Taxi/ Uber/Gab/rent a car in Thailand

If you are planning to visit Thailand then this blog will certainly prepare you for the possible taxi scammers.

First of all, there are different color of taxis in Thailand, meter and non meter taxis, UBER and GRAB taxis, and illegal taxis.

Just keep it very clear that the METER taxis is the CHEAPEST option for you in Thailand. Usually driver will try to negotiate for LUMP SUM amount, DO NOT FALL IN TO IT, the meter amount in any case is still the cheapest option. 

The foreigner who visit Thailand usually trust the app based taxis services like UBER and GRAB and from my experience they are twice the cost of the METERED amount. But people usually have a long trust in the app and hesitant to take the actual taxis they still prefer the app service.

Rent a car or Motorbike

Taxis are available abundantly and I do not recommend the renting option for 2 reason, the Unclear insurance system if car is stolen or damaged, secondly the parking. If still very necessary to have a car for yourself then take it with driver and it wont cost much extra.

" I asked the renting person what happen if the car is stolen or damaged and he said me with big smile , YOU PAY IT"

AIRPORT Taxi

Both the airport in Bangkok has improved taxi service, there is a single counter and the customer takes the taxis one by one, the address is informed to the counter and receipt is given to the customer and the driver, you need to pay the total amount end of the journey.

IT looks simple BUT there are many issues later on, which you must know it.

1- Buy a sim card with internet service and use mobile internet for mapping ( Google map works online only and Sygic is a good software to use as offline in Thailand) most of the drivers are not sure about the way and sometime I think they just like to be stuck in traffic.

2- HIGHWAY ISSUE, 

This is one of the biggest issue if you are taking taxi from or To airport, you need to inform the driver if you agree to take highway or not, this can be an easy option if you have google map and you can see the traffic condition, there are 2 portions of highway involved and both parts cost 70 and 50 Baht respectively, this money need to be paid by the customer. If you do not say him to take highway , the driver will take normal way and possible to stuck in traffic for minimum 1 hour. sometime its just enough to take one part of the Highway and then back to normal road. just keep checking your gps traffic condition. Or just say driver to take highway and pay the money, which is hardly 3 Euro in total and does save a lot of time.

3-AIRPORT fees

There is fixed airport fees of 50 Baht, which must be given at the end of journey to the driver, this is also written on your receipt. Just be prepared for it as many tourist think this as a scam and fight with the driver.

4- Taxi commission

If you are single, its high possibility that the taxi driver will try to show you some parts of Bangkok, usually red lights areas, they get some commission from these places so be very clear about your address and DO NOT fall in to this offers.

5-Taxis at the islands like Krabi or Phuket

Meter Taxis on the islands are hard to find and usually illegal taxis ( I think its a monopoly of some car renting agents) run in this area and rate is fixed before the journey. The fare is abnormal high and cars are limited so usually people prefer to rent BIKES here, but the driving style and parking issues makes it a night mare, I recommend to use hotel tourism service and there are few websites that gives great fare for transfer from airport to the hotel or any other place. I recommend this service for Phuket transfer( http://www.phuketsrctravel.com/transfer_service.php ). I find them cheapest and professional.

6-TUKTUK

It is more like a tourist ride and are much more expensive then other car services, better fix a rate before and use your bargain skills.

Lastly, when you still in Meter Taxi, make sure the starting price is 35 and its counting as the car start running.

Finally its a quite safe and interesting city, wish you a safe travel. 
and short distances the bike taxis are best deal in traffic conditions.

Osaka to Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is one of the famous places to visit in Japan. I would say if you want to see the modern and advanced japan then go to Tokyo and for real cultural and historical Japan then visit KYOTO.

Kyoto doesn't have his own airport and its necessary to arrive at the OSAKA airport and then there  are a lot of complicated options to reach Kyoto. Complicated in a way as your choice of transport is really dependent on how long you stay in Japan, what is your future travel plan and how much you can afford.

Arrival at the airport.
The airport is modern, before going to the immigration fill out completely the immigration form( most airlines give it during flight) or just take it form the counter before immigration control. I totally recommend to fill the form before landing and save time. As you walk towards the immigration one officer check if you have filled the immigration form and also the custom declaration form. After this there are counters which just scan your passport and finger print and then you stand in for the immigration counter. The process is quick and they just put a sticker on your passport showing the validity of your visa.
After immigration take your luggage and pass through the custom control and hand over the custom declaration form and they will check your passport again.

 Exit the main door and on the right side you will find INFORMATION center, usually crowded with the tourist. Before going there its better to decide what ticket you actually want.Option are
1- Take JR pass for 7 days and travel unlimited on JR lines
2- Take single journey train HARUKA etc card for one time travel
3- Take bus
How to choose
If you plan to visit multiple cities in Japan and stay like a couple of days in each city, then its totally recommended to take the JR pass which cost nearly 217 Euro and travel hassle free to different cities using fast trains.
If you like to travel by train and use prepaid card and then HARUKA and IOCOA is good option, and cost nearly 3000yen for one way and takes 78 minutes to Kyoto station.
BUT
if you are going to stay longer in Kyoto and you don't have plan to visit another cities soon, so the bus is the cheapest option. One way cost 2300Yen and return ticket cost 4000 yen. Which is a cheap way to reach Kyoto station and takes 88 minutes.

 The lines for the bus, First come First serve basis, buses depart every 20 min in day time so do not panic if you don't get a free space.

 The time table and bus time is shown on the screen, remember PLATFORM 8 to get the bus.

There is ticket office just next to the bus station too, encase you just rushed out of airport with out buying ticket.

 After reaching to Kyoto you can take a SUBWAY ticket for 290 yen for one way, 600yen for one day and 1000 yen for SUBWAY+ BUS for one day pass.

Change the currency at the airport, its similar rate as in the city. you can use CARD money in most of the places in Japan but cash is more welcomed, and small vendors you can just use cash.

Below find some useful links
1- For JR pass
https://www.jrpass.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9afOBRDWARIsAJW4nvy31uaiIUC5b69qaJ9Rt-RHbDDMuePf9PvQpG8LrVW1NFKpguiaeJoaAjUZEALw_wcB

2-Kyoto subway
https://www.kyotostation.com/kyoto-subway-lines/

Heviz Thermal Lake

Hungary is famous for its spa and thermal lakes.
Heviz is the largest (47,500 square meters) thermal  lake in the world and quite famous for tourists and locals.
Heviz thermal lake is about 200 km from Budapest and located at the edge of famous Balaton lake ( fresh water lake). The most easiest way is to come by car or take a day trip by some travel agency. The water of the lake includes many useful minerals and the temperature of the lake remains warm enough even in cold winters, and ranges form 22 to 38C. The water is replaced naturally in 3 days and its possible to see many water lilies floating on the lake.
Time and Cost
It takes nearly 2 hour to reach by car and there are multiple car parking nearby, the parking is not expensive but can be full in peak season and you need to park at a far place. The parking cost 100 HUF per hour. There are multiple option when visiting the lake, you can visit( without going inside lake) for 30 min for the cheapest price, the 3 hour swimming package is the most common choice for tourist, and it cost 9 Euro for adults and nearly 7 Euro if you are student. The ticket counter gives you a plastic band to enter the area and inform you about the remaining time. There are free lockers to keep your expensive things like jewelry or mobile and key can be attached to the band. the locker requires a coin to operate and the coin is automatically returned after you leave the key.
What to Expect
The thermal lakes are warm and source for may flora and fauna,the green algae and water lilies could be irritating for some but the warm water and beautiful surrounding is just inexpressible. There are multiple Shezlong Chairs available near the lake and if you cant find then walk few meters and you will see many option where you can swim and keep your belongings.
Swimming
You can chose to swim either the closed roof area of the open air, usually old people are in the closed roof area, but there is not fixed rule. Keep a floating tube with you as the lake is huge and the depth is 2 meter till 80 meter so that means you cannot put your feet to ground and its not possible to keep swimming all the time. There are metal frames after every 10-20 meter to hold and rest in the lake. The tubes and swimming accessories can be rented on spot too. The water inside the closed roof smells little strange but that can be just because of the algae growth in the water.
Facilities
The lake has excellent facilities like shower rooms, toilets, food area, massage center, fitness center etc. There is no need to do any reservation before going.
Here are some pics form the place.

Overall its a great place with good facilities and I totally recommend it.
This website can give more details on the facilities and prices
http://www.lakeheviz.com/

Hongkong in a week

Hong Kong is Special administrted area of China and consist of mainly

•  Kowloon, 
• Hong kong island and 
• New territories 
• 
  

Hong kong is one of the busiest and the developed metropolitan city in Asia in terms of trade, business, and tourism

Things before starting your journey

VISA:

Majority of the countries in the world do not need visa for Hongkong atleat for 30 days. The list is available at 

http://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/visit-transit/visit-visa-entry-permit.html

If you do need visa then apply at least 2 months before your travel as the processing time can take 4 weeks minimum and application can be submitted to Chinese embassy or directly to the Hong kong Immigration office, I recommend to submit application at Chinese Embassy and the process is more smooth.

Travel Plan

My travel plan was simple, 

1- Reasonable hotel with breakfast in the Kowloon district

2- Street food and night markets

3- Hong kong Island

4- Victoria Peak

Flight

There are many flights to Hongkong, try to reach in the day time to easily access the public transport, Try to take front seats in flight to jump out early from plane and reach to immigration counters, the immigration counters are heavily crowded and fill the DATA FORM before reaching the immigration counter, otherwise you need to go back and fill the form and stand in quo again. There is no alternative for it. The immigration officer are kind and smiling and give you a small receipt with the stamp in your passport showing your last date of return from Hong kong.

Hotel

I like staying right at the center to walk in the night to markets and return without taking public transport. I prefer Kowloon and somewhere near stop JORDAN. I think that's a very nice area to stay near to center and still quiet place. There are many food options there, money exchange offices and easy to access any transport.

Airport to Hotel/Center

The public trasnport is quite good in Hong kong and personal cars are like luxury items. Most the people travel by buses or metro. After arriving at the airport you can take Bus or Train to Center.

OPTION 1:

Take airport express train, you can go to Kowloon or Hong kong Island and cost around 110HKD for one ride, little cheaper if you have OCTOPUS card. or a better option to take airport express travel pass,
1 Airport Express Ride with Unlimited MTR Rides for 3 days: HK$250

OPTION 2

I personally prefer option 2 to take a bus and reach at stop near your hotel, as carrying and transferring your luggage is easier with bus.

After coming out from the airport follow the signs and come out to the bus stop area, go to CITY FLYER company both and buy ticket the required bus ( it will be bus A21 or A22) one way ticket cost 39HKD and if you think to travel more in next days then buy the OCTOPUS card and charge the money in it. OR you can just pay the exact amount to the driver when entering bus( CHANGE is not returned so PAY exact)

The bus takes about 50 minutes to reach the Center( Tsim Sha Tsui  stop)

Night Markets

KOWLOON is famous for its night market and street food. KENT street or Lady market are popular night markets. where as eating on the streets of KENT market is a experience of its own. The city is expensive but still comparable to any other metropolitan city. 

Hong kong island

Hongkong island is accessible by MTR ( take metro from JORDAN stop) or just walk to harbour and then take ferry to the Hongkong island, its a cheap way to have a wonderful view of the harbor and visit to HK island. 

Victoria Peak

At Hongkong island the Victoria peak is a must visit advice. The public bus number 15 for the CENTRAL station goes directly to Victoria peak, take a evening time and reach near sunset and the view is breathtaking, the way back can be very crowded so either stop till the crowd goes back and have dinner and spend some time there or go quickly for the bus to come back to the central station. 

FOOD

The variety of food is huge and you can find almost all types of food, try the local street food near KENT market, the hygiene is level is not so good, but the atmosphere is great.

Local vendor at metro station

Other places

If you have time try to visit following places

Mong Kok

Ngong Ping and Tian Tan Big Buddha

Hongkong disney land

Lamma Island

Museums

Likes and Dislikes

        From my personal experience Hongkong is city where anyone can live easily, its blend of many nationalities, culture, customs,tradition and religion that hard to identify the locals, so makes it great metropolitan city. The city is quite safe ( at least I didnt feel any fear walking in day and late nights)

Personal dislikes from the city are

      Poor hygiene level and street food,fruits must be tried with strong stomach. The humidity in summer is extreme and hard to even walk in the streets. The hotels with basic facilities are even very expensive. Take your stomach medicines and antibiotics with you.

Enjoy you stay

Eindhoven, Netherlands

3 Days at Eindhoven, Netherlands

Eindhoven is 5th biggest city in the Netherlands with population of 0.2 Million. The city has its own airport, well connected railway system and good public transport system. the city is within 100mies from Roterdam, Amsterdam and Cologne( Germany).

Airport
Eindhoven airport is just 5 Km in the north west of the city and connected with the city with bus 401 and 400 the timing and other information can be found here on this website. http://www.oveindhoven.nl/Airport_Eindhoven_Bus_English.htm
The buses are very frequent and no need to check the schedule. After arrival at airport then exit from the right door and the bus stop is just in the front. If you are thinking to rent a car then do it at the airport as the city center offices are always without cars or with expensive options. The car renting offices  are also next to the bus stop.
The bus ticket can be bought from the driver in cash for 3.75 Euro for one way or a 24 hour ticket fro 6 Euro. The bus takes 25 minutes to reach to the main railway station.

Hotel
The Hotels in Eindhoven are extremely expensive so I recommend either do a very early booking or find pension or houses with rented rooms. The breakfast in the hotel usually cost around 9 Euro so it better to eat outside  form some food market or Mcdonalds. The hotels near to Railway station are best option as its possible to walk around all part of the city. The city is safe and  people are usually very cooperative. ( average hotel room cost 30 Euro per night)

This house  has 7 renting room and near to railway station, name: SYCAMORE
Things to see
The town is small and can be seen easily in 2 days. The places of attraction are
1- House of Philips
2- Philips Museum
3- St. Catherine's Church
4- streets near Town center, the architecture is amazing
5- Shopping ( Primark)

The Philips House is one of the most famous place in Eindhoven and people believe that the city is known to the world because of the Philips and hos inventions . the House is located on the street PARLAAN 87.

Philips museum is located near the center and if you have young people accompanying you then can be a worth visit place. the ticket cost 9Eur per person.

For Eating I recommend to go to the North of the station by walking there are alot of international restaurants. the place is next to the University and due to students offera wide variety of foods with relativelt cheaper rates. The street name is Kruisstraat 

Few pictures from the streets of Eindhoven

Visit Van Gogh Village NUENEN
 The VAN Gogh ( Famous Artist) village is near the Eindhoven city and you can reach there by taking he bus number  and 322. This place is truly magical and has beatiful streets and few old houses from the art work of the Van Gogh's work. His200 paintings were made in this city including the famous Potato Eater painting.
The town is just 9 Km from the Eindhoven city and the ticket cost nearly 3 Euro one way
Few of the photos form this town are as below.

 The Bus station is equipped with display screen and easy to see the number of the bus and timings.

 Church at Nuenen

 Van Gogh portrait on a restaurant wall

 Potato eater monument 

The house of his wife

I think its a wonderful city and I recommend it for the tourists
Have a great tay