined a tour by bus to Thailand covering Hatyai, Krabi, Phang Nga, Coral Island and Phuket. The group of 30 consisting mostly of senior citizens from Batu Gajah, Pusing, Bemban, a young couple from Tronoh and a cute little girl of 2 years old brought along by the grandma and grandpa. The journey started at 12.05 am on 31/8/11 and reached the Thai border at about 7.00 am. We were greeted by our Hakka speaking tour guide, Mr. Lee Yew Choy from Betong. From then on there was never a boring moment for the group because he was able to keep us entertained with jokes, songs, stories, riddles, common words translation from Chinese to Thai which sounded vulgar in Hakka. On the whole, the tour was interesting, good food, good company, comfortable hotels and happy shopping, but the ending was rather distressing because the bus broke down just at the custom check point at Sadao, delaying our journey home.
Tour guide Lee Yew Choy singing
Highlights of the tour.
a) Day 1 -31/8/11- BG to Krabi
On the way to Krabi we stopped at Emerald Pool – nicknamed mini Juijaigo (China). It was a disappointment because the pathway of wooden planks were in the process of replacement with concrete slabs. The beautiful part of the waterfall was not accessible.
We arrived at Krabi at night, checked in Heritage Hotel to pass the night. Krabi is a tourist town, full of activities at night.
Restaurant at Krabi
Heritage Hotel we stayed
Our tour bus
b) Day 2 – 1/9/11 - Phuket
Cruise to PhangNga National Park to see two famous islands, Khao Ping Kan (Hills leaning against each other) and Khao Tapu (Nail ), known as James Bond Islands, in the Andaman Sea. Passed by a Floating Muslim Fishing Village with a few hundred families.
A Muslim Community – beside fishing they are also operating Restaurants for tourists.
The boats went through a sea tunnel before reaching “James Bond” Islands. From the crowd gathering here and the number of souvenir stalls, one could conclude it is a popular tourist spot all because of the 007 show – The Man with the Golden Gun, filmed here in 1974.
Sailing through a sea tunnel
Khao Tapu - boats and ships were prohibited from sailing to this bay.
Khao Phing Kan
A geological mystery – how it happened ?
Look at those souvenir stores.
Lee Yew Choy our tour guide.
Visited a Gems Gallery with ISO 9002 certificate- claim to be the biggest jewelry factory in the world.
Arrived at Aloha Villa, the hotel we stayed for 2 nights at Patong, Phuket. After checked in, it was free and easy to explore Patong and its night life plus some shopping. Patong is quiet and sleepy in the day but bursts to life at night till morning.
c) Day 3 – 2/9/11 - Phuket
Visited a Buddhist temple before tooking a speed boat ride to Coral Island for swimming in crystal clear water on white sand beach. Other sea activities available were snorkeling, parachute sailing, scuba diving, coral watching on boat, etc, all come with additional charge. We wanted to try out parachute sailing (RM70 per minute ) but the crowd saved our money.
After coming back from Coral Island we had a nice buffet lunch at Thai Naan Restaurant
( > 50 dishes )
Next stop was the Laem Phromthep Cape on a hill where we could get a beautiful sea view of the Andaman Sea.
Connie says “I can fly!”
Then, we proceeded to the Snake Farm which houses various types of poisonous snakes. After watching a snake performance we were introduced to snake products. Products from this snake farm included antidote for snake bite, pills for rheumatism, aphrodisiac from snake penis, plus other magical cures.
Playing with cobra
Next stop was a pearl factory
The best item of the day was the FantaSea Show – a variety show of 75 minutes consisting of magic, circus, cultural dance, wayang kulit, etc. Strictly no picture taking in the theatre. Our cameras, hand phones, and video cams were quarantined till the show ended. Even Disneyland do not impose such a fuss. The location is a mini Disneyland with buildings of fanciful architecture and colourfully lighted at night. Entrance fee of RM165 comes with a grand buffet dinner in a ‘palace’ just before show.
d) Day 4 – 3/9/11 Phuket – Hatyai
We left Phuket for Hatyai.
At a slope, the bus ran out of fuel. Our journey was held up for one hour. We stopped over at Trang for lunch.
Arrived at Hatyai, had dinner before checked in V.L. Hotel. It was free and easy for everyone – shopping, massage, sexy show, etc
e) Day 5 – 4/9/11 - Depart Hatyai to home – a bitter but memorableA journey.
Arrived at Sadao custom check at 5.00 pm, the bus stalled for the 2nd time, again ran out of fuel. This time it was more serious – battery gone flat and starter coil burned. While waiting for the rescue bus from Ipoh to come, our tour leader’s wife spotted a bus passing through without a single passenger. She ran after the bus and managed to stop her to ask for help. The two bus drivers were young ladies !
We were relieved to know that we would not be stranded at the check point till midnight. We stopped at Alor Star for dinner then to Juru to change to the rescue bus from Ipoh, arriving home at 2.30 am. on 5th September 2011 with sweet and unforgettable memories of the tour.
