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Published: October 25th 2006
Our original plan was to make a few wee short journeys down the coast until we got to Singapore, but the more and more we read about the place, we reckoned it would be just as well to get the journey out of the way in one go and just take the train. To get the train, we had to travel to a place called Wakaf Baharu, which is about 10 minutes from Kota Bahru (the main city in the north of Malaysia). To get there we'd need to get a boat from Perhentian Besar to Kuala Besut, a taxi from Besut to Kota Bahru and then a taxi or bus from Kota Bahru to Wakaf Baharu.
As we'd spent longer in the Perhentian Islands than we'd planned, we'd had no access to banks while we were there so our funds were a bit tight to say the least, but we reckoned as long as we could get to Kota Bahru, we'd find a bank and get our money sorted out there.
Kota Bahru was found without any tears and sure enough, the place is hoachin' with banks, only about 4 of which we could use !! But, there was a big HSBC in the centre of town so we got to the ATM and went to withdraw a few hundred ringotts to get us through to Singapore - Transaction Cancelled Please Notify Bank - So we hiked (with rucksacks) around the other three banks and none of them would allow us to withdraw money. We managed to find a friendly hotel receptionist who provided us with a phonecard and got on the blower to Lloyds TSB (the bank that likes to say "can I put you on hold please sir?") and everything appeared hunky dory and they told us that sometimes, there are problems with the network and we would just have to keep trying.
Incidentally, there are no photos of Kota Bahru or the surrounding area as at this moment in time, we did not want a reminder of the place ever again. Just so you know !!
While we were in Kota Bahru, we decided to sort our some accomodation in Singapore, so we found an internet cafe and Lee got wellied in about the websites and Lonely Planet to get some beds for the next few nights. Basically all the hostels were fully booked for the entirety of our stay, so Lee just went nuts on tourism websites and managed to find us a B and B that would look after us. Now it wasn't like a B and B as we would know it, this was 25 storeys up (that'll be the Penthouse by the way !!) and was basically someones house that they had converted. I was a little bit disappointed that we wouldn't be in a hostel, but it was cheaper than most of the hostels in Singapore and it could put us up so it was bit of a relief just to have somewhere sorted.
A couple of hours later, we'd totalled up our remaining ringotts, and found we had enough to get us two tickets on the sleeper to Singapore thast night, so we got some provisions (water, food, fags, the essentials) and hopped in a taxi to the train station.
When we got to the train station, the ticket office had offially closed, but there was a station guard on duty who helped us out, I say helped us out, he pretty much ruined our trip to Singapore to be honest !! "That will be 100 ringotts pleas sir, for the two remaining sleeper berths on the train" he announces. "but we only have 95 ringotts" we reply (the train website says the tickets were 45 ringotts each).
"Then I can get you on the train but you will be sitting rather than sleeping, sir"
Magic, a 15 hour train journey and we can't even get a bed for the night, and all for the difference of 5 ringotts (about 70p). It wasn't the greatest news we've ever had but at least we could get to Singapore.
The trains are pretty cool to be honest, there's a ton of leg room for freaks like myself and wee people like Lee and the rest of the population can stretch out and lie down if they want so it wasn't all bad. We met a guy on the platform, a Dutch Aussie who owned an industrial cleaning company in Brisbane who got chatting to us and when we told him what had happened with the money, he said that he would pop down and see us later in the journey and shout us a coffee jolly nice of the chap. Sure enough, about an hour later he was dragging us off the dining car and bought us a coffee each. I believe he had a nasi goreng in soy sauce with noodles, fried egg and two coffees. Don't get me wrong, it was great of him to offer us a coffee but watching him down that food while our stomachs thought our throats had been cut was nothing short of torture !! Still a nice guy though, he has invited us to join him in a tour of Brisbane when we get there, might take him up on the offer.
We arrived in Singapore like a bag of the proverbial, felt hot, sweaty, filthy and hungry, but we'd made it. If truth be told, the nice, clean, Penthouse B and B that awaited us was a godsend. The hostels could wait.
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Elaine
non-member comment
Wow
Gee you sure know how to travle in style !!! Mind you im pretty impressed that most of your transport so far has catered for the "lanky streak of p***" that is my brother - sorry for quoting Mr Royle there but could not have put it better myself.