Thailand

Travel time: March / April 2008  |  by Elbyron W.

My 18-day trip to Thailand with my parents, younger sister, and my girlfriend. We bussed from Bangkok to Kanchanburi, then back to Bangkok to fly to Surat Thani, travelling on to Khao Sok national park. Next we spent a day in Khao Lak before boarding a 3-day liveaboard dive/snorkelling trip in the Similan Islands. Next we bussed to Krabi and explored Phang-na bay. Finally, we flew back to Bangkok for shopping and the Songkran festival.

Travelling to Thailand: Osaka (Japan)

After a long flight from Vancouver, we arrived at the Kansai airport in Osaka Japan where we had a 9 hour layover. We were directed past a medical station where infrared cameras check you for fever, and then into a long lineup for immigration. After almost an hour, we finally got to the desk where our fingerprints and photo were taken electronically. Once through, we exchanged $40 cash at the airport but got a really bad rate. And it turned out to be not quite enough to buy 2 round-trip train tickets into the city. So we just bought the one-way tickets at the travel information desk, and hoped to find a better exchange in Osaka. Upon arriving at Namba station, we wandered around till we found the street corner that we recognized from satellite photos on Google Earth.

Street corner outside Namba station

Street corner outside Namba station

Covered street full of shops

Covered street full of shops

Dotonbori ave

Dotonbori ave

Bright signs along Dotonbori

Bright signs along Dotonbori

We walked down a covered street full of shops to get to Dotonbori ave. This area is famous for its restaurants, but few had anything written in English. There were no money exchanges, but we found a convenience store with an ATM that had the Plus logo on it, and were able to get more cash. Though the exchange rate was much better, we had to pay a $5 fee for the international withdrawal.

Fake food displayed in restaurant window. Looks pretty real!

Fake food displayed in restaurant window. Looks pretty real!

After eating, we returned to Namba station but entered via a different entrance, resulting in us getting lost in the tunnel system that connects 4 subways and 2 train companies. Once we located the correct train line, we had to figure out the ticket vending machine as nobody at the counter spoke English. By showing our ticket to a security guard we were able to determine which of the 10 tracks our train would arrive on. Finally back to Kansai airport and on to Thailand!

Namba station

Namba station

© Elbyron W., 2008
You are here : Overview Asia Japan Travelling to Thailand: Osaka (Japan)
The trip
 
Details:
Start of journey: Mar 27, 2008
Duration: 3 weeks
End of journey: Apr 13, 2008
Travelled countries: Japan
Thailand
The Author
 
Elbyron W. is an active author on break-fresh-ground. since 16 years.