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Travel

Photos and stories from many of my travels in the past 5 years

Flying direct from Bangalore to Phuket; arriving at The Village, Coconut Island

By Mithun Divakaran
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Feb 12, 2020
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Phuket, Thailand, Travel

Date: 21 October 2019

This trip began because earlier in the year I won a contest organized by Thailand Tourism where the prize was a two-night stay at a luxury resort in Phuket. I initially kept it thinking me and my brother could treat the rest of my family to an international vacation but when those plans did not pan out, I decided to make use of the prize myself.

I took advantage of Go Air’s direct flight from Bengaluru to Phuket. A ticket I got for Rs. 9k.

It was my first time flying a budget airline to Thailand from Bangalore. I had exclusively flown Thai Airways up until now.

Go Air Phuket flight seats — The flight was 80% full but luckily, my row was completely empty 🙂

The flight was supposed to depart at 2:15am but there was a slight delay

Go Air Phuket dawn flight — I tried to sleep but it wasn’t too long before I saw the sun rise

Sun just starting to rise plane — It was hard to keep my eyes closed as the view kept getting better…

Clouds Go Air Phuket flight — … and better

Phuket island coastline — This would be my third visit to the island. My last visit here was in 2012 with a friend.

Go Air landing Phuket airport — The flight landed on time at 7:45am

I had downloaded the visa on arrival form, printed it out and filled it up in advance. The queue at the visa on arrival counter was mostly all Indians who had landed along with me and as usual, many had not filled up the form in advance, nor did they fill up the arrival card given to every passenger on the flight. I did both. Since I was also alone, I got my form inspected and done with everything in less than five minutes. After that, immigration didn’t take long.

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Palakkayam Thattu – the second highest viewpoint in Kannur

By Mithun Divakaran
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Jan 20, 2020
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India, Kerala, Travel

Date: 21 December 2019

I had been longing to visit Paithalmala, the highest peak in Kannur, for quite some time. But one of my cousins told me that there is another hilltop destination that is worth visiting. Palakkayam Thattu is 50 kms from Kannur city center and actually along the same route one would take to get to Paithalmala. Elevated at 3500 feet above sea level, I figured that is high enough to get some great shots using my newly acquired drone.

Brown grass Kannur Kerala — We were a group of 8 and we hired a van to take us to Palakkayam Thattu and back

Kannur highway Kerala — We left from our homes at around 7:30am

Palakkayam Thattu is open from 5AM to 9PM so it’s a popular choice to come watch the sunrise and during sunset. But none of us in the group wanted to wake up that early and for me, if the hills got too foggy, then I would not have been to able to capture the height of the hills.

It took us around 40 to 45 minutes to get to the parking area near Palakkayam Thattu. Use this location on Google Maps to find your way to the parking area. The van parked and from there, we had to hire a jeep to take us to the top. Jeeps cost Rs. 700 and can accommodate 7 adults or 8 to 9 children.

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Siem Reap to Bangkok by bus… my experience at the Thailand border

By Mithun Divakaran
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Dec 12, 2019
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Cambodia, Travel

Date: 16 May 2018

Today saw our tour of Cambodia come to an end. This journey began when I met up with my girlfriend in Chiang Mai, Thailand, then flew to Phnom Penh (Cambodia’s capital), then took the bus to Siem Reap, spent a day exploring Angkor Park and today, we depart for Bangkok. But instead of taking a flight, I figured we would cross international borders by road instead.

Giant Ibis bus to Bangkok — We booked the 7:45am bus via Giant Ibis. Tickets costs $32 per person. The bus was hardly full.

Green fields Cambodia — It’s not that flights from Siem Reap to Bangkok are much more expensive. I just never crossed international borders by road before so I thought I’d get to experience something new.

Cambodia public school — I also wanted to see more of Cambodia’s countryside and the way of life out here (pictured is a public school)

Hill Cambodia countryside — But much of what I saw were farmlands

Giant Ibis bus rest stop Cambodia — We would stop once along the highway for a rest stop break

Poipet road Cambodia — Closer to noon, we had reached the border town of Poipet

Happy Mart Cambodia highway — Poipet isn’t big but it is the most developed town I had seen along the way since leaving Siem Reap

Cambodia Thailand border crossing — The bus would drop us here and then pick us up again from the Thailand side. We were all given badges and asked to follow our guide.

Our bus came with a guide who had a look at our passports before getting down from the bus and when I told him I was from India, he was like “oh”. He told me Indians and Chinese often face hurdles with immigration at this border. We were also told we would have to pay 100 baht to Cambodia immigration upon exit.

Poipet departure Cambodia border — That green structure is the Cambodia immigration for departures

It was crowded inside but lines moved fast. The Cambodian immigration officer asked for the 100 baht but did not give a receipt or anything. I still wonder why we had to pay money upon leaving Cambodia… and that too in Thai baht.

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