PENANG TO HUE (VIETNAM) 槟城到顺化(越南)

The route: by train from Penang to Bangkok and then from Bangkok ....see map
行程: 由槟城乘<北海-曼谷国际火车>直达曼谷再从曼谷....见路线图

The tran-national train departed Butterworth in the afternoon every day. After the immigration clearance at the Malaysia-Thailand border town, Padang Besar, it proceeded to Hatyai where it would connect the Bangkok bound train. It arrived at Bangkok in late morning.

Khasan Road, the backpacker paradise and one of the main tourist attractions as well, offers varieties of handicraft, painting, clothes and many useful backpacker items.

Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, is 85 km north of Bangkok. There are regular train services between Ayutthaya and Bangkok. The journey takes about 1hour 15 minutes.

Ayutthaya Kingdom was a Siamese (Thailand) Kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767. The Kingdom has strong links with the West (Europe) and was one of the richest cities in the East (Asia)

The Kingdom came under repeated attacks by Burma (presently Myanmar). In 1568 the Burmese succeeded in capturing Ayutthaya. The war between Burmese and Siamese did not end there. In many years that followed, the Siamese fought off the Burmese. In the mid-eighteenth century, Ayutthaya again engaged war with the Burmese, which succeeded in ending the Kingdom in 1767.

The above three photo were taken at the present day Ayutthaya Historical Park near the city. Although the Ayutthaya Kingdom had disappeared nearly two and a half centuries ago the remains that left at the site today are clear evidence of the destruction by the many invasions carried out by the Burmese

Buddha head encased in the overgrown tree root is a landmark in Wat Mahatat, Ayutthaya historical park

After the Laos immigration clearance we landed on Laos. Background is the bus terminal. Vientiane City, the capital of Laos, is just a bus ride away

Our bus route started from Vientiane bus station in Laos and we were asked to go down on the north-south trunk road near Vinh City in Vietnam. The route trailed upwards along the mountain slope on Laos side, stopped at the Laos-Vietnam border checkpoint on the mountain peak before going downwards. A land slide occurred along the mountain route (see picture)