Even in 2026, the fastest way to get from Singapore to Malaysia is a five-minute ride on the diesel-powered Shuttle Tebrau, which takes passengers from the Woodlands train checkpoint in Singapore to the Johor Bahru Sentral transport hub in Malaysia.
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which → get → Malaysia
But the shuttle’s time is soon coming to an end.
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time → come → end
By mid-2027 it is scheduled to end operations and be replaced by a new rail link connected to Singapore’s subway system that will depart nearby.
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that → schedule → system
The coming change had me thinking about the rail connections between the two countries.
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me → come → countries
Rail connections were also disrupted by political developments.
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connections → disrupt → developments
That’s too bad, because a long rail journey is a great opportunity to see the Malaysian countryside, and there are plenty of places to stop along the way.
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journey → ’ → way
And so, on a sweltering afternoon in March, I paid 16 Malaysian ringgit ($5) for a seat on the shuttle, kicking off my weeklong journey to Bangkok, with stops in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and the state of Penang, to eat and explore.
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I → pay → Penang
Each leg took between an hour and 4 1/2 hours, except for an overnight ride to Bangkok.
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leg → take → Bangkok
The whole trip took seven days and six trains.
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trip → take → days
Train tickets cost $135 in total, and I stayed two nights in each city, spending approximately $1,400 on hotels, meals, transport and other expenses.
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I → cost → hotels
After my shuttle journey, I took the Electric Train Service, an intercity rail service, from JB Sentral to Kuala Lumpur.
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I → take → Lumpur
The direct connection, which had begun service three months earlier to great fanfare, has cut travel time between the two cities to 4 1/2 hours, from seven.
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which → begin → seven
Tickets can be purchased via the rail operator KTMB’s app.
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Tickets → purchase → app
The six-car train is not the equal of the high-speed rail services of China or Japan, but business class — at a cost of 171 ringgit — had reclining seats and plenty of legroom.
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class → have → legroom
One of the best places to eat in Kuala Lumpur, renowned for its food scene, is the open-air Jalan Alor Food Street.
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One → eat → scene
A century old, it has everything from barbecued seafood to Chinese Muslim cuisine to the ubiquitous Satay.
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it → have → Satay
I grabbed a magnificent rougamo, often called a Chinese burger, consisting of small strips of slow-cooked pork stuffed into a flaky bun.
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I → grab → bun
I sampled nasi lemak, the national dish: coconut rice accompanied by crispy fried chicken, peanuts, strips of cucumber and sweet sambal chili with a real kick.
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I → sample → kick
Before lunch, I ventured to the otherworldly Batu Caves, a limestone cave complex on the outskirts of the city housing a series of Hindu temples and shrines.
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I → venture → temples
Inside the caves, a major pilgrimage site, the air was redolent of incense and long-tailed macaques gamboled everywhere.
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macaques → gambol → incense
My trip resumed the next day with a 3 1/2-hour business class ride (175 ringgit) on a sleek and modern train to the town of Butterworth, alongside many British and Australian families.
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trip → resume → families
When we disembarked for a catamaran to George Town — the capital of Penang and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — I also overheard many Chinese and Korean accents.
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I → disembark → accents
Penang is often called Malaysia’s culinary capital.
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Penang → call → ?
You can find an amazing variety of street food, such as char koay teow, or flat rice noodles stir-fried with ingredients like prawns, chives, bean sprouts and lard.
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You → find → prawns
A plate at the Michelin-rated Siam Road Charcoal Char Koay Teow cost me just 10 ringgit, and it was savory and spicy, infused with a wok hei, or smoky flavour.)
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it → rat → hei
At Penang Hill, a nature reserve just outside the city, another train awaited: a 1.2-mile funicular railway to the summit.
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train → await → summit
Built by the British in 1924, it is reminiscent of the funicular at The Peak in Hong Kong.
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it → build → Kong
To enjoy the panoramic view of George Town, I sat at the bottom of the train for the five-minute journey.
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I → enjoy → journey
I then ambled to The Habitat, a mile-long nature trail built by the British East India Co. in the early 1800s.
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I → amble → 1800s
It sits on the edge of a rainforest reserve.
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It → sit → reserve
With the sounds of cicadas ringing and the sight of langurs casually grooming each other, I wiped the sweat off my brow and took time to savour the trail.
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I → ring → trail
Three trains to Bangkok
The longest leg of the trip began with a two-hour train ride from Butterworth to the town of Padang Besar, which straddles the border between Malaysia and the Thai province of Songkhla.
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which → begin → Songkhla
I jostled with backpackers and day-trippers en route to the Thai town of Hat Yai, a popular weekend destination for Malaysians, where I would catch a sleeper train to Bangkok.
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I → jostle → Bangkok
While the popular option is to hire a communal van for a 90-minute ride, there are three trains a day from Padang Besar to Hat Yai; tickets can only be bought on site for eight ringgit.
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tickets → hire → ringgit
The six-carriage train operated by State Railway of Thailand was decidedly spartan, with overhead fans and a thick sheen of dust on the windows.
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train → operate → windows
It also left around 20 passengers wilting in 90-degree weather for 30 minutes.
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It → leave → minutes
When I finally got off at Hat Yai Junction station, I was greeted by the evening crowd, as vendors carrying their wares in baskets reached up to sell food through the train windows.
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vendors → get → windows
There, I boarded the sleeper train bound for Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal Station in Bangkok, the largest railway station in Southeast Asia.
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I → board → Asia
The train, an air-conditioned oasis in the heat seating more than 400, departed on time for the 15-hour ride.
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train → condition → ride
For about 1,800 baht (about $54), a first-class seat gets you a private cabin with two seats that convert into beds, lockable doors and a sink, albeit shared with another passenger.
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that → get → passenger
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
