I posted my trip to Penang from Bangkok in my last post. In this post, I will write about my return trip and a bit of Penang.
Some cool places where I visited
I was lucky enough to play at those cool places, Hin Bus Depot and Junk Bar in Penang. Hin Bus is repurposed from the old bus terminal to art space, flea market and some awesome activities. You can see a lot of hand crafts and cool stuff. Junk Bar is a friendly bar. Highly recommended to chill with cool music here. Big up to Singapore Dub Club for hooking up.
Hin Bus Depot: 31A, Jalan Gurdwara, George Town
Junk Cafe: 1, Jalan Pintal Tali, George Town
Although I did not have a lot of time in Penang to explore much, this Penang Road Famous Laksa was really nice. I popped in to a local dim sum place, Leong Kee Tim Sum where across street from an old hotel, New Asia Hotel where I stayed when I came to Penang for the first time (almost 10 years ago). I saw many old people enjoyed coffee and dim sum there. Lastly Nian Wei China Dumpling is the one I wanted to try, but I missed unfortunately. Will try next time. Meanwhile, let me know if you have tried. There are more skantastic food in Penang, just not enough stomach and time try everything this time.
Penang Road Famous Laksa: 5-7, Lebuh Keng Kwee, George Town
Leong Kee Tim Sum: 61, Lebuh Kimberley, George Town
Return back to Bangkok from Penang
So my time in Penang was short and already time to leave. You may ask how was the trip back? Basically I did the same thing in reverse. I went to the ferry terminal (free), and had lunch before getting on the train to Padang Besar. There were not many trains running that route. I got on the train at 14.30h ish, and it took around 2 hours to Padang Besar.
I went through immigration, and stamped out. However I was not allowed to go though Thai immigration as my train was not here. So I was invited to hang out at Malaysian immigration to chill with a couple of others. By the way, the officers there were really nice. I forgot my pen and immigration form. So one of them went to get them for me.
Interesting thing I saw was, once our train came, we went to Thai immigration. It seemed that we were the last people to come into Thailand from Padang Besar that day. So when we all got in, all of the Thai immigration officers jumped on the train to go home, I mean Thailand.
Not too many people on the train, compared to the one that goes from Bangkok to Padang Besar. It was just cleaned and no one was on the board. Very relaxed ride back to Bangkok. I saw a nice sun rise near Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Train details: Train 46 Special Express Padang Besar 17.00h – Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bangkok) 12.05h next day 2nd Class 918THB (25USD, 50NZD) Lower Berth and 848THB (23USD, 40NZD) Upper Berth.
How will I travel next time?
It used to travel all the way from Bangkok to Butterworth. But now old school Thai trains cannot go through as it’s changed to electric in Malaysia. So we needed to wait for another train at Padang Besar. It wastes a lot of time. 1 – 2 hours there. And there is nothing near the station (you need to travel to the other side to get food or ATMs. Not really walking distance).
Just inconvenient. Thus I will try to avoid stopping at Padang Besar and travel from Hat Yai to Penang directly, including the border crossing. There will be a bus or minivan. I have seen many travel companies (both side) offering bus or minivan service. There are few trains running between Bangkok and Hat Yai. I think over all travel time should be quicker. Has anyone tried this before, please let me know how you did it.
Some Suggestions
1. If you want to go to Kuala Lumpur instead of Penang, there is a bus terminal in Penang Sentral and some buses go to KL more frequently than train. You can buy a ticket once you get there.
2. You should prepare a battery bank or/and your devices are fully charged. No wifi on the board. There are not many charging spots on Thai and Malay trains (I mean these particular trains). Free wifi and power plugs in the ferry terminal.
3. Pack some snacks. You will likely be able to buy something on a train in Thailand, Padang Besar station and ferry terminal. Can be expensive or may not have what you want. It’s always nice to have something to eat and drink on the go.
4. If you ever sleep on the upper berth in Thailand, an eye mask will be useful.
5. Inside of trains can be cold. You may want to bring a little jacket or something a bit warmer than a t shirt and shorts.
That’s all. Thank you for reading.
Ska Overlander 
Beautiful
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