Blog 3 : Family Trip — Hat Yai & Phuket
Day 1 (Part 1) : 2 March 2023
First destination: KL Sentral Station, also known as KL Sentral to take the Electric Train Service (ETS).
KL Sentral is the largest transit hub for public railway transportation services. They are:
1. KTM Electric Train Service (ETS) connecting southern and northern regions of west coast line of Peninsular Malaysia.
2. KLIA Express and KLIA Transit — direct link to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
3. Komuter trains.
4. Light rail transit (LRT)
5. Express rail link (ERL)
6. KL monorail
(3, 4,5,6 connecting various places within the city)
ETS has three types of train services: platinum, gold and silver. The differences are platinum takes shorter time than gold because it only stops at the main stations along the line while gold stops at selected stations. Silver stops at all the stations and currently only operates the Kuala Lumpur — Ipoh route.
ETS Platinum is a six car train with 312 seats. Trains are segregated by coach A,B,D [disabled and elderly friendly], E, and F while C has a bistro occupying half of the coach. Seats are 2+2 and each seat comes with a tray table and power outlet. There is also four cluster seats with fixed tables but this option is limited.
You can purchase the ETS tickets online @https://online.ktmb.com.my. Our tickets cost RM109.50 per person inclusive of administrative fees, insurance, and sales and service tax.
We took ETS platinum. Departure time was 9.50 am and expected to reach Padang Besar, Malaysia at 3.23pm. The distance was 504 km and the journey will take 5 hours and 30 minutes.
ETS departed on time. Once settled down, we started to explore. Other coaches are similar except for coach C where a bistro counter was set up. Meals were pre-packed and microwaved. Hot beverages are from powder sachets. We bought nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk) with chicken rendang and nasi dagang (rice steamed in coconut milk) with beef curry. It cost RM11.00 each. It is quite pricey in-view of it small portion.
The scenery along the way was picturesque: jungle, hills, rubber- and oil palm- plantations, paddy fields and kampung (villages). We also crossed Tasik Bukit Merah (Bukit Merah Lake).
What activities to keep yourself occupied during the five hours plus journey apart from looking at the scenery and napping?
1. Bring along your smart devices — drama binging, online games since there is free internet.
2. Reading.
3. Handicraft. I brought my crochet project along. Yes, you can bring sharp objects on the ETS. This is because the last stop is still in Malaysia.
4. Talking to strangers.
We reached Padang Besar on time.
Challenge 1 : How to travel from the train station to Padang Besar immigration counter? ETS station is in Padang Besar is 5.8 km @ 15 minutes’ drive from Padang Besar, Malaysia immigration counter and another 1 km to Padang Besar immigration counter, Songkhla, Thailand. Yes ! There are TWO Padang Besar. Luckily there were plenty of private taxis available but no fixed fare. A private taxi offered to take us up to Thailand border for RM40.00 in his Proton Wira, a sedan. So, imagine six of us including the driver with five luggage. The boot can only fit four luggage. So, my husband had to hug one luggage sitting in the front passenger seat. The driver dropped us as near as possible at the border. We then walked to the Thailand immigration counter.
Challenge 2 : a) time difference. The moment we crossed the border, there was a difference of 1 hour (Malaysia is one hour ahead of Thailand).
b) There was no crowd at both immigration counters. From our past experiences at other immigration counter in other countries, Malaysia and Singapore, the fastest we can clear immigration is one hour. However, we cleared both immigration in less than 30 minutes. We had pre-booked our van for the trip from Padang Besar to Hat Yai. Booking was made through @https://www.12go.co for THB1,600 (RM218.34). Waited 45 minutes for the van. The journey took slightly more than one hour.
Challenge 3: the driver couldn’t find our accommodation. We booked a two-bedroom apartment known as Kanya House 2, located in a residential area. The driver could only speak Thai and simple English. He had to call his company to get the location.
The wonders of internet and maps. We finally reached the apartment and the host shouted “ You are three hours early!”. Even with our early arrival, the unit was clean and ready. It was exactly like what was shown in @booking.com. we booked for two nights for RM435.00. Quite a bargain with average of Rm108.75 per night per room. It was actually a renovated double storey house with two bedrooms and two baths, a living room, kitchen. refrigerator, washing machine and two smart televisions. It even provided two adapters, laundry detergent and free wifi!
The host was a friendly Thailand lady. She walked us through the apartment, explained about the surrounding area such as a mini market around the corner. She also taught us to download Grab apps, types of vehicles available. Since sedans can carry four passengers, we have to book a motorcycle too and this will cost more. She suggested that we book grab tuk-tuk that can carry up to nine persons. Like any typical mothers, she also reminded us to drink water and recommended Thailand yogurt drink for our guts.
