The only reason the town of Ranong, Thailand popped out was only because it was the nearest border town to Myanmar, the town of Kawthung, once known as Victoria Point. Rather than take the usual flight to Yangong, north of Myanmar, then a domestic prop plane down south to Kawthung, I decided it made more sense to just drive up to Ranong from Singapore and take the long-tail boat to Kawthung. Total 1,500km one way; a breeze. It turned out to be a great decision and I must say I enjoyed the journey immensely.
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| The rough road to Ranong, via a short-cut thru farms and oil-palm plantations. We shaved off about 60km using this route. |
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| The Bald Mountain in Ranong posed a challenge when we decided to scale it on our Landcruiser. The steep incline looked menacing, but the Landcruiser took it all in her stride and made it to the top and down with minimal fuss. |
My brother-in-law Boon and I left Singapore on our motorbikes at 5.30am on the 24th June. We headed for a JB house where I kept my trusty Landcruiser. It was my first time crossing the woodlands causeway on bike. Surprisingly it was smooth with little traffic at that time. Thus began a relatively "short" drive from Johor to Ranong, in all about 1,500km. We reached the Thai Border of Sadao at about 5pm (4pm Thai time) and headed a further 50km to Hat Yai where we rested for a night.
The road from Hat Yai to Ranong would take us about 6hrs. Totaling 560km and mostly on highway 41 along the East coast of the Thai peninsular. We took turns to drive in the hot sweltery South East Asian weather. The majority of vehicles on the road were light trucks, especially the famed Toyota Hilux, and monster train-trucks carrying loads well beyond the recommended capacity of the vehicle. Thais are generally patient drivers, rarely using their horn, but they do like speed and prefer the right lane to the left. That includes heavy trucks. The rule "heavy vehicles keep left" does not exist. Highway 4 (41) was probably on of the first super highways to be build in SE Asia. Although very much older and rated at a lower safe-speed than the Malaysian North/South highway, it was more interesting and makes for a more comfortable driving experience. I had been on this highway at least a dozen times before; the first being in 1976 enroute to Bangkok & Chiang Mai. The journey somehow now felt shorter and less dramatic. I guess I had gotten used to long drives since my recent trips to China & Tibet.
We soon arrived at the old rustic town of Ranong and checked into the Tinidee Hotel, apparently the best in town at $60 a night. Thailand is still an inexpensive country to visit and the hospitality of strangers and service personnel is second to none; well probably on par with Indonesia. No where else in SE Asia would you get that level of friendly service and attention. Thais are a genuine people and their Buddhist faith probably has influenced their kindly nature.
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| The Fish market at Ranong |
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| The smells at the market was unbearable, even for the well seasoned traveler. We decided not to eat fish that day in Ranong. |
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| We parked the car next to the Ranong One Stop Immigration Centre. That being the gateway via long-tail boat to the border town of Kawthung of Myanmar |
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| Satay anyone? It was hot, humid and smoky everywhere we went in Ranong. Car air-conditioning is a heaven sent. Whatever will we do without it. |
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| This is the local Fire Station and not a truck museum |
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| Since Ranong was famous for Hot Springs, we decided to look for one and found it via the GPS. This one was pretty deserted but clean and the smell of sulfur was mild. The water temperature was about 45 deg C and the best thing about it was, you could drive the car all the way to the spring. We had the best bath we've experienced for a long time. That's Boon my brother-in-law and notably the best field mechanic I know. |
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| Local fare at a corner eating stall selling Cher-Char. This lady doesn't |
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| We had over fried chicken, fish bits and kang kong with rice. It looked bad but tasted delicious. All for under 250 Baht. |
I would not have been able to venture to so many interesting places if it were not for my Garmin GPS. That unassuming palm-sized device has literally brought the world under my feet. There is no place I could not go to and not feel comfortable and confident with my Garmin beside me. It's truly a traveler's most valuable tool.
In fact, it's so important a tool that I have 3 sets and usually bring 2 along for trips. Having tried many other brands, I stayed with Garmin for reliability and ease of use. With my Garmin I son found the Immigration One Stop Centre where I would stamp out of Thailand and take a long-tail to Kawthung.
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| The One Stop Immigration Centre at Ranong (hidden behind the PTT Petrol Station) |
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| Inside the Ranong Immigration & Ferry Terminal |
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| The long-tail boats are aplenty. Fare is 50 Baht per passenger to Kawthung one way or you can book the whole boat for 300Baht. Barganing is recommended. But stick to what you have bargained for once you get it. |
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| We chartered this boat for 200 Baht on way. Our Boatman was Thai and spoke little Burmese. When we reached Kawthung, we gave him a 50 Baht tip for showing us the way to the Kawthung Immigration office 100 metres up the road. |
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| Coastal villages off Kawthung |
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| 5mins after leaving Ranong One Stop Ctr, the long-tail boat will make a stop at the Ranong Customs Check Point which is a stand alone structure built over the water. Only the boatman will get off and the formality took only 5 mins. |
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| Just before arriving at Kawthung port, the boatman made a stop at the Kawthung Customs, with all our passports in hand. We stayed in the boat as usual and the boatman took another 5mins at most to settle the paperwork. There were no stamps on our passport. That I was told would be done ashore for USD10 for a visa that would be good for 20 days, but only at Kawthung. You could not travel to another part of Myanmar with that restricted visa. |
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| Bamboo Raft alonside the Kawthung Customs |
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| Finally we arrived at Kawthing Harbour after a 30 min ride in the long-tail. My ears were buzzing from all the noise generated by the Honda engine fitted with no exhaust silencer. |
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| After arriving at Kawthung we walked 100m up the road to the land based Immigration office. There we had our passports stamped. You will then be instructed to have the passport and stamped paged photostatted at a nearby shop, just across the road and submit that to them. Coast of each copy is 5 Baht. It pays to carry Baht with you and lots of 10 & 20 Baht bills for tips. We were the only foreigners there, so not queue. The service was raw but friendly. There's also a decent toilet there for visitors. |
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| The jetty at the Immigration Office |
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| Typical water villages at Kawthung |
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| Our hotel at Kawthung - Garden Hotel, the best there is there |
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| Boon enjoying hot tea on arrival at Garden Hotel. Don't expect much here. It's live able but void of any luxury |
