Getting there and away

Train

You can also take the slower but renowned journey by train from Butterworth, leaving daily at 14:20. It takes about an hour if there are no delays and costs 3 ringgit – no need to buy a ticket in advance. The ride takes you through rice fields and local villages and it's quite something to pull into Sungai Petani's worn colonial train station.

Bus

The easiest way to get to Sungai Petani is probably to take the bus from Butterworth to Sungai Petani's local bus station, about a 45-minute trip. The bus starts out by following the coastline for 10 minutes, offering a brief view of Penang before turning onto the highway, where the scenery isn't that spectacular. You know you're close when the bus reaches a toll station at the end of the highway and passes a Giant Superstore. Five minutes more and you're in the town centre, stopping at the local bus station on Jalan Petri.

Bus tickets to Sungai Petani can be bought from Transnational's ticket booth in Butterworth underneath the causeway, right across the car park as you come out from the ferry ramparts. The fare is 4 ringgit.

Buses to and from Alor Setar 35km away leave from the local bus station as well as the express bus station. The express bus take the highway while the local bus goes via Gurun and stops to pick up locals along the way -- quite a rewarding journey if you don't mind cramming up. The bus to Alor Setar runs from 07:30-21:30 every 30 minutes and costs 9.75 ringgit.

A bus to Yan that goes via Merbok, the gateway to Lembah Bujang Archaeology Museum, leaves from the local bus station. All other buses leave from the express bus station.

Other

Taxis are widely available throughout town but drivers may not speak English very well, so have a good map ready. The fare to Lembah Bujang costs 25 ringgit there and the same back.