So we've been on the road for a few days now, in this case, the railroad. We had planned to take the train from Singapore to Bangkok, passing through Malaysia to do this. It worked out in the end, although not like we had envisioned, and now we are in Bangkok Thailand, for a day and a half.
We had to transition from a bus after the bungled attempt to get a train in Singapore. Then in Kuala Lumpur, we had to work hard to get a train to the north of Malaysia, a place called Penang (the English name for this place is Butterworth, like the pancake syrup?). Anyway, once in Butterworth, we had a nice hotel and plotted our next step.
There is virtually no information available on train schedules, so we had to wing it, stopping by the train station at the appointed hour, only to find it closed ... ! So we had to wait for a few more hours which gave us time to take the ferry over to Penang Island, very fun, interesting, and the weather is fantastic!
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Eventually we could only get a train to the border of Thailand. Then the advice was: "you have to find train ticket there ... maybe".
Uncertainty is not my best trait, but off we went. Some-times you have to balance the adventure - and take things as they come - with "man, this is a stinkin' hassle!"
However, at the border we actually had no problem getting a ticket on the sleeper berth, the overnight train with bed accommodations. The overall trip took around 30 hours, well over 1,000 miles, including the bus, and only cost around $40 each. But you really have to want to do this. It was not easy.
Slept pretty good though on the overnight train, and met some cool people from all over the world, and talked about travel a whole
bunch. Often there isn't much else to do, although passing through the beautiful scenery is very peaceful.
Arrived in Bangkok today at noon, and we are staying the night here with good friends Phil and Cindy Porter. (Happy Birthday Cindy!)
Got to see a lot of the countryside on the way here, and once you're on the train, travel is very laid back and relaxing. Just be sure to bring along a good book.https://www.google.com/maps/@13.7246005,100.6331108,10z
We had to transition from a bus after the bungled attempt to get a train in Singapore. Then in Kuala Lumpur, we had to work hard to get a train to the north of Malaysia, a place called Penang (the English name for this place is Butterworth, like the pancake syrup?). Anyway, once in Butterworth, we had a nice hotel and plotted our next step.
There is virtually no information available on train schedules, so we had to wing it, stopping by the train station at the appointed hour, only to find it closed ... ! So we had to wait for a few more hours which gave us time to take the ferry over to Penang Island, very fun, interesting, and the weather is fantastic! Eventually we could only get a train to the border of Thailand. Then the advice was: "you have to find train ticket there ... maybe".Uncertainty is not my best trait, but off we went. Some-times you have to balance the adventure - and take things as they come - with "man, this is a stinkin' hassle!"
However, at the border we actually had no problem getting a ticket on the sleeper berth, the overnight train with bed accommodations. The overall trip took around 30 hours, well over 1,000 miles, including the bus, and only cost around $40 each. But you really have to want to do this. It was not easy.
Slept pretty good though on the overnight train, and met some cool people from all over the world, and talked about travel a wholebunch. Often there isn't much else to do, although passing through the beautiful scenery is very peaceful.
Arrived in Bangkok today at noon, and we are staying the night here with good friends Phil and Cindy Porter. (Happy Birthday Cindy!)
Got to see a lot of the countryside on the way here, and once you're on the train, travel is very laid back and relaxing. Just be sure to bring along a good book.https://www.google.com/maps/@13.7246005,100.6331108,10z
So we've been on the road for a few days now, in this case, the railroad. We had planned to take the train from Singapore to Bangkok, passing through Malaysia to do this. It worked out in the end, although not like we had envisioned, and now we are in Bangkok Thailand, for a day and a half. fort lauderdale tours
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