Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 408

from Singapore along the west coast via
KL, Ipoh, Tapah Road (for the Cameron
Highlands) and Butterworth to Padang
Besar, connecting with hai Railways
which then continue to Hat Yai and
north to Bangkok. You may have to
change trains in KL before continuing up
north. he second train line splits off
between KL and Singapore at Gemas,
58km northeast of Malacca, running
north through the mountainous interior
covered in lush vegetation - a section
known as the Jungle Railway - via Kuala
Lipis and skirting Kota Bharu to the
northeastern border town of Tumpat.
he north-bound train from Gemas is a
night train, so for the jungle views, do
this stretch from north to south. East
Malaysia's only rail line is the bone-
shaking 55km link between Kota
Kinabalu and Tenom in Sabah.
Express trains ( Ekspres Rakyat or Ekspres
Sinaran ) stop at principal stations only;
ordinary trains, labelled M on timetables,
stop at most stations and are only slightly
cheaper. Trains offer first-, second- and
sometimes third-class carriages; the first
two have air conditioning. On overnight
sleepers, only first- and second-class fares
are available and the air conditioning
tends to be on full-blast. From KL to
Butterworth costs RM67/34/23 for first/
second/third-class travel on an overnight
express train. Train fares from Singapore
cost double what you'd pay in Malaysia,
so if travelling north from Singapore, buy
a ticket to Johor Bahru and then purchase
a separate ticket there. Tickets can be
booked at W ktmb.com.my.

you may have to charter. his mode of
travel can get very expensive, as diesel
prices multiply alarmingly the further
into the interior you travel. Many inland
destinations are becoming reachable by
4WD and truck along rough logging
tracks, though it's slower and pricier than
going by river. Sabah has no express
boats, but ferries to Indonesia from
Tawau are increasingly used by travellers,
given the absence of direct flights.

6

BY PLANE
he cheapest airline with the most
domestic flight routes is AirAsia
( W airasia.com). Flights are quick and
e cient - it is just 55 minutes from KL
to Langkawi as opposed to an eleven-
hour bus and ferry journey. Other
airlines with domestic and Southeast
Asian flights include: Malaysia Airlines
( W malaysiaairlines.com); Firefly
( W fireflyz.com.my) - a budget
subsiduary of Malaysia Airlines with
flights to Alor Star, Malacca, Langkawi,
Kota Bharu, JB, Penang and Singapore;
and Silk Air ( W silkair.com) and Berjaya
Air ( W berjaya-air.com), who operate
flights to Pulau Tioman, Pulau Pangkor
and Singapore from KL.
Flights to East Malaysia operate mainly
out of Kuala Lumpur, with Johor Bahru
providing additional services to Kuching
and Kota Kinabalu. Within Sarawak and
Sabah, MASwings ( W maswings.com.my) is
a subsidiary of Malaysian Airlines, serving
Kuching, Miri, Bintulu, KK, Sandakan,
Sibu, Bario, Tawau, Lahad Datu and more.
AirAsia also flies to all of these destinations,
barring Mulu and Bario, which are only
reachable by small aircraft.

BY FERRY AND BOAT
Boats sail to all the major islands off
Malaysia's coasts, but during the
monsoon (Nov-Feb), east-coast services
are almost nonexistent. West-coast islands
such as Penang and Langkawi are served
by passenger/car ferries; reaching the
Perhentian Islands requires a bumpy
speedboat ride.
In Sarawak , regular turbo-charged
“flying co n” express boats ply the
mighty Rejang and Baram rivers.
On the smaller tributaries, or during
dry season, travel is by longboat , which

VEHICLE RENTAL
Malaysia's main roads tend to be in good
condition, though many drivers rarely give
way or signal and sometimes don't obey
tra c lights or signs. Drivers flash their
headlights when they are claiming the
right of way, not the other way around.
Malaysians drive on the left, and
wearing seat belts in the front is
compulsory. To rent a vehicle, you must
be 23 or over and have held a clean
international driving licence for at least