Visit to Taiping Zoo

Peace be upon you all. On Saturday 23rd March till Tuesday 26th me and family was on a trip in the north visiting a number of places. Time to share some stories....

We left home at 5.30 in the morning. By 9 we have arrived in Taiping, Perak for the first place to be visited.

It is the zoo of Taiping.

By the way the school holiday has started...

Entering the zoo we immediately found the in-house transport in the form of train-like carriages waiting.

So we took it for a relaxing tour around...

After that tour was concluded we went for another round by foot.

And so we get to have closer looks at the animals at our own pace...

Beach of Bagan Lalang around sunset

Peace be upon you this peaceful Friday morning. Just breaking the silence in this blogspot with these pictures...

Last Saturday me and family went to Bagan Lalang near Sepang for a family function. As there is a beach nearby we went for a look.

We arrived around sunset. But the clouds in the horizon obscured the view of the sun going down...

Views of the beach...

Actually there is another stretch of the same beach about 1-2 km further down what is seen in this picture...

The Mekong and Chao Phraya river systems

Peace be upon you this blessed Friday morning. Since early December last year till end of January this year I have been sharing stories on places visited in my trip with family to Cambodia and Thailand 22 November till 3 December 2018. In that trip I got to sample views of two major river systems in Indo-China from a number of places. This is the Mekong river which passes through a number of countries including Cambodia and the Chao Phraya which is the main river in Thailand.

At an estimated length of 4,350 km the Mekong which starts from the Tibetan highlands plateau near the Himalaya mountains is the world's 12th longest river. It is the 7th longest in Asia and longest in South-East Asia. Included in its river basin system is the great lake Tonle Sap which is the biggest lake in SEA. The lake which is wholly situated in Cambodia is connected to the main Mekong river via the Tonle Sap river at Phnom Penh, the nation's capital city.

The Mekong also passes through Thailand but at the borders. The main river of the nation cutting through its mainland is the Chao Phraya which is officially said to be only 372 km long. However when combined with the Ping river which actually flows into the Chao Phraya its total length reaches 1,500 km. Whatever it is the main river which passes through the capital of Thailand which is Bangkok. And further upriver it passes through the ancient city of Ayutthaya, capital of the old kingdom bearing the same name. Here are articles made on the Mekong and Chao Phraya based on my travels in Cambodia and Thailand...

Mekong river system

1. Sunset from Phnom Krom

2. Views of Tonle Sap from Phnom Krom

3. Access to Tonle Sap

4. Mekong river from a part across Kampong Cham town 

5. Views from the tallest building at Kampong Cham

6. Mekong river from our hotel at Kampong Cham

7. Views from the French tower at Kampong Cham

8. Mekong river from the bridge at Kampong Cham

9. Walking around Kampong Cham town

10. Mekong river from southern side of Kampong Cham town

11. Taking the Mekong river cruise at night

12. Night time around the esplanade at Phnom Penh

13. Phnom Penh from a riverside vantage point

14. First look at the waterfront in Phnom Penh - The Tonle Sap-Mekong meeting place

15. Boat ride from Takeo to Phnom Da


The Chao Phraya

1. Chao Phraya river in front of Chedi Sri Suriyothai

2. The Chao Phraya from Ayutthaya Riverside House

3. Chao Phraya river from Tha Chang Wangna in Bangkok

4. Enter the Thammasat University

5. Ferry to Thonburi

6. Getting back to eastern side of Bangkok

Klong Hae floating market

Continuing from Night train to Hatyai.

We booked a hotel about 4.2 km north of Hatyai station and check-in. In the evening we went to a place more than 3 km from the hotel towards the north-east.

It is a popular tourist attraction in Hatyai.

Welcome to the Klong Hae floating market...

For the record this is the 1,959th article in this blogspot.

Night train to Hatyai

Peace be upon you. Going to the 11th day of our family trip to Cambodia and Thailand.  But before that let us continue from where we left off in the article Getting back to eastern side of Bangkok. For the record that article showed what happened just before noon in Bangkok on Saturday 1st December 2018. 

That is on the 10th day of our travel  At 2 pm we left Bangkok by van to the town of Petchaburi some 134 km to the south-west. From Petchaburi we took the night train to Hatyai 812 km to the south. But there was a mix up when we unwittingly went on board an earlier train which was scheduled to arrive at 6 or so but showed up at  Petchaburi station at 6.46. 

We thought it was our 7pm train which could have arrived early.. Because of that we were asked to step down at Hua Hin station about 68 km down south.

We were asked to wait and get the right train. It arrived in Hua Hin at 8.55.

So we got on board the right train. To save cost we took 3rd class.

Soon we lay down to sleep as it was a long journey.

This picture was taken at 6.18 am Sunday morning 2nd December 2018 which is our 11th day of travel.

At 6.19 we arrived at the town of Nabon.

I can't find it on Google Map. But given that we arrived here from Hua Hin after 8 hours and 24 minutes I estimated by then we have travelled 483 km.

That estimation is based on the fact that we would arrive at Hatyai station at 9.55 am.

That is exactly 13 hours after taking the train from Hua Hin.  From Hua Hin to Hatyai the distance is about 748 km.

But I'm jumping the gun. So let's just enjoy the scenery as we took on another 265 km from Nabon.

This picture was taken at 9.55. That is almost 20 hours after leaving Bangkok.

So we have arrived at the day's main destination. Hatyai is about 947 km south of Bangkok.