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| Street food |
When we were in Johor Bahru a couple of years ago, in order to renew our visas, it was a simple matter of taking a 10 minute bus trip to the Singapore Causeway, checking into Singapore, then immediately turning around to check back into Malaysia before taking a bus back to the marina - all achieved in less than an hour and voilá, we had another three months!
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| The beautiful Ipoh colonial railway station |
Well, it's not such a quick fix from this side of the peninsula. We had a choice of taking an overnight bus back to Singapore or a 4-hour train journey up to the Thai border. We chose the latter and it proved to be a great decision. Firstly, the trains here are excellent; clean, fast and efficient. We took the trip with Janice and Mick off Zoa, drove up to Ipoh to catch the train, hopped on it just before lunch and relaxed as we watched the countryside pass by at about 140km.
We reached the border town of Padang Besar where we checked out of Malaysia then into the tiny Thai town of Sadao to look for a cheap hotel for the night. Good choice. Most cruisers get on another train to head up to the big city of Had Yai but we loved the somewhat grubby charm of his little town where the main street was lined with food carts of all descriptions and very friendly people. I doubt they receive many tourists in this part of the world.
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| Such kind helpers |
We had one of those fortunate meetings as we dithered around at the immigration exit wondering how to find our way into town. A young Malay brother and sister who were on a buying trip, took us under their wing and into their taxi then helped us locate a suitable hotel, took us to exchange money and even found us after we'd said thanks and farewell in order to give us some samplings of the local street food. They couldn't do enough for us. They even helped to organise the taxi driver to collect us the next day to reverse the immigration process. Too wonderful.
Much negative press comes from the Thai/Malaysia border provinces due to Muslim separatist violence which dates back to the conquering of these regions by the Kingdom of Siam in the late 1700s but has intensified significantly this century. This, however, relates primarily to the south eastern provinces and not the mixed Thai/Malay province of Songkhla, our destination.
In the troubled areas of the three most southern provinces, both the Thai-speaking Buddhist minority and the local Muslims who have a more moderate approach supporting the Thai government have borne the brunt of this violence causing thousands of deaths and injuries but the very mixed Thai/Malay/Chinese population of Sadao, appeared to live in total harmony.
We wandered the streets taking in the questionable 'sights' and the many food stalls, then had a fabulous meal at a Chinese establishment which cost next to nothing for the four of us. Typical of a lot of Thailand, there were the massage parlours, karaoke bars and a fair share of lady boys or kathoeys as they are known in Thailand.
On the route there, we passed mile upon mile of oil palm plantations, those damnable trees that have replaced so much of Malaysia's beautiful jungles and forests, as well as rubber tree and teak plantations. An interesting feature in so much of this part of the world are the limestone hills that protrude out of the flatter than flat landscape seemingly dropped at random from above. These eroded steep singular hills are quite a feature all the way up the western coast of Malaysia and well up into Thailand, creating some spectacular scenery.
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| Waiting for the car to cool |
When we arrived back in Ipoh, it was almost 8 o'clock in the evening so we were introduced to a really great Hindu Indian eatery by our friend Mohan who had come to collect us, superb and really tasty food. One little hiccough on the return journey, the car overheated but again, the friendliness of the locals who came to help is overwhelming. Once the radiator had cooled, the guys topped it up and we were on our way again without further incident.
It was only two days there and back but we thoroughly enjoyed it and were glad of the diversion from boat work. It felt like a holiday!
PHOTO ALBUM:
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| A multi-coloured bougainvillaea tree |
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| Chinese New Year is coming up |
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| Stopping for breakfast |
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| Jok, a typical Thai breakfast (rice congee) |
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| Salubrious neighbourhood? |
On the route there, we passed mile upon mile of oil palm plantations, those damnable trees that have replaced so much of Malaysia's beautiful jungles and forests, as well as rubber tree and teak plantations. An interesting feature in so much of this part of the world are the limestone hills that protrude out of the flatter than flat landscape seemingly dropped at random from above. These eroded steep singular hills are quite a feature all the way up the western coast of Malaysia and well up into Thailand, creating some spectacular scenery.
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