Hop – Skip – Cross Border…
From Malaysia to Thailand:
I have been residing in Kota Bharu, the capital of Kelantan, Malaysia for about 3 years now. My friend persuaded me to go border-hopping with her to Hat Yai, Thailand. I’m glad I paid heed to her advice. Border-hopping from Malaysia to Thailand has, by far, been the most exciting travel stint ever. Imaging crossing the border on foot. I did just that with my friend.
Getting set for the adventure…
Border-Hopping to Thailand:
Kota Bharu literally shares the border with Thailand, and this is how we made it possible: before you attempt to do the same, please make sure to comply with the visa requirements. Having an Indian passport, I had to pay for the visa and get it stamped at the Immigration Office at both places.
It’s always a fun trip with friends 🙂 Hoppity -hop- hop
This is the route we followed:
Kota Bharu city –(drive)–> Sungai Golok border –(Office)–> Thailand border Office
We drove to Sungai Golok border, which took us about 45 minutes. We then got our visas stamped and trod to Thailand border on foot. It took us barely ten minutes. The locals often head to Sungai Golok for its night market and exotic street food. We carried on to the Immigration Office at the border, got our visas checked and continued the journey.
Malaysia to your left, Thailand to your right 😉
The directions to follow:
Want to try it too? Let’s make it easy for you…
Step-1: Book a taxi from Kota Bharu city centre to Sungai Golok border. The cab ride will take 35-45 minutes.
Step-2: Get your visa in place. Carry your passport to the border and get it stamped at the office at Sungai Golok. Please check your visa requirements on the internet and give a call to the Thai Embassy in Kota Bharu in advance. The staff at the embassy is quite helpful and will guide you through the process or ask you to reach the office at the border directly. The procedure depends on your passport and is a tad different from country to country.
Step-3: Pick your luggage and walk away to Thailand. How long does this take? Literally 10 minutes. Get your visa stamped at the Thailand immigration office and hail a bike-taxi from the gate. The taxi will take you to the bus stop from where you can purchase your tickets to any Thai city of your choice. Mini buses, vans and buses are some of the common modes of transport hired by locals.
1.The lobby leading to the other side 2.The colourful bus station 3.Our first snack in the bus
Off to Hat Yai:
What did we do? Well, we bought tickets to try Hat Yai street food, to shop for good quality fabric and clothes, to explore the lanes and alleys on foot and go pub-hopping in the city laden with lights, hawkers and spas.. and what a good time that was. I could go back again just for the fried chicken *drooool*.
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Well, besides the border crossing it was lovely 🙂
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Oh, i see.. hah! That’s some coincidence, indeed. Hope you had a wonderful experience too
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Oh my god, what a coincidence. I just came here from your comment on my post and then I see this. I swear I didn’t come here to promote my blog but I had a very similar experience and actually wrote about it to haha (Post is called 2nd Class Humans couple weeks back on my blog). Glad to know I’m not the only one who had to cross the border to Thailand by foot^^
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Nice. there are so many Thai cities to cover that even 3 visits weren’t enough for me 😉
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Thailand its an absolutely gorgeous place to visit! I only visited once, but I was amazing!
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Hope you check it off your list this year ❤
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She must have so many stories to share… Nice! 🙂
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Wow, what an amazing experience! I had a friend who lived there for quite some time, and she LOVED it. Hopefully I’ll get to visit someday too!
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Both are on my bucket list!!! ❤
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Glad you enjoyed reading my story. Happy 2018! 🙂
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It sure is.. You must plan a trip to Thailand.
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I’ve always wanted to go to Thailand. I always thought it was such a beautiful place.
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Hello, it looks like you are having fun on your trip. This is absolutely nice. Thank you for sharing.
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You must visit both. They have their own charm
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Do plan.. and when you get there, please share your stories with us. We’d love to hear
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You must, if you get a chance 😀
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Happens.. we tend to ignore places close by
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Oh, you must plan a trip to Malaysia.. There’s a lot to see and do here 🙂
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What an amazing experience! I would love to visit Malaysia with my son, who has been wanting to visit Legoland for the longest time. 🙂
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I’m so jealous, I wish I could travel more often.. But kids.. and life. I live in Arizona and Mexico is a short drive but I’ve never been.
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This looks like a fun thing to do, i might consider doing it someday. thanks for sharing this.
jossynana.com
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I have heard that Thailand is an absolutely gorgeous place to visit! I want to plan a trip to see it for myself!
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I have always wanted to visit Thailand, I’ve heard its an absolutely gorgeous place to visit!
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What an incredible trip! I can’t wait to be able to visit both Malaysia and Thailand one day….they looks like such spectacular countries.
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Thank you.. You should check it out 🙂
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That really looks exciting! Would love to see the temples there. Very precise write up. Keep it up 👍🏻
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