Thailand forum

Crossing the border to Malaysia by Train

travelbuddi-
es

newbie
Posts: 1

Hi Guys!

We are in Bangkok at the moment, planning to go down south by train, stopping at chumphon to take the ferry to ko Tao - Samui - Phangan. Then to Take the ferry back to Surat Thani and to go down o Kuala Lumpur..

I have few questions..
Is anyone around chumphon atm and could advise on weather situatin? There are floods and thunderstorms alerts on the meteorology website.. So I was wondering if it worth going there for the next 3 weeks..

Has anyone experience crossing the malaysian border by train? It lloks like the easiest border (open24h) is Pedang Basar. Should we book the train until this stop and then book another train ticket until KL? or can we just book 1 ticket and get off the train for customs?

Is it safe for foreigners to be in this part of Malaysia, considering the political issues and separatists?

Any recommendation for stops over along the way bangkok to Kuala lumpur?

Cheers guys!

#1 Posted: 5/10/2010 - 11:50
Captain_Bob

under-employed
Posts: 950
Located in:

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The seasonal shift seems to have arrived on time this year (weather patterns streaming in from the east Oct-Feb) as seen on http://www.goes.noaa.gov/sohemi/sohemiloops/vsmtsatw.html but take Thailand weather forecasts http://www.tmd.go.th/en/region.php?RegionID=5 with a big grain of salt as the term "thundershower" doesn't mean a whole lot, just usual unsettled tropical conditions.

Only one train per day/night does the run south to Butterworth. See http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#Singapore and http://www.railway.co.th/English/Time_HTML.asp. Train #35 is yours and it'll hit the Padang Besar border early morning. No Muslim insurgency issues down that side, it's pretty much limited to the eastern side. No worries be happy.

#2 Posted: 5/10/2010 - 13:47