You're probably intensively planning for your year end trip by now and if your destination happens to be Thailand, you've come to the right place! It's always advisable to come prepared before a big trip, especially for out-of-country travels. Hence, here are some of highly practical tips you should look into before your vacation.
TRANSPORTATION:
Don't know what's the best way to travel? You have a few options, that you can choose according to your budget and your standards of comfort:
Travelling via plane:
Price & Time: If you're on a comfortable budget and willing to bear more cost on flight tickets, then travelling by MAS is definitely your best option. If budget is your concern, then AirAsia is your best bet, although their flights tend to be at odd timings.
Comfort & Convenience: Your journey will likely be very comfortable. However, travelling to and from the airport could be a bit of a hassle since Thailand airports are usually far from the city. Ideally, renting a car while you're there could be a good idea if you do decide to travel by plane.
Travelling via train:
Price & Time: You can travel to Padang Besar to cross border to Thailand via ETS train. The ticket ranges from RM82 to RM117 depending on which time you choose to board. The schedule starts as early as 7 AM to as late as 22:50 PM. Altogether, they have four trips that you can choose from. The train takes about 5 hours to arrive to Padang Besar. From there, you have the option to take a short stroll to the major land border crossing, take the new Shuttle Train Service to Hat Yai, or board the daily overnight Sleeper Train to Bangkok.
Comfort & Convenience: One thing you should prepare is the difference in train condition between Malaysian and Thai trains. KTM in Malaysia is equipped with both AC and washroom. In Thailand however, there's no AC and the train is quite vintage, which might be uncomfortable for some.
Travelling via car:
Price & Time: You can travel to Padang Besar to cross border to Thailand, which is about 500 km from KL to Padang Besar and it takes around 5-6 hours depending on your speed. Then from Padang Besar to Bangkok, let's say; takes about 14 hours, and it's around 985.9 km. Another option is to switch to local transportation or hop on a plane.
Comfort & Convenience: Depend on the car of your choosing. Generally, it'd be quite tiring, but cost-saving.
Another option: Combination - Train & Plane
One thing you might now know about Thailand is that their local flights are much, much cheaper. For example, you make take a train to Hatyai and travel via local flights for the rest of your journey.
Other HELPFUL tips you should know:
+ Download a language translation app. It'll help you tremendously.
+ Whenever you exchange to foreign currency, keep the receipt. You might get asked at the immigration centre.
+ Buy a travel sim card prior to travelling!
Here's where you can buy a travel sim card:
Make sure you're purchasing it from a reliable merchant; the AIS 5G Tourist SIM is our recommendation. For travellers intending to trip to Thailand, they offer different plans to choose from:
+ AIS NET SIM , Price: RM22.90
• Unlimited internet at max speed 15Mbps
• Free call to any network 30 mins (local)
• Special international call rate via IDD 00300 & 0300 (Call to Malaysia only 2 baht/minute)
• 7 days recurring
• Enjoy AIS privileges
• Free 8 Day Travel Accidental Insurance with coverage 50,000 THB
+ Tourist SIM 160
Tourist SIM 160, Price: RM14.90
• Free Non-Stop High-Speed Internet 5 GB & AIS SUPER WiFi for 5 days
• Free Unlimited Social Apps for 5 days (no data charges)
• Free Calls to AIS numbers
• Enjoy AIS privileges
Tourist SIM 299, Price: RM21.90
• Free Non-Stop High-Speed Internet 15 GB & AIS SUPER WiFi for 8 days
• Free Unlimited Social Apps for 8 days (no data charges)
• Free Calls to AIS numbers
• Free 100 Baht Call Credit (Local & International call via 00300
• Enjoy AIS privileges
If you have plans to travel countries outside of Thailand, AIS also offers a Roaming SIM, namely the AIS SIM2Fly 5G which carries signal that covers more than 140 countries! More infos below:
SIM2Fly Asia & Australia and SIM2Fly Global
SIM2Fly Asia & Australia 399, Price: RM49.90
• Internet Non-stop 6 GB then speed at 128 Kbps for 10 days + 500 MB (Only use in Thailand)
• Coverage countries 32 countries
• Travel Insurance Special Price start at 90 Baht
SIM2Fly Global 899, Price: RM110.90
• Internet Non-stop 6 GB then speed at 128 Kbpsbfor 15 days + 500 MB (Only use in Thailand)
• Coverage countries more than 144 countries
• Travel Insurance Special Price start at 90 Baht
These sim cards can be purchased online via Shopee Malaysia, linked HERE. Once you can your card, activating it is pretty easy. Just follow these steps below:
What's good about AIS TOURIST SIM is definitely their attractive offers: free travel insurance for up to 30 days, free first grab ride with code: AISGRAB, discounts when you shop at ICONSIAM shopping mall, and more. If you wish to find out more about their package, you should check out their WEBSITE where you can discover further details regarding their service, their traveller packages, service rates, and other related information.
You could also keep up with their upcoming promotion on their official social media platforms, all linked below:
Official website: www.ais.th
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aisinstagram/
Where in Thailand are you dying to visit? Share with us your bucket list, please!
