Arriving at Butterworth by train

Arriving at Butterworth by train you’ll end your journey at Penang Sentral. Penang Sentral is a hub from which you can catch the train, bus or ferry.

If you have been heading north on the train you can continue going north. If going south, you can continue south. Butterworth is on a branch line off the main line. It is also possible if you do not want to visit Penang to go directly to or from the Thai border from or to Kuala Lumpur.

From Penang Sentral there is a train service north to Padang Besar on the Thai border. You can cross the border to Thailand at the station. From there you can transfer to trains travelling north through Thailand. Or you can cross the border at the road crossing and catch buses to other parts of Thailand.

As for the train service south: it stops at cities such as Taiping and Ipoh on the way to Kuala Lumpur, and on towards Singapore.

Alternatively, arriving at Butterworth by bus, you can catch other buses to various parts of Malaysia from Penang Sentral. Finally, there is a ferry service four times an hour, across to Penang Island, a 15 minute journey.

If you are in no hurry, there are plenty of food outlets in Penang Sentral. And coffee shops etc.

So here are some photos and video of what it’s like to arrive in Penang Sentral. And thus moving on the catch the ferry to George Town.

Arriving at Butterworth by bus

Arriving at Butterworth by bus you’ll end your journey at Penang Sentral. Penang Sentral is a hub from which you can catch the train, bus or ferry.

From Penang Sentral there is a train service north to Padang Besar on the Thai border. You can cross the border to Thailand at the station. From there you can transfer to trains travelling north through Thailand. Or you can cross the border at the road crossing and catch buses to other parts of Thailand.

Alternatively, arriving at Butterworth by bus, you can catch other buses to various parts of Malaysia from Penang Sentral. Finally, there is a ferry service four times an hour, across to Penang Island, a 15 minute journey.

21 Japan Highlights in the Kansai region

21 Japan Highlights

This covers 21 Japan highlights for me. I haven’t included the most famous tourists spots in Kyoto because I’ve been there before. Otherwise, everywhere else was new for me. I spent two weeks travelling around Kansai with train passes. I spent quite a lot of time preparing for the trip. And Japan can be costly, so here area few tips to save.

You’ll see there is some overlap between the 21 Japan Highlights. For example, both 1. and 2. involve food. And they are not in order of priority. Rather, they are in order of relevance to the previous highlight.

Places visited

Given the restrictions of Google Maps, here is a rough idea of where I visited and the routes I took. These restrictions also require that I use two maps.

 

7 steps for preparing for a trip to Japan

• Read a guidebook and decide where to go – at least six months before.
• Decide when to go – try to avoid Japanese holiday periods for your trip – and the rainy season. Autumn is my favourite season – followed by spring.
• Book flights
• Book Hotels. Hotels are much cheaper when booked way in advance – so book many and cancel any you don’t want later. You can usually cancel free. Use different booking sites so can you double up hotels for any dates.

 

Bangkok to Hua Hin by train

Hua Hin Station

Bangkok to Hua Hin by train is around a four hour trip. But this depends on which train service you take, and whether the train is delayed.  You can go by bus, or by taxi in a little less time. For more details on trains see, as always, The Man in Seat 61.  This blog is more about the actual experience.  For a longer trip I just took, see The Train from Malaysia to Chiang Mai.