KLS - Bangkok - Chiang Mai and Back On Rail, Sept 13-19, 2018, Day 6 & 7

Day 6, Sept 18, 2018, Tuesday

I woke up even before my alarm blasted to wake me up. My biological clock was more efficient on this trip. I sat in my bed as soon as I have finished looking at a new day being unveiled. Just like when I was 30 thousand feet above the ground looking down early morning breaking from a plane. But this one to me was even more beautiful as it happened at a relatively faster speed. 

Ayutthaya showed up with a little bit of daylight already lighting the station. Slowly we cruised into Bangkok and for us, another leg of the train journey waiting. 

At 0650 the train slowly parked at the platform for all of us to disembark. Just like when we arrived from Hatyai, Nizam was at the platform waiting for us only this time he had to rush to his office and left us immediately. Our simple plan for the day was to have breakfast at the same halal restaurant and take the MRT to Silom to buy food for our next train journey and at the same time kill sometimes. Our next train would be Express 31 back to Hatyai at 1445. So we had a good half a day to even do our last minute shopping in Bangkok. 

At 0809 we walked out of the station and crossed the main road at the main facade of the building and walked through the alley covered with a canopy to the restaurant for breakfast. Until now I do not know the name of the street. I did not remember whether I had something for breakfast there maybe just coffee with something light.

Once we had rested our body and our energy level went up a bit we left the restaurant and walked out towards the MRT station. At 0938 we were walking down the escalator to Hua Lamphong MRT smiling with one real mission to find something nice and good for Iqah, Mohd Noh’s only daughter. Of course, that was what I said loudly but deep down I was also looking for a good buy ha ha ha.

It was still very early in the morning when we got off the escalator at Silom MRT. Although it was already 0957 many outlets were still not open for business as normally they open mid-morning in the area. So we walked on to find those that already opened and ‘managed’ to contribute to the economy of Thailand. One of the places was the shopping complex across the street in front of the Silom Shopping Complex. When we walked in at the upper level several golf sports stores confronted us. Yes, we were confronted as golf is not my thing. Well, I love to watch Tiger Wood playing but Golf is not really for me. We went around a bit more and in the end, Iqah was happy and all of us were happy.

We took the MRT at Silom to go back to Hua Lamphong and at 1154 we were back at the restaurant for lunch and to take away some for our dinner on the train. 

At 1224 we were inside the station again and the first order was to say our jamak prayers. As usual, Sam and I took turns. After we had said our prayers I went around to shoot a few more frames of the trains and the station. After a while doing so I saw our train being shunted in at Platform 4. It was already 1330 I informed the rest and we decided to board and wait inside the airconditioned train. But not before plenty of photo taking. Once onboard the ritual to be comfortable began and like seasoned travellers we blended in.

At 1445 sharp the train departed with Sam and me in the first-class cabin at the back of the train. I stood at the back looking out at the track as we moved slowly out of Bangkok.

At a constant speed, we left the city and we passed stations like (1741) Nonc Plalai and (1744) Banc Chak without stopping. These were beautiful old stations that were still being used and maintained properly. I am sad that most of the old stations in Malaysian had been demolished or left to rot. Historic Gemas station is one example that being left to rot. Some were replaced by new stations that are less aesthetic and not necessarily practical to use. I continued to stand at the back looking out at the countryside and just refused to move back to our cabin. Thai Railways is constructing a second track alongside the current one and they were progressing well. We could be experiencing a faster and better service from them in the future. It had been raining down south of Thailand and rainwater was flooding the second track a bit. I knew then why they were piling the area to stabilise the earth and the track. 

At 1755 we approached Pretchaburi and there was a small pasar malam going on, on the side of the track leading to the station. It was a nice atmosphere and what a train station should be to me. A community business centre and gathering place. It was around this time (1806) Mohd Noh and family came to visit us at our cabin. We chatted and enjoyed the view from the back of a moving train. At 1816 it started to get dark and Mohd Noh and family left us. I went back to my observation place and witnessed the blue hour taking place outside. I shot a few more frames.

Eventually, at 1842 we arrived at the resort city of Hua Hin. It was time for us to say our prayers and I let Sam do her first. I stayed rooted until Hua Hin was really gone into the night.

Soon after I said my prayers I buzzed Mohd Noh to asked them to mengeteh and they said they were already on the way. We followed suit (2040).  We were not really eating but just snacking on what we had and enjoying our moment. One of the cafe attendance mentioned to us that he had seen us before on the Chiang Mai leg. So we were recognisable ha ha ha. Since it would be our last ride on the Thai train we stayed a bit longer having fun chatting almost until closing time. 

Once back at our cabin we prepared for the night and soon we had a nice good sleep.

Day 7, Sept 19, 2018, Wednesday

I was awake at 0530 and straight climbed down to shower. After the morning ritual and ready for our arrival we just sat looking at a new day. We were a bit quiet knowing another chapter in our train journey will end soon. It was a mixture of feelings. Everything in and semua kuah campur as we normally have our nasi kandar. In the final analysis, we love it and would do it again. 

We arrived at Hatyai 20 minutes off the scheduled arrival (0655). We disembarked and had another round of photo sessions. We let our train to be shunted out to the depot before we gathered ourselves. We decided to have breakfast at Padang Besar and waited for the ticket counter to open to buy our tickets to Padang Besar. The last time I was asked to show our passports to buy our tickets so I asked Sam for hers.

As an early arrival as well ad the first departure the station was quiet lacking the usual activities. we started t appreciate the station more and personally if ever the SRT going to build a new station to main the old one. It is not perfect but without the station, old memories and the best trigger for stories be gone forever. This is what the authority has missed in Malaysia. Buildings, structures and the whole ecosystem will create the community and their life. The new ones will recreate the community and develop into a new lifestyle that we may not want. 

It was not a long wait as at 0712 we walked to board our shuttle which was at Platform 3. The shuttle is free seating so we just chose the one slightly in the middle. Immediately after (0720) the locomotive was hooked up to our carriages. Ten minutes after that we departed Hatyai for the 45 minutes rides down to Padang Besar. 

At 0925 (Malaysian Time) we arrived at Padang Besar and went through the routine immigration checkpoints with no problem. Officially we were back in Malaysia and walked up to the waiting hall to have breakfast and wait for our 1115 ETS ride back to KL Sentral. The two hours waiting times soon were filled with eating and chatting. 

The five of us were really tired when we eventually boarded the ETS 9201 and we were not really in the mood to do anything else besides sleeping and being in our own zone. Soon enough at 1655 we arrived at KLS. I pitied Mohd Noh and family as for us it was another short train ride to Bangi whereas they had to take the bus at TBS and another 4 hours bus ride down to JB.

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Exploring the Luboks 2: The Train Journey, Bangi-KLS-Kluang-Ipoh-Pdg Besar-Arau-KLS-Bangi, Nov 7-9, 2015

Nov 8, 2015, Kluang (0044) - Ipoh (1052) - Padang Besar (1510)

Once boarded we went straight to bed. As usual, believe me or not, I was anticipating another good sleep. Which I did. My friends always look at me as if I am crazy when I share with them this.

Right after suboh we approached KL. Outside it was just like going to work for me albeit very much early. I was already standing by the door stretching my legs and looking outside. With the dawn breaking at Salak Selatan and Sg Besi emerged the familiar KL skyline and I captured some

Approximately at 7.00am, we rolled into KL Sentral. What I do not like with underground stations like KL Sentral is we do not see much activities. Unlike the old KL Station, Hua Lamphong, and other old stations. Quite a number of passengers ended their journey at KL Sentral and only a few boarded to start theirs going north to Ipoh. I guess most rather take the faster ETS to Ipoh.

No buffet car on Express Sutera only a chap two coaches away occupying two seats near the door selling packed food and simple drinks. We walked to him anyway for our breakfast. Just enough to last us until Ipoh which was about 4 hours away. Since there were a lot of empty seats there we sat close-by eating our breakfast. We chatted with guys selling the food and according to him the reason there was no ABC (Aircon Buffet Car) because there was none available. None that was in a good working condition that is. After a while, we started to get bored and walked back to our coach. Sam decided to go ahead to our sleepers and I decided to lepak at the first class cabin to charge my handphone. Apart from charging my handphone, I was busy looking life speeding away outside. The train moved at a constant speed and only stooped at major stations

One of the stations was Sungkai. It just stopped for a while and departed again. While moving out I saw a lady cleaner engrossed with her handphone while taking a rest after making sure the platform was clean. I was not sure what other tasks she had for the day but I thought at least she got to see trains every day.

For the rest of the journey, I just stayed in the first-class cabin. No one was bothering as there was no need to do so either ha ha ha. Just before we approached Batu Gajah I saw a group of cyclist on the road outside. Straight away I was jealous of them as I had not been cycling for a while. I could guess they were cycling all the way to Ipoh. Mind you there were not roadies but foldies. Oh, that’s cyclist speak to mean they were not on road bikes but folding bikes. 

Shortly after 11am we approached Ipoh station. Slowly inching into Ipoh station as if to say to us passengers, ‘Hei this is my last stop so I am going to take it easy.’ I for once very eager to disembark immediately as I had another train to catch.

We stopped and disembarked at Ipoh at 11.15 am. 

Photos that I captured 

The ETS that we would be boarding was to arrive at Ipoh at 11.45 am thus we did not have to wait that long. At that point, we already decided that we were going to have our lunch at the ETS cafe. 

Indeed the ETS arrived on time. We boarded immediately and the train departed Ipoh without much issue. When we were seated as usual the train stewardess will come to confirm our tickets and when I saw her coming into the coach I was glad to know that it was the same dedicated stewardess that had taken care of us in our last three ETS trips. From afar, I smiled at her and she recognised us. We chatted a bit and mentioned to her it was nice to meet her again. I actually later took several shots of her at work.

Just before Taiping I chose the clearest glass to capture the scenery outside. It was the door next to the cafe. I just stood there shooting. The funny thing was I had been doing the same every time I was on board of the train going north. Never seems to bore me taking photos of the area. In fact, I was eagerly waiting to capture Bukit Merah Lake under the blue sky. True as they say, you can never capture the same moment twice. No matter how many times already it was never the same images. Everything is different from the previous one. Allah is great.

Bukit Merah was under a blue beautiful sky. Clouds formations created by Allah presented me with another perspective that brought joy to my travelling soul. I was excited I captured the sky over the Bukit Merah Lake almost forgetting about it altogether. After Bukit Merah Lake I went back to my seat to enjoy the rest of our journey. 

We arrived at Butterworth Station at 1.32 pm and we pulled out to continue our journey north after about 20 minutes waiting. 

After Gurun I positioned myself at the same glass window where I was before. The sawah padi scene between Gurun and Alor Setar never seem to bore me. And it was paddy replanting season where the fields were either filled with water or paddy seedling just being planted. 

Photos captured along the tracks from the train. Scene 1, Scene 2 and Scene 3.

It was the same after Alor Setar and knowing we would be arriving in half an hour or so I went back to my seat to relax.

At 3.10 pm we were disembarking at Padang Besar. Our plan was to walked to the bazaar complex for our TomYam late lunch, grab few packets of cashew nuts and almond as stocks for chewing at home and walk to the taxi stand to take a taxi to Kangar to check in. Ha ha ha as always a straight forward plan became an adventure of sort.

As we walked across the station on the overhead walking bridge the sky started to show it was going to explode. Much as I wish we could not quicken our pace than it already was. Patiently we walked and came down at the other side of the station to cross the roundabout to the Padang Besar Bazaar Shopping Complex. It started to rain thus we skirted the building to avoid the rain. Once we were at the bazaar complex we went straight away towards the food stall at the end of the old complex as we had eaten there a few times and find the food meet our taste buds standards and specification. We ordered siakap steamed limau and kailan ikan masin. To save time and while waiting for our food I walked into the old bazaar to buy cashew and almond nuts. As usual 2 kilograms each. I also bought few bottles of Tom Yam paste for my family. 

When I got back to the stall the food was already served and I started to eat.

Satisfied and full we left the warung to walk towards the new bazaar complex in search for nothing ha ha ha. Well in the end from my favourite outlet I bought triple A imitation All Blacks jersey. 

It was still drizzling as we walked towards the taxi stand. While walking we were already on a lookout for any taxi passing or parked nearby. Because of the rain, the atmosphere was a bit dark like the night was setting in. As we approached the taxi stand there was only one taxi and it was pulling out. The driver upon seeing us approaching asked us where we were heading. I told him Kangar and he told us to wait there as he was sending another passenger nearby. He said he would come back and if another taxi arrives just go ahead. He also informed us he will let his colleagues know that we were there waiting. 

We waited anxiously for a few minutes as the day was getting darker. A taxi did come and to our relief, the taxi would take us to Kangar. As usual, we chatted the driver and he told us he was going to take us through an alternative route as the main route was flooded in some parts. According to him, it was beginning of the rainy season in Perlis already and the usual places would get flooded soon. We told him we came from down south by train just neglecting to mention we were train nuts ha ha ha. I lamented the fact that there was no hotel in Padang Besar that we could stay. He told us there used to be one and there are two homestays near town. But I told him they were too big for just the two of us. Thus the reason I booked a room in Kangar. We told also we were going home the next day by train from Arau. He confessed that he actually works for KTMB and driving a taxi in his spare time. Luckily I did not go on KTMB bashing too much ha ha ha. Nevertheless, he actually agreed with me with what I had said about KTMB and its services. We agreed firstly that the Padang Besar Station was not built customer friendly. Facilities were dire and, knowing that the ETS service would even make Padang Besar as local tourists shopping heaven, did not work out something with the local authority to make visiting Padang Besar more enjoyable with budget hotels and chalets. It is a fact that now commuters are travelling all the way from KL to shop in Padang Besar and some of the wish to stay overnight rather than just returning home the same day. I am not a businessman but I do not think the fare is where the money is for KTMB. It is the means or vehicle to where the real money is.

We arrived at the Hotel Sri Garden, Kangar at almost maghrib prayer time and paid the fare of RM25 to the driver. As the hotel staff knew I would be checking in the process was quick and easy for us. Once in our room, I sent a message to Slair informing him that we were in Kangar. A few minutes later he replied to say that he will come over to pick us up and take us out for dinner.

Photos at the eating place 

Slair took us to his wife’s x-students eating place BBQ Kangar style. I do not remember where it is now but the BBQ style was different from what we used to. It was charcoal-based and we BBQ the meat and fish by sticking it on the side of a dome-like plate. We had a good dinner and enjoyed each other company’s. We were actually full from our late lunch still we could not stop eating. 

It was late when we were back at the hotel and we straight went to bed.