7 August 2018, Tuesday
After an uneventful day in Hat Yai yesterday, I was very eager to move on to Kuala Lumpur today. I checked out of my hostel at 6:40am and walked to Haadyai Station, aka Hat Yai Junction railway station, less than 10 minutes away.
Yesterday, I had already purchased my ticket for the shuttle train from Hat Yai to Padang Besar, so all I needed to do today was to show up. If you prefer, you can also buy the ticket for same day travel at the railway station. It is a shuttle service so tickets are highly unlikely to be sold out.
The Padang Besar shuttle is a four-carriage, non-air-conditioned train that departs from Platform 3. There were fewer than 10 of us in my carriage so I was free to choose my seat. It was a very basic, no frills train but a refreshing change from the high-speed, modern ones that I took previously in Europe and China. I actually liked that it was not air-conditioned because I could stick my head out of the window and enjoy the cool breeze against my face for once.
At 7:30am sharp, the train moved off from Hat Yai Junction. We made a brief stop at Khlong Ngae station at 7:52am and another brief stop at 8:09am at the Thai border, before crossing over to Malaysia’s Padang Besar station, arriving at 8:12am (Thailand time). Therefore, the journey from Hat Yai to Padang Besar took about 42 minutes.
The first thing I did was to adjust my clock to Malaysia time, which is one hour ahead of Thailand. Hence, my actual arrival time in Padang Besar was 9:12am based on local time. Here, we alighted and cleared immigration of both countries within the same building. The process was a breeze as there were very few passengers on the train.
On the second level of the building, there was a waiting hall and a cafeteria. I bought a packet of (very oily) fried noodles and a cup of (very sweet) Teh Tarik for MYR 5.50 (S$1.85). I munched on my breakfast while waiting for my connecting train to arrive.
For the journey from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur, I booked my KTM train ticket from a website called BusOnlineTicket.com (click here). It was an ETS (Electric Train Service) train service EP9201, departing Padang Besar at 11:15am and arriving at KL Sentral at 4:55pm, with a travelling time of 5 hours 40 minutes. The ticket price was RM 102 but there was a small additional service charge, so I paid RM107.60 (S$36) altogether for my ticket.
After boarding the train at 10:55am, I double-checked to make sure that I was at the correct coach and seat before I sat down (after what happened at Bangkok two days ago). The train was clean and modern, with cushy seats and ample legroom. However, there were no power sockets by the seats.
At 11:15am sharp, the train departed Padang Besar and made its way south towards the capital of Malaysia. There were fewer than five people in my carriage. This was my last train ride for my trip so I wanted to savour it well. From the information display screen, I saw that the top speed was about 122km/hr. The ride was smooth and very pleasant. Over the next five hours, the train got colder and colder, so I ended up using my bath towel as a blanket.
This 9201 train was a Platinum class train, which is the quickest of all the ETS services as it stops at only the main stations along the line. Platinum class trains also tend to operate at the most popular times of the day, and they have train numbers starting with EP. From Padang Besar, this EP9201 train makes eights stops at Arau, Alor Setar, Sungai Petani, Taiping, Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh, Batu Gajah and Kampar before terminating at KL Sentral.
At 11:32am, we stopped at Arau for a few minutes and a train attendant came around to check our tickets. At 11:55am, we stopped at Alor Setar and many more passengers came on board.
When I first planned my trip months ago, I considered visiting Penang and a few other cities in Malaysia. Penang was part of the Straits Settlements alongside Malacca, Dinding and Singapore during the British colonial years. I visited Penang decades ago as a child but I remember precious little from that trip. It would have been fascinating to revisit Penang to explore its rich Peranakan history.
If I wanted to visit Penang, I could have made a stop at Sungai Petani, located about 35km from Butterworth, which is the largest urban settlement in Penang. I would still have to transfer from Sungai Petani to Butterworth, then take a ferry to Penang Island, where the capital, George Town, is. However, I was feeling very tired by this stage of my trip so I decided to forgo it.
At around 2:15pm, shortly after leaving Ipoh, I was very cold and hungry. I went to the small cafeteria at one of the carriages and bought a bento box of nasi lemak and a cup of hot coffee for RM8.50 (S$2.80).
As we approached Kuala Lumpur city, the train moved at a much slower pace as there were track improvement works taking place. However, we still managed to arrive at KL Sentral at 4:41pm, 14 minutes ahead of schedule. Woohoo, I’m finally in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia, the 19th country and the last one of my trip before returning home tomorrow. I can smell Singapore already!
KL Sentral is the main railway station of Kuala Lumpur. My hostel was located in the main commercial area at Bukit Bintang. From KL Sentral, I walked a short distance to the Muzium Negara MRT station and bought a single-trip ticket, which cost RM1.80 (S$0.60). The ticket came in the form of a small, round token. I alighted at Bukit Bintang station, just three stops away. From there, I walked for five minutes and arrived at my hostel at about 5pm.
My accommodation was a hostel called KLBackpacker.com (click here), located at No. 38A Jalan Walter Granier, Bukit Bintang, along a small lane just behind Fahrenheit88 shopping mall. I booked an 8-bed mixed dormitory room and my one night’s stay cost RM30.60 (S$10.20).
As I only had a short time here in KL, I quickly dropped my bags and headed out. Of course, I had been here several times before so it was not new to me, but I was still eager to enjoy the last night of my trip. It was nice to be back at a familiar place, doing a quick round of the malls in the Bukit Bintang area – Pavilion, Fahrenheit88, Lot 10 and Sungei Wang Plaza.
At 8:15pm, I met up with WL at Bukit Bintang MRT station. WL is my cousin’s cousin and he lives and works in KL. He reached out to me after finding out that I would be stopping by KL and very kindly invited me to dinner. Of course, I obliged. Nothing beats having a local to bring you to the best eating places in their hood!
I bought another single-trip ticket (RM1.70) and we took the MRT to Pudu, three stops away. From there, we walked to a seafood restaurant called Fatt Kee Roast Fish. It was very crowded and it was full of locals.
The restaurant is famous for their roast fish and you can choose the Spicy Level, which ranges from 0 to 7. You’ll need to pay an additional fee from Spicy Level 4 onwards. Based on WL’s previous experience, he said that it was really spicy, so we only chose level 2, and it turned out to be just right.
There were several options on the menu, with many different kinds of add-ons, so I just let WL do the ordering. I don’t know what type of fish he ordered eventually, but it came with some giant prawns and lots of clams and mushrooms. We also ordered a plate of sambal kangkong (which was super spicy) and a bottle of Tsingtao beer. The bill came up to RM139 (S$47) altogether.
We spent a good time catching up over the delicious food. After the hugely satisfying dinner, we walked past a shop selling dessert. Even though I was already stuffed to the brim from dinner, I couldn’t resist having a bowl of peanut paste. This is my all-time favourite dessert and I will always order it if it is available.
As WL was working the next day, we didn’t hang out any later, and made our way back to our respective homes at 10:45pm. It was a brief catch up session but a good one. It’s always nice to meet a familiar face overseas. With that, it’s very nearly the end of my trip. One last sleep before I return home tomorrow!