bakedbean

For Nonthaburi of course but if anyone else wants to chip in, please go ahead.

We're off on our fairly regular epic drive from Penang to Phuket next month. The most direct border crossing for us is Sadao, and we know the drill now, what to do at the border.

As the crow flies, Trang is pretty much a good midway point to stopover for the night - and love the scenery between Phattalung and Trang (the high point of the journey). Trang is a funny ol' place IMHO - real Thailand (not touristy in any way), hardly anyone speaks English, but I suppose we've kinda got used to it, at least the hotel we stay at. Better the devil you know

We've booked the Trang hotel again for this trip, but just wondering if there's anywhere else we might break our journey on other trips. Any thoughts anyone?

Khop khun kaaaah in advance

nonthaburi

Right then. Here goes. It's not really breaking your journey up as such but seeing how you're ending up in Phuket then it can be done. I don't know your plans and how you are about driving or public transport. Are you on the bus ?

Anyway, I was going to suggest Ranong. It's north of Phuket by about five hours ( 300 km ) which is going too far the wrong way for you probably but you never know. Ranong is a small town opposite the southernmost point of Burma , Kawthaung ( Victoria Point ). The rainiest province in Thailand it is famous for it's rain, fish and smuggling . Surounded by some nice national parks which make good day excursions and there are the natural hot springs in the town as well.
A day trip to Burma can be done from the port without too much hassle which can be quite interesting. It's a very hot longtail boat across the river estuary that separates the two countries but there is some very nice ice cold myanmar beer waiting on the other side.
If you have the time then it is definitely worth making the effort to go to the island of Koh Payam situated just close to the sea border with Burma. Populated by only about 500 people, a mix of Thais, Burmese and the Chowlay sea gypsies it is a very nice place to while away a few days. Spectacular sunsets overlooking Burmese islands in the distance. No cars on the island so don't worry about the traffic. A lot of nice bungalow resorts to stay in as well. Google it to find out more.
It's not the most beautiful place but you won't find many places so untouched by tourism, not in southern Thailand anyway. A good friend of mine has a bar just by the pier when you get off the boat on the island and he is a great cook of English food and a real character as well. If you are interested then PM me for more details.
So that's my recommendation, in fact I would keep on driving right through Phuket and not stop until I got to Ranong but they you probably knew that I would say that anyway !!

bakedbean

Ah well, I was looking for an overnight stop (1 night only) and somewhere midway between Penang and Phuket. Yup... a bit of a tall order I guess.

We are driving and 6 or 7 hours a day is quite enough so couldn't make it as far as Ranong I'm afraid... and not really on the way to Phuket

We have to be going to Phuket as we still have a property there - it's not by choice. Much rather be exploring our new country at the moment but, there you go, you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

Anyway... Ranong noted for future reference . Thanks anyway.

We used to know a couple on Phuket, Italian guy, a boatbuilder, and his Thai missus, and they had a home in Ranong and used to rave on about it.

bakedbean

Back from the Land of Smiles We've just about had it with our hotel in Trang and we seem to be the only people there on most visits. How do they keep in business?

I'm wondering if there's any nice hotels in that bit of national park to the east of Trang. It's really very nice scenery. On the way, Mr bakedbean remarked that all that was needed there was a decent little pub with accommodation, some nice food, John Smiths on handpump - perfect.

james.mc

I used to be based in Penang. Been through Trang a few times too on Visa runs or when heading to Songkhla. Trang always looked pretty dead!

Later shifted to Ao Nang, near Krabi town.. Gina and I (both Brits) married in Ao Nang.

For an overnight visit, slightly off the beaten track, you should maybe look at Ao Nang and also Railay Beach. Ao Nang has good road access. Railay is only accessible by boat from either Krabi town or Ao Nang. I wouldn't stay in Krabi town but would stay in Ao Nang and do a day trip by longtail boat to Railay (only about 10 minutes) or Koh Phi Phi (about 45 minutes) or Koh Hong (about 40 minutes). Memory is a bit sketchy on boat trip durations as we've been in Portugal for about 8 years now.

From Ao Nang it's a few hours drive around Phra Nang Bay to Phuket.

Alan2005

Been there a few times. I always liked it.

bakedbean

Would love to stay in Ao Nang but it's just too far to do in one day for us poor old souls. Looking for something about halfway-ish. Trang is pretty much spot on but..... yeh....

Not come up with any alternative yet so keep 'em coming please.

Has anyone done a different border crossing? I guess the Sadao border is the quickest just due to the fact that the Malaysian expressway goes right up there.

nonthaburi

not been there in a long time but have you thought about Satun ? There is / as a very nice island called Koh Bulon Leh in the province which is worth a look. Probably have to stay a few days to make it worhtwhile but it might be good for you. Look it up on the internet for more details.

bakedbean

Just found the website for the island.... but.... it's talking about a ferry then a "transfer boat" from ferry to island. Well we are driving of course so I think that's a non-starter.

We considered Satun before but was struggling to find a hotel with proper parking. I'm also not sure about the border crossing there. If anyone's done that border crossing, I'd be very pleased to hear about it.

nonthaburi

you could leave your car somewhere safe on the mainland for a couple of nights and check it out. Just take a small bag with you to the island.

Alexor

Right now, the best place to stay is as high up as possible. Last years rainy season never really ended and this years has started early - hence the flooding

bakedbean

Yes I know... I saw that Trang flooded, and Phattalung too and mudslides in Krabi with folks killed and many injured. That's all on my usual route.

We prob won't go up again until late May or early June but so difficult to plan as we have to plan the car insurance in advance. If it wasn't for that, we'd check out the weather, then just up sticks and go the next day. What to do?

Though Phuket weather always used to settle down a bit in June, July, August with a few wet days, a few dry days. Maybe we'll be okay.

Still looking for Satun info and border crossing there, if anyone wants to enlighten me.

bakedbean

Bloody hell have found a new hotel in Trang, quite cheap but like a Hilton. I think I'm dreaming. Rua Rasada. Fantastic. I'll tell ya more later

nonthaburi

hope it works out for you. Is it a quite tall hotel ? about ten stories high ?

bakedbean

We stayed there last week. It's shaped like a boat and about 16 storeys. I know... Sounds a bit bizarre. But great rooms, aircon, all brand new. The restaurant looked real 5 star and we suspected that was the catch (load up the prices) but no, ok prices 100 baht for various mee dishes. Wow. Shall stay again on the return trip.