My Sawasdee Express from Kuala Lumpur to Hat Yai

This is a post about my experience onboard the My Sawasdee International Express from Kuala Lumpur to Hat Yai. You can see more information about this route here: https://www.thaitrainguide.com/international/my-sawasdee-express.

[2] MySawasdee International Express is not a regular scheduled train. It only goes during long weekends in Malaysia. It takes the electrified train route but uses an old diesel locomotive. At the border it changes to a Thai locomotive. The carriages stay the same.

[3] If you have ever been on the Jungle Train on the Eastern Line then you will recognise these carriages. The sleeper carriage layout is similar to Thai trains but with one big difference. The upper berth has a small window! My bed is also slightly longer than on Thai trains.

[4] These are the carriages with just seats. Half face forward and the other half backwards. Tickets are MYR 75 (590 Baht) for regular seats in 2nd class, MYR 89 (700 Baht) for upper berth in the sleeper carriage and MYR 97 (763 Baht) for lower berth in the sleeper carriage.

[5] These are the toilets in the sleeper carriages. The usual squat toilet and Western style toilet. A world away from the toilets on the electric trains on the Western Line.

[6] The train has a dining car, or Cafe as they call it here. Lots of choices of food and drinks. There are seats and tables.

[7] I had a lower berth and I slept reasonably well. However, although the bed was long enough for me, it was a little narrow. The Daewoo sleeper in Thailand was much better. People in the upper berth said the train was rocking too much and it was difficult to get to sleep.

[8] I woke up early to do my ablutions the best I could before everyone else got up. I then went to the dining car and bought a hot milk coffee and a toastie.

[9] We arrived at Padang Besar station 5 minutes early. As the line north of here is still closed, the 400 passengers had to transfer into 8 buses. It’s a shame as immigration at the station is much quicker as it’s only for train passengers. Train to Hat Yai then takes one hour.

[10] The buses took us to the border checkpoint which wasn’t far away. But we had to wait for a very long time as a long queue. We passed through Malaysian immigration first, then back on the bus to go to Thai immigration and then back on the bus again to go to Hat Yai.