The joys of travel in Asia.

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When you land in Thailand you're automatically issued with a 30 day visa. Our time was running out so we needed to do a visa run to Malaysia.

We left the comfort of Besthouse at 7.30am. we had booked a seat on the big bus to Trang but only a mini bus turned up. Apparently there was not enough people to warrant the big bus today.
At Trang we would need to change busses but we only had one ticket. I asked the agent and she said we would be given a ticket for the second bus at Saladan, a small transport hub on Lanta. When we arrived there an agent took our ticket, I asked about the next one and was told it was ok, not needed but we could take a photo of the first one. Our phones were switched off and the bus was ready to move on but we were reassured we didn't need another ticket.
Off we went. A long queue had developed at the car ferry and we were in for a 40 minute wait.
Our mini van was the last to fit on so of course the last to get off.
Once off the ferry the driver pulled up at a roadside cafe for his breakfast. Great!
At last we were on our way and arrived at Trang bus station.
The minivan was met with a lady asking where we were going. We replied Hat Yai and she directed us to the ticket table where we asked to pay. After a lot of confusion and phone calls they said ok, no need to buy a ticket. But... By now the nice big bus that was heading to Hat Yai had only one seat left. We were told we would have to go on the minivan but it would only go when it was full!!
An hour later and finally packed with 12 people plus their luggage we set off.

A young woman and small child sat behind us and ten minutes into the journey we had to stop so he could go to the toilet. Another passenger got on and occupied one of her seats so she squeezed in with the child on her knee.
Half an hour later a revolting smell arose. The child had been sick! So... We stopped again while she scrambled in her bag, squashed in the aisle next to me, for clean clothes and a towel. She hauled him off the bus to get changed.
10 mins later we were off with a more sweet smelling child.
He promptly fell asleep with his head on my bag that was squashed between the three back seats.

At last we arrived in Hat Yai city and we could see the train lines, we wanted the train station but the driver took a turn to the bus station 4 Kms away. We called for him to drop us off at the train station and a few street along he stopped. Off loaded our bags and said " you walk." And gestured along a side road.
We set of in that direction not having a clue where we were going!
It was at this point I began to feel like a contestant in a recent TV show " Race across the world"
We trudged down the road and asked a local for the train station, he just gestured to carry on walking. Another guy we met was able to speak English and said to go two more blocks and turn right
There it was! The train station. Now we had stayed in a hotel very near here ten years ago so while I stood still with the bags Stan went in search. He returned a while after saying he couldn't find it so we tried for a room at the " Train Hotel".
The receptionist, who was playing on her phone, barely looked up but showed us the price on a calculator. 690 Baht. We asked if we could see a room , she shrugged her shoulders and carried on playing on her phone , we asked again and she called someone else. Eventually we got to see a room and it turned out it had just been fumigated, it nearly choked us.
So... Off we went again, we spied an expensive looking one next door to a more reasonable looking place. As we approached the door the cafe owner close by told us it had closed due to covid.
Ok, looks like the expensive one. It turned out to not be a bad price at all ( 890 Baht around £20)
The receptionist spoke good English and was very helpful.
Success!
The room, which was on the 9th floor, was lovely and we dropped our bags and went in search of much needed food and drink.
We also found the Chinese one we'd stayed in ten years previously and realized why it was so difficult to spot. Again, due to covid it had closed down. So sad!

Next day- the last leg of the journey to Penang by train and ferry.
6.30am found us on the station waiting for the train to Pedang Besar. We'd had no breakfast but had bought a banana and almond loaf the day before. It appeared to be well sealed in a cardboard tray and tight cling film. On close inspection we realized it was crawling with tiny ants and some had made it inside the wrappings!
Well it was a case of eating it or starving. So after removing the wrappings and most of the ants we blew the rest off and devoured it. It was delicious!

The train was spacious and felt so much better than a minivan. At Pedang Besar we went through customs and into Malaysia.
From here we caught another train to Butterworth and the a ferry to Georgetown , Penang.
By 2.30pm we were checking into the hotel we'd pre booked for 5 nights. As there were many empty rooms we were upgraded, for free, to a room with a window! It was very modern and clean but very small. After a quick freshen up we went out to explore our surroundings .

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