This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Kartik Kannan from the blog Katchu Travels. Kartik is a product manager by profession advising early phase start ups. He also loves shooting weddings in his free time while also pursuing his love for travel through travel documentaries, like the #BeachTrail2017!

Today's destination: The Beach Trail - based on the movie 'The Beach', this is set in Thailand and tries to recreate the magic from the DiCaprio starrer, The Beach, based on the novel by Alex Garland.   Nearest Airport: Koh Samui/Don Mueang air port

Prerequisities - check the Visa fee waiver for Indians, it will save you about INR 2000 as well as an hour at the immigration!

Packing - make sure you pack a few extra pair of clothes, specially if you are going there during Songkaran - the equivalent of Holi, minus the colors!

Time of the year - April

Length of the itinerary: 9 days

Itinerary Highlights: 

• Fly in to bangkok at the Don Mueang air port
• It's best to get a sim card for your phone once you land in the airport, coverage is great and plans offer ample 4G data
• Take the bus to Khaosan road from where you take the bus to Chumphon 
• Enjoy a ferry ride from Chumphon National park to Koh Phangan. 
• Once in Koh PHangan, it's best to make the Haadrin area as your base as it has a number of economic hostels as well as supermarkets to get your essentials. Besides, this is the venue of the famous full moon parties!
• You could spend time at the numerous beaches - coco hut beach is a fun place to hang out and play volley ball as well!
• Bikes and scooters are available to rent and explore the island. Day 3 was spent at a couple of pristine waterfalls - Paradise waterfalls and Phaeng waterfalls
• Ride a songtha or shared auto! And for those looking for Indian food, yes there is an indian restaurant - Om Ganesh!
• Day 4 was spent at Chaloklum which is a fishing village. Spend some time at the desolate beaches off Chaloklum. And spend time watching the beautiful sunsets at the beach!
• Get hyped for the FUll moon party - face painting, colorful clothes, psychadelic lights, EDM to pop to Bob Marley, Beer pong and what not.  
• The next day was spent exploring the Ang Thong marine islands and enjoy some water sports, mountain treks and beautiful views of the surrounding islands and the emarald blue lake!
• Make sure to partake in the Songkaran festival if you are in thailand during April 12-15, Thailand's popular water festival!
• Travel to the island of Koh Tao and enjoy Holi, thai style! Make sure you invest in a good water gun! Also a popular spot for getting a scuba  diving certification!
• Take the ferry to Chumphon and a train ride onward to Bangkok to end the #BeachTrail2017!

Links:

Part 0 http://www.katchutravels.com/thebeachtrail2017-chennai-koh-phangan-24-hours-first-day/

Part 1 http://www.katchutravels.com/thebeachtrail-part-1-settling-koh-phangan/

Part 2 http://www.katchutravels.com/thebeachtrail2017-part-ii-discovering-coco-beach-paradise-waterfall/

Part 3 http://www.katchutravels.com/thebeachtrail2017-part-iii-discovering-chaloklum-mae-haad-full-moon-party/

Part 4 http://www.katchutravels.com/thebeachtrail2017-part-iv-discovering-angthong-songkaran-koh-tao/

More about the Guest:  Twitter - @KatchuTravels Instagram - @Katchutravels Facebook - @Katchutravels

#travel #TheMusafirStories #KatchuTravels #TheBeachTrail2017 #TheBeach #Movie #AlexGarland #Thailand #Kohphangan #Haadrin #FullMoon #Party #Angthong #Marine #NationalPark #Chaloklum #Bangkok #Songkaran #Festival #KohTao #ScubaDiving

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.