My First International Digital Nomad Experience: Thailand/Malaysia (Part 2)

Introduction

Welcome back to my digital nomad adventures! If you haven't read my first blog post about Bali, you can check it out here.

After spending a month in Bali, I headed to my next country: Malaysia. I had two agendas for visiting Malaysia:

1. To get my phone repaired.
2. To live in a large metropolitan city outside of India.

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

Our flight landed early in the morning. One of our friends booked the evening flight instead of the morning one, so he was already waiting for us at the airport. Luckily, we got the visa on arrival easily. We met him at the airport and got on the bus heading for Kuala Lumpur.

My first impression of Kuala Lumpur was that it was a very clean city. The airport is surrounded by trees. We got off the bus and then took the metro to Bukit Bintang. Our hostel was nearby on the 6th floor of a building. It was surprising to see parking in front of the hostel, with each floor having its own parking. We met the kind host, and I dozed off for a while before we went out to explore the city.

Exploring Kuala Lumpur The square was very close to our hostel. We had dinner at a food court inside the square and browsed the evening market, doing some shopping before calling it a night.

The next day, I headed to a phone repair shop in a nearby mall. Luckily, there were many repair shops to choose from. I dropped off my phone for repair and set out to explore more of the city.

We had already booked tickets for the Petronas Twin Towers. This was my first experience in a high-rise building. The staff took us to the observation deck, and the view was amazing. We could see the whole city and the Medreka Tower.

Next, we visited KLCC park, located next to the towers. We walked around the park and then headed back to the hostel. There was a lot of work pending, so I returned to work on a client project.

The next week was spent working, exploring nearby places, and talking with strangers in the food court. Kuala Lumpur is a very happening place at night, with people singing in almost all the major squares.

KLCC Aquarium and Day Trips Another place we had missed earlier was the KLCC Aquarium. I had never been to an aquarium before and was very excited. We planned to go early in the morning when the entry line was much shorter than the day we visited the Twin Towers. The aquarium is pretty big and has a lot of animals. We saw many fish, turtles, snakes, and other creatures. Seeing the large turtles and sting rays was a great experience.

We spent some more time in the nearby blocks and called it a night after having ramen.

I was getting fed up with the city life and food, so we decided to explore outside the city. We found a small waterfall and the Batu Caves nearby.

Getting outside the city was a relief. We were finally in greenery. The Batu Caves are not far from the city. It is a big cave with a large statue of a Hindu god in front of it. We went inside the cave and saw many smaller caves and temples.

It was already very hot, so we decided to head to the waterfall. It was inside a forest, and there were many people there, with the water being murky. My friend suggested we explore more and trek along the stream. After trekking for a while, we found a small pool of clear water in a beautiful spot. We spent some time in the water and then headed back to the hostel.

Thailand: Krabi

One of our friends decided to head back to India, so we bid him goodbye and booked flights to Thailand.

Our flight was from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi. It was an early morning and very short flight. After landing, we opted for the visa on arrival. There weren't many people, but because I didn't have any photos of myself, it took some time.

The cab dropped us at our hostel, which was very close to Ao Nang beach. I felt better being back at the beach.

All the good beaches in Krabi require a boat ride, so we decided to head to Railay Beach. The boat took 15 minutes to drop us at the beach. The beach is beautiful and has a cave on the other side. After spending some time in the water, we headed back to the hostel.

The next two days were just working and chilling. I had to deliver a project, so I couldn't take much time off. I wanted to finish the project before doing the famous island hopping.

Island Hopping

It took me two days to finish the project. I was very happy to deliver it on time. Now it was time for island hopping! We booked a day trip to Hong Island first.

The ride started very early in the morning. The cab picked us up from the hostel and took us to the boat. We had at least 20 people on the long-tail boat. The experience was different from Bali, as we could see the islands and water from the boat.

The boat first dropped us at Hong Island, which was beautiful with lots of greenery. Then we headed to the Lagoon Island. We couldn't drop into the water, but the view was amazing.

The crew took us to Lading Island next. The water was very clear, and the beach was beautiful. We snorkeled for some time before heading to the final island for lunch.

The final stop was Paradise Island. The beach has a trail leading to an observation deck. The climb wasn't too difficult, and the view was mesmerizing. We could see the whole island, nearby islands, and boats in the water. There were other tourists taking pictures as well.

We decided to try snorkeling at the beach since it was very clean. I spent almost an hour in the water. The tour guide called us back after 45 minutes.

The tour ended with a drop-off at the hostel. We were very tired and slept early, as the next day was also booked for a 4-island hopping trip.

The next day started the same way, with a cab picking us up from the hostel and taking us to the boat. The island hopping was similar, but we were lucky to see the shooting of an Indian movie on Koh Poda Island, where we had our lunch.

The tour ended with another drop-off at the hostel. The next couple of days were calm. We changed to a new hostel that had a pool and party scene. We chilled at the pool and then went out to explore the city.

Phi Phi Island

The final plan was to head to Phuket, but we decided to give Phi Phi Island a try. The ferry was booked, so we had to wake up early. It was a big boat and took a long time to reach Phi Phi. Phi Phi is a beautiful island with beaches on both sides. The top of the island has a stunning view of the entire island and surrounding water.

There was a Muay Thai match, but we missed it as we were busy in the water.

We spent 3 days on Phi Phi, meeting many people and making friends with a British guy. I started work on my next project and did a little bit of kayaking. On the last day, we said goodbye to our friend and headed to Phuket.

Phuket and Bangkok

Phuket greeted us with heavy rain. Somehow, we reached our hotel and spent the whole day there.

The next day was much better. We explored Bangla Street and the beach. We met a group there and had a lot of fun with them. I was busy with work, so my friend mostly did the exploring.

We didn't want to spend much time in the city, so we decided to fly to Bangkok.

I mixed up the flight date, and we reached the airport one day before the flight. It was late at night, so we had to find a hostel on foot with all our backpacks.

Luckily, we found a nearby hostel, and I was able to have a call with my client. The hostel pool gave us some relief, and we spent the day nearby.

The flight to Bangkok was at night. We landed in the morning but had to wait for the metro. I found it a little difficult to navigate the metro as it was different from Indian metros. We had to switch stations to change lines. But we eventually reached the hostel.

It was early morning, but thankfully the guy at the hostel was very kind to let us check in early.

We did a little bit of exploring for the next 2 days. I had to focus on work.

We decided to explore Chinatown first. I was amazed by the street food and market. There were things I don't see in India, like live octopus, scorpions, cockroaches, snakes, etc.

We hired a tuk-tuk to explore the city at night. He dropped us at Khao San Road. It was a very busy road with lots of people and street food. We had dinner and then called it a night.

The next two days were just relaxing and visiting temples. I didn't want to rush before leaving the country.

My friend and I decided to conclude our trip and booked flights for the next day to New Delhi.

We had a good time in Bangkok. The food was amazing, and the people were very friendly.

Wrapping Up

Overall, it was a good trip. I was able to deliver the project and had a great time with my friend exploring Southeast Asia.

I hope to come back again someday!