Travelling into Southern Thailand is like crossing the border of Mexico in the US. That is how close we are with Thailand. We have three points of entry into Thailand; namely Padang Besar, Bukit Kayu Hitam; both on the North and Rantau Panjang in the East Coast
This is the Bukit Kayu Hitam Checkpoint
After Immigrations and Customs are done with we drove passed a giant gate
Crossing over to Thailand, we were surprised to see the old Sadao Checkpoint closed .
No idea when it happened, but now replaced by this newly built checkpoint which caused a bit of a confusion while driving through both times going and returning for lack of direction/notice board.
I like to think that this is only temporary until it is completed(hopefully) for it is weird that the only checkpoint noticeable shared the same route both ways and it seem a bit too small to cater to holiday crowds when it does happen. I can just imagined the long queue and hours of waiting to just get through it as with the last checkpoint which seem triple in size compared to this new location.
I was only told of this trip by DH one week before we took off to Penang-Tailand : Dannok-Hatyai
on a four days three night before June ends.
Due to the close proximity, it's not surprising that South of Thailand has always been our weekend gateaway, especially more for the people in the Northern states. They can simply hop over for a day's shopping and food indulgence trip.
Revisited Penang - We spent a night in Penang Island and this round we visited the Temple of the Supreme Bliss aka Kek Lok Si Temple is said to be the largest temple in South East Asia and arguably one of the most famous in Penang. Located on a hill regarded to be geomagnetically significant .
Day light view
Construction began in 1893
The pagoda was completed in 1930
Magnificent Night view
Goddess of Mercy on the pavillion overlooking the sea
standing at 30.2m
Walking on foot gives you a good walking exercise via a pathway sandwich by stalls and stalls offering souvenirs. Walking up the steps give you a different perspective and one can just leisurely stroll along, it was the only pathway up to the temple once a upon a time, that afternoon we simply drove up to the pavillion car park.
The mystical secret garden of Penang, inspired by the Pandora world of Avatar is located on a hilly piece of land just next to our fave Pearl Garden Seafood Restaurant which was turned into a neon like fantasy dubbed Penang Avatar Secret Garden
One need to wait for night fall before the garden is light up
Revisited Hatyai - Once again we visited the Hatyai Municipality park which is located on hill top overlooking the city. Actually this was our meet up point with some friends who choose to explore by train and later engage a van to transport them into the city. Thereafter once in the city, it is pretty easy to get around with their Tuk-Tuk.
The Standing Buddha overlooking the city below
Sharing the same location with the Standing Buddha, the 535 meter long cable car is the first of it's kind the country and stops at the Brahman Shrine where the Four Face Brahman and Erwan shrine is located
The Asean Night Bazaar - Hatyai or any part of Thailand has always been a shopping haven, other than the sleazy nightlife; this bazaar I have yet to visit for the much talked and heard about was on my must visit list. Consisting of two storey, the stalls are neatly lined with food on the upper floor . Items are pretty much repetitive from lane to lane compared to the ' Old Market' that houses a bigger varieties of goods . We missed the Greenway Night Market which is located just a stone's throw away. Oh Well! there is always a next time.
You can read more of my past trips to Southern Thailand , if it interest you
Thank you ladies for visiting and leaving me your comments. Hope you enjoy reading another travel journey of mine. Next post I may have a little crafty pursue to tell.
Have a good rest of the week everyone.
Have a good rest of the week everyone.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing these interesting photos. I especially like the garden images at night.
I was happy to hear that the 12 boys and their coach were successfully rescued from the Thailand cave earlier today. Amazing!
Ha ha! I had to laugh at your first sentence, Lillie, because my blog post yesterday was about out journey into Mexico from the U.S. We actually walked across the border from southern California! I always enjoy seeing your lovely photos. The pagoda and lit gardens are amazing--and that standing Buddha is incredible!
Thank you for explaining your point of entry into Thailand--I now have a much better idea of where you live :)
Just popping in to say thanks for the visit. I also love the pretty teacups used at Lola's.
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