Penang to Bangkok

After the stay in paradise, we got on the way again to reach Bangkok by a 5-vehicle route. Here was our plan:

Boat from monkey beach to the fisher village Teluk bahang
Bus to Georgetown
Ferry from Georgetown to mainland
Train to the border
Walk to Thailand (!)
Get on the night train!

Even though the train station is just at the border, we needed to get an unexpected taxi here as they closed the exit of the train station at the border side, and the only way to get there was to drive around the railroad (or walk one hour). A good way to make local people earn some money though.

Walking through the border to Thailand

We were successfully accepted in Thailand for 45 days! Legally it is said that everyone should be able to show a way of transportation out of the country and 20000 baht (270€) cash, which we had neither. But in the end, they were super cool and didn’t bother about those details.

Sleeper train from the border to Bangkok (18 hours!)

It looked a bit scary at the beginning because of the length but it was actually quite a chill ride. During the day they have very comfortable seats and at night they turn them into beds:

Different from European night trains, the beds are not in the compartments but everyone sleeps in the same wagon, yet it feels more isolated due to personal curtains for each bed. And the beds were in the direction of the train, which is felt easier to sleep in.

Later we could get access to the lower beds that became free, these are more wide and has a view thanks to the window:

Overall, we slept very well in the train. In the morning, we also were welcomed by a very nice sunrise reflecting on the lands of Thailand!