Penang and the train to Bangkok

Tanjung Bungah floating mosque.


The city of George Town on Penang Island is full of historical buildings, great restaurants and of course shopping malls. My favorite eateries were :

  • The Spicy Lemak (278 Lebuh Pantai). The place doesn't look fancy, but the Nasi Lemak was great.
  • Yeap Noodles (227 Chulia St.). Homemade noodles with different flavors.



Nasi Lemak at the Spicy Lemak restaurant.

I took a day to go to the Feringghi beach on the north of the island. I rented a city bike to ride the 16km from my hostel to the beach. The first part was an easy stroll in the old town, but once I got out I was in the middle of traffic on huge roads with cars and trucks on my side. There was also some slopes and the bike had no gears. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
The beach had nice sand. The water was a bit muddy but overall clean. You can swim but no more than a few meters from the shore because there is a lot of jet-ski and boats for paragliding. In conclusion, Feringghi beach was nice, but there are way better beaches in Malaysia. And don't go there with a bike ; use the bus.

Feringghi beach with the city bike I used.


Cargo ships on the Malacca strait.

From Penang, I went to Bangkok in Thailand. Here's how I did it:
  • George Town -> Butterworth. Ferry. 12:20 -> 12:40. Free (You pay only the Butterworth -> George Town way).
  • Butterworth -> Padang Besar. KTM Kommuter Train. 14:25 -> ~16:25. 11.40 MYR
  • Padang Besar -> Bangkok. Night Train 46. 18:00 (17:00 Thai time) -> ~11:00 Thai time. 960 Thai Baht.



You need three transports to go to Bangkok. One ferry to go out of the island. One train to reach the border between Malaysia and Thailand. One train to cross the south of Thailand. You have a few trains to go to the border, but try to get there in advance. You will need to do the paper work to cross into Thailand and it can take a bit of time. The only ticket you need to book is the sleeper train from Padang Basar to Bangkok. You can book it online on www.thairailwayticket.com. The train has seats that transform into beds at night. I slept like a baby, rocked by the slow motion of the train.

Train 46. The beds are really comfy.

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