I have lost counts the number of times I have moved in my lifetime. This has to be the biggest moved yet. I will be turning sixty-two in six months! It's time for a new chapter and to experience new things, while I still can.
Having moved back to Penang on the 19th November, 2022, my partner and I decided to drive to Hat Yai and stay for 3 nights. Barely 2 weeks since we've landed in Penang, we are keen to start our many trips already planned until April 2023! We've arranged to meet with our friend from Melbourne in Hat Yai, who is originally from Thailand.
Hat Yai is a popular destination for Malaysians and Singaporeans. A fairly large city in the southern part of Thailand. It is near to the Thai-Malaysian international border. On a normal traffic, it takes an hour to drive to Hat Yai city, after immigration and custom clearance at the border. Most Malaysian tourists prefer to travel to Hat Yai on road or rail. We've decided to drive to Hat Yai from Penang island.
What we found is that driving in Thailand is the same as driving in Malaysia, on the same side of the road. There is little regard to following the road rules. After the first few hours, we got the hang of it and it was no difference from driving in Penang island.
Our biggest challenge on this road trip is at the Thai-Malaysian border. This was the first time we've driven to Thailand. It took us a bit longer to figure out the immigration and custom check points for clearance at the Thailand side. It is easier on the Malaysian side, which is better designed with clearer signage and less confusing. On the Thai side, the check points are wide and sparse, lacking in good signage to show where and what the driver and passenger (ie us) had to do next. In comparison on the Malaysian side, Thai border staff were friendlier, more understanding and helpful with us. Our road trip took us 5 1/2 hours in total with our starting point in Batu Ferringhi on the Penang island side to our destination point at Centara Hotel Hat Yai. Approximately 230 km on the road.
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