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That's true. Bangkok has a very large presence of Sikhs involved in a variety of trades, mainly clothing and Indian restaurants.

He in fact offered a bespoke suit to me at a large discount, even lower than the price advertised on his shop window. We were to leave for the airport the next morning, but he promised to have it ready and delivered to my hotel by 7am (this was at 9pm). Which would have meant that people would have been working on it all night long! Somehow, the thought of owning another suit did not appeal to me (I wear suits quite infrequently, but already have a lot of them! :) ), and I declined - so he gifted me a very nice tie just like that!

The next morning, we had a complimentary drop to the airport. The Corolla taxi that the hotel called for us, broke down enroute (it overheated. Now don't start off with "It's a Toyota... How can it break down??" etc. :D ).

The cab driver hopped out, took one look at the steam coming out from under the bonnet, and flagged down another passing taxi, helped us transfer our luggage to the other one, settled money with the other cabbie, and we were on our way in less than 5 minutes.

The rest of the journey was otherwise uneventful, until the Meru cab ride back home from the airport. The driver insisted that it was his birthright to be tipped an additional Rs.50 over and above the meter, since Diwali was around the corner. I blew my fuse.

That ends the story. Thanks for reading patiently!

Bumped into Team - Bhp after a span of couple of years. Used to be a regular when I was based in Bangalore. Met with quiet a few folks in the Kaas drive. Ever since moved to Singapore a couple of years back, did not come in. And it is pleasant to see a travelogue on Thailand.

Having been a driving holiday fanatic, was missing the roads till I managed to get my own wheels in Singapore. It is expensive to own a car in Singapore but after a year bought one myself. Since then it has been Thailand-Malaysia .. Did a solo trip to Phuket-Ko Samui in August 2012. Went to Phuket/Krabi again in Nov. Have been writing in Singapore forums about my trips.

http://www.mycarforum.com/index.php?...c=2682002&hl=*

Generally driving in Malaysia/Thailand is dreaded by Singapore drivers. Very few drive beyond Penang and very very few drive all the way to Thailand. I tell my Singaporean friends, for us it is no big deal. And here SS has travelled all the way from India and had a driving holiday. Kudos mate..

Also there are a lot of Indian restaurants. Be it Phuket, Ko Samui, Krabi - every where I could find many many Indian restaurants.

I love Thailand and the roads. They are pretty much like GQ, except without those dividers, but yellow lines. Have done 175kmph and was not stopped. May be I was lucky. My next trip is to drive from Singapore - Hua Hin - Chiang Mai - Vientienne, Laos - Pattaya - Chumpohn - Hat Yai - Singapore in Feb 2013.

Good to see that you enjoyed the drive. It is a pleasant country and any day would not hesitate to hop into a car and go on a driving holiday.

Nainar

Hope to see more of you here once again!
Would be enlightening to read about your car ownership experience, including costs and legalities, in Singapore.
Nice travelogue with good details, but some of the attachments don't seem to be accessible to non-members of that forum.
This wasn't our first time though. Check out my other Thailand thread in case you haven't already. Drove in Malaysia in 2002, from KL to Penang and back. Traffic in Malaysia at that time didn't feel bad, in fact, it had been better than pervailing traffic conditions back in India! One has to keep in mind that the GQ did not exist in 2002!

Didn't drive in Singapore though, since car rentals at that time in Singapore appeared a lot more expensive than in Malaysia. In any case, Singapore is so well covered by public transport, we hardly missed not having a car.
We try to avoid Indian restaurants in general, except in rare situations when someone in the group is feeling homesick! :D
You were. I wasn't.
Now that seems quite an extensive drive. Bon voyage, and hope you'll post the travelogue on Team-BHP.

Dropped my plans of driving from BKK to Phuket, got a reasonable airfare(less than 4000 return) per person. We have 4days in Phuket and would like to know if its worth visiting Krabi or just visit the famous places around Phuket

Krabi is a nice place and pretty laid back, unlike Phuket. And it is @170 kms from Phuket. It does have an airport but dont know if there are flights from Phuket. Your choice will be to drive/driven to Krabi from Phuket. Keep aside 3 hours one way.

I loved Krabi better than Phuket, more for its laid back attitude and great beaches.

Nainar

Phuket has more tourist attractions than Krabi does, so if you like the nightlife and 'artificial' attractions, Phuket is the place for you.

Krabi is more of a place for relaxing, long walks, spending time on the beaches, scuba diving, snorkelling and speedboat trips (they're cheaper ex-Krabi than ex-Phuket), and generally staring out to sea, watching the sun set.

OTOH, Phuket has its endless list of activities that you can check out here (http://www.phuket.com/activities/).

Singapore is pretty expensive for owning a car without any questions. Actually you dont own a car, but least it for 10 years, and you can renew the lease by paying the government.There is a Certificate of Entitlement to own a car, which is a piece of paper valid for 10 years, which for now goes @S$80,000 for a 1.6 liter engine cars and @S$91000 for cars beyond 1.6 liter engines. That translates to INR 36lacs - 40 lacs as a levy, valid for 10 years. And then there is customs duty, etc. In a nutshell, a Corolla Altis costs @50 lacs on the road, Passat 2.0 TSI is @70 lacs, BMW X3 @1.2 crores.

So, what I learnt from my Singaporean friends is to get rid of the mindset of "owning" a car. It all boils down to how much you are willing to spend, to have a car at your disposal for next 10 years or how many ever years you intend to stay in Singapore. Then the algebra is easier, and can figure out things easily. It is a drain, and the question to be answered is how much drain can you withstand.

Nainar

Phuket has enough attractions to keep you occupied for 4 days. I hope you have planned for an Island tour or two. They would be full day events. And there are beaches. If you move away from the Patong beach area, you do have some less crowded beaches to just chill.

Thanks for your inputs Jaguar and SS. I have decided to stay back in Phuket as I would be staying in Kantary Bay in Cape Panwa. This hotel is located away from the hustle and bustle and should be more relaxed. They also have a private beach.

Looks like a good hotel, although there are a few negative reviews on TripAdvisor. We did notice this one on our trip there, and the location seemed excellent - no idea about the insides though.

Have a good time there.

Received a query via PM, and I am posting my response to it on this thread with the member's name left anonymous (unless he wants to reveal it himself)!
Personal insurance: Health & accident insurance related to international travel - we didn't carry any (Thai immigration does not require that you be insured before entering the country), but instead carried our own stock of medication etc. to handle most medical emergencies. In any case, medical services are not fantastically expensive in Thailand as opposed to Europe/UK/US. If you want such an overseas insurance cover, you need to talk to any general insurance agent or buy such insurance online before departure.

Driver's insurance: For the first driver, Avis has an insurance cover built into the rental charges (don't remember how much for), and for every additional driver they charge you (IIRC) 200THB per day towards insurance. Covers accidental injuries/death while driving.

dada

One of the most informative and descriptive TL one can hope to come across, illustrated aptly with photos :)

Am attempting a similar self drive holiday arriving in early june and plan to follow in your footsteps by driving to kwai upon reaching bangkok. Have also contacted Xanadu for details. Just wanted to check since he doesnt do online transactions, can he give me a reservation confirmation which is sufficient as proof of stay needed while applying for a visa?

Also, we will reach Bangkok in the wee hours of the morning at Don Meung, can we pick up the car from Avis at dawn or do they start business at around 9?

regards
Supratik

Yes - a printout of his email is enough. Normally the immigration chaps don't even ask for proof.
I think Avis' airport counters work round the clock. The city office works from 9am to 6pm. Please email Avis Thailand and confirm.

Dada,

qq, was about to book a self driven vios for 4 days in Thailand, am taking the SCDW as it makes sense. Would you also recommend the Theft Protection (TP) and the Personal Accident Insurance (PAI)? All of these add another 160 BHT each day but of course offer a protection against unforeseen events. Since you have used Avis extensively in Thailand, what do you suggest?

regards

Theft protection: Car theft is rare in Thailand, and in any case no one steals or even looks at low-end sedans. No need for that.

Personal accident insurance: Carry accident insurance from an Indian insurer anyway. PAI from Avis will only cover injuries when driving the car - what about at other times, like crossing the road?