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Exploring the known and unknown
Day 2
Monday 22.4.13
Singapore.
Trains to Malaysia are booked up to 30 days ahead. Trying to get a sleeper train ticket on one days notice is difficult if not impossible. The excellent website "seat 61 .com" explains in detail how to go about getting a ticket to Bangkok, or rather tickets. There is no single ticket to Bangkok. Two tickets are needed. One ticket to Butterworth in Northern Malaysia (opposite the Island of Penang) and an ongoing ticket to Bangkok.
The easy way is to buy a ticket in Singapore. However “seat61” explains that the cost of the tickets are to be paid in Singapore dollars but if you cross into Malaysia first (at a cost of $5) and get the tickets in Johor Bahru the cost is charged in Malaysian Ringgits which is less than half the price. Anyway it takes a bit of organising to get to the Malaysian station by 7 am and not having a reservation was risky.
Via the internet I booked a bus to Butterworth and would try for a train ticket there. The bus would leave at 7.30 pm giving me a day in Singapore to explore (read: wear myself out) In the afternoon I opted to go to the Olympic pool for a “cool” swim , however the water, at 31 degrees was not doing much of that.
By 6pm I had walked the 4 km distance from The Kiwi Hostel to the bus terminal, in front of a large shopping complex and boarded the bus. (Buying a new backpack with wheels had been a good choice as carrying 16 kg for such a distance does not seem like a lot of fun) Just the thought of traveling on a bus is normally off-putting. However, the seats were comparable to first class aircraft type seats which can be laid almost horizontal like a TV chair at home. Soon we had crossed the large bridge connecting Singapore with Malaysia and were driving past endless rubber plantations. Sleeping was not a problem. Every few hours a toilet / food /stretch your legs stop made it a comfortable journey. There were only about 8 people on the bus, so I don't think that it was a profitable journey for the bus company.
Near Butterworth I heard that the bus was actually travelling all the way into Thailand, to the city of Hat Yai just across the border. I asked if I could stay and I could for a small payment. Great, that saved me some time. Crossing the border into Thailand was similar to the Singapore –Malaysia border. Everyone got off the bus and collected their luggage from the luggage compartment and walked through the gate, got their passport seen to and luggage checked through a scanner.
Meanwhile the bus drives around the building and collected everyone at the other end.
Monday 22.4.13
Singapore.
Trains to Malaysia are booked up to 30 days ahead. Trying to get a sleeper train ticket on one days notice is difficult if not impossible. The excellent website "seat 61 .com" explains in detail how to go about getting a ticket to Bangkok, or rather tickets. There is no single ticket to Bangkok. Two tickets are needed. One ticket to Butterworth in Northern Malaysia (opposite the Island of Penang) and an ongoing ticket to Bangkok.
The easy way is to buy a ticket in Singapore. However “seat61” explains that the cost of the tickets are to be paid in Singapore dollars but if you cross into Malaysia first (at a cost of $5) and get the tickets in Johor Bahru the cost is charged in Malaysian Ringgits which is less than half the price. Anyway it takes a bit of organising to get to the Malaysian station by 7 am and not having a reservation was risky.
Via the internet I booked a bus to Butterworth and would try for a train ticket there. The bus would leave at 7.30 pm giving me a day in Singapore to explore (read: wear myself out) In the afternoon I opted to go to the Olympic pool for a “cool” swim , however the water, at 31 degrees was not doing much of that.
By 6pm I had walked the 4 km distance from The Kiwi Hostel to the bus terminal, in front of a large shopping complex and boarded the bus. (Buying a new backpack with wheels had been a good choice as carrying 16 kg for such a distance does not seem like a lot of fun) Just the thought of traveling on a bus is normally off-putting. However, the seats were comparable to first class aircraft type seats which can be laid almost horizontal like a TV chair at home. Soon we had crossed the large bridge connecting Singapore with Malaysia and were driving past endless rubber plantations. Sleeping was not a problem. Every few hours a toilet / food /stretch your legs stop made it a comfortable journey. There were only about 8 people on the bus, so I don't think that it was a profitable journey for the bus company.
Near Butterworth I heard that the bus was actually travelling all the way into Thailand, to the city of Hat Yai just across the border. I asked if I could stay and I could for a small payment. Great, that saved me some time. Crossing the border into Thailand was similar to the Singapore –Malaysia border. Everyone got off the bus and collected their luggage from the luggage compartment and walked through the gate, got their passport seen to and luggage checked through a scanner.
Meanwhile the bus drives around the building and collected everyone at the other end.
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