Kuala Lumpur to Hat Yai

The train from K.L. to Hat Yai departed from Platform A at 9:20pm on the dot. Again the beds had already been made up in our carriage, a second-class one this time, but in fact nicer than the first class one. The beds were arranged  parallel to the corridor, each shielded by a curtain. Once I was settled, I was in a private cocoon. A small private cocoon, but at least one with a window! Despite the aircon, sleep came a bit easier tonight, possibly also because of the length of the journey - a whole thirteen hours.

In the morning, I wake up to sunrise over the limestone karsts of Kedah in northern Malaysia.

Thailand arrives in a hurry. We draw up to a station; one end is Malaysia, the other end is Thailand.

We get off the train with all our luggage, cross back to Malaysia, go through emigration, cross into Thailand, go through immigration, then return to Malaysia to await the return of our train, which is being shortened to three carriages for the onward journey, most passengers having disembarked before the border.

Once over the barbed wire border, Southern Thailand is an odd mix of same-same-but-different. The villages have wooden houses with shutters, like Malaysia, but in the gardens are golden shrines. There are lots of 4WD pickups but outside the huddled houses, the landscape isn't of oil palms or rice padis but of thick bush.

At Hat Yai we skillfully dodge the insistent touts ("Hey gorgeous! You wan Haad Yai ride?") and walk to the hotel where I've bought a room for the night. I know we're leaving at 6pm, but I knew I'd be desperate for a shower by this point, and the only hotels that actually offer rooms by the hour are also the hotels that offer ancient massages. 

I think 'ancient' might be a codename, as the bright airy visible massage parlours only offer plain "MASSAGE!!!" I believe the ancient sort are the ones Malaysian men come for - Hat Yai is popular with them for quick cross-border trips. But my friend and I are the only foreign faces we see during our 7-hour stay here.

Sex tourism isn't the only draw, of course. There is also the Wat Hat Yai Nai - which sounds beautiful in a Thai's mouth, and is also very pretty in real life. The reclining Buddha there is the third largest in the world, apparently.

There were other buildings scattered around the complex, and some beautifully kitsch tiny statues to mirror the enormous one.

Hat Yai is the fourth biggest city in Thailand, though you wouldn't know it to look at it. This lack of visible impressiveness is not entirely its fault - with a population of 150,000 people, it can't compete on any level with Bangkok, which boasts of 5.6 million! I'm a little nervous as we board our onward train...

PS I haven't been making a spelling mistake all the way through this post - Hat Yai is the official modern spelling; Haad Yai is the older usage which is still visible on the train station, and it's actually closer to the way Thais pronounce it.