Off The Beaten Path - Phatthalung : How To Travel By ETS and SRT to Hatyai and Phatthalung

Our journey to Phatthalung begins with a train ride from Malaysia. However, this is not a direct one-train-journey that takes you from KL to Phatthalung, but rather 2 different train rides and a minivan ride. 

In the past, it is much more convenient to travel to Hatyai on the overnight sleeper train (the old Intercity Express Trains) which operates from Singapore to Hatyai (it would have been fantastic for people like me who stay in Singapore). This has since been terminated since 19th May 2016, and replaced with ETS which only operates from Gemas to Padang Besar.

Gemas Station is currently the furthest point south that the ETS operate, as the last section to Johor Bahru has yet to be completed (expected completion in 2020). Therefore, if you are travelling by train to anyway further down-south (Singapore for example), you will have to disembark at Gemas, then board the separate New Shuttle / Intercity Trains from Gemas. This New Shuttle Train connects Gemas to JB Sentral. If you wish to go to Singapore, you will need to take the separate JB-Singapore shuttle train.

In the north, Padang Besar is the final destination, and therefore one would need to cross the border to Hatyai. There are several ways to cross the border, which I would elaborate more in the next section.

The entire journey to Phatthalung is therefore broken down as follows:

1. ETS (KL – Padang Besar)

2. Minivan (Padang Besar – Hatyai)

3. SRT Train (Hatyai – Phatthalung)

Day 0 : ETS Train (KL Sentral – Padang Besar)

About ETS 

To go on the train journey to Phatthalung, the first train to get on is the ETS (Electric Train Service) operated by KTM Malaysia. You can of course board the train from other stations (Ipoh, Tampin, Seremban, Alor Setar, Taiping to name a few) in Malaysia, but it also depends on the which train you will be taking. For the timetable, you may refer this this webpage: https://www.train36.com/ets-train-schedule.html

There are only 5 trains which travels to Padang Besar with the following arrival time (new arrival time from 18 December 2017 onwards):

The return time from Padang Besar (from 18 December 2017 onwards) is as follows:

How much does it cost

There are three types of ETS train – ETS Silver Services, ETS Gold Services (EG numbered trains) and ETS Platinum Services (EP numbered trains). However, only ETS Gold and Platinum travels to Padang Besar. The ticketing price for both trains (from KL Sentral to Padang Besar) are as follows:

ETS Gold: Adults RM76, Children RM42

ETS Platinum: Adults RM102, Children RM55

Cafeteria in ETS train

Both trains have the same type of seats and basic amenities such as toilet, cafeteria and electric socket at the bottom of your seat. However, ETS Platinum makes less stops along the way and is therefore more expensive. In addition to that, passengers are also served refreshments during the journey.

Refreshment provided for ETS Platinum

How to get your tickets

Train tickets can be purchased online for the same price as you would pay at a KTM counter. You can buy train tickets online direct from the KTMB website, or much more easily through an online agent selling tickets. Ticketing agents offer a much easier booking process than the KTMB E-Tickets site. The price is the same as you would pay on the KTM website (or sometimes cheaper if there is any promotion). I personally wouldn’t recommend buying directly on KTM website as we encountered some problems when we tried booking our tickets. Fortunately, MJ worked at NU Sentral so she managed to get our tickets over the counter at KL Sentral during her lunch hour. 

It is also advisable to purchase your ticket as soon as it is released, normally 60 days prior to departure. The train tickets often sell like hot cakes and it would be sold out in not time. We checked our tickets after a couple of days and realised it was already sold out.

Our journey

As this blog post is written 6 months after our trip and the recent latest train schedule has changed (the screenshot above is the latest schedule), the departure time was also around 11.30pm (the latest schedule at 11.27pm). It’s the last train from KL Sentral (which started from Gemas around 9pm, the latest schedule departs at 9.10pm. Arthur who works at Melaka boarded the train from Tampin with Richard’s father at around 9.30pm, while CK who was in Ipoh boarded this same train at about 2am. The rest of us (Richard, Sherry, Anna, Amy, Lloyd, MJ and I) boarded from KL Sentral. The train arrived at Padang Besar around 5am in the morning. Feeling hungry, we had breakfast at a Malay café in Padang Besar Station, before crossing the border. 

Power plug underneath the seat

Day 1 (Part 1) : Crossing boarder (Padang Besar – Hatyai)

There are several ways to cross the border:

1) Hire a private minivan to take to the border of Hatyai, then Hatyai Junction Train Station

2) Take the Padang Besar Hat Yai Shuttle Train from Padang Besar Station to Hatyai Junction Train Station

3) Walk

It would have been most convenient to continue the journey from Padang Besar to Hatyai via the shuttle train (option 2) but unfortunately for us, the train schedule did not match with the late night train we took from KL with a transit time of at least 5 hours (last train arrives at Padang Besar at 5.01am, first train to leaves Padang Besar at 9.55am). The shuttle train would work better for those travelling on the first two morning trains from KL instead.

However, for our return journey from Hatyai on Day 4, we took the Shuttle Train instead as we were not in a rush. 

The shuttle train costs 70 Thai Baht in either direction and can be purchased from either station on the day of departure (no online booking is available). You can also pay in Malaysian Ringgit (RM10 at the moment).

Our journey

As the train option doesn’t work in our favour, we decided to cross the border via minivan. We were approached by Mr. Dullah who offered to take us all the way to Hatyai Junction Train Station for 1300 Baht (10 pax including Richard’s father who tagged along. It is twice the costs of the shuttle train, but it wasn’t sky-rocket high after converting to Ringgit (SGD5.35 / RM16.90 per pax). Besides, we need to catch the train to Phatthalung so we can’t possibly waste 5 hours waiting in Padang Besar station. 

The minivan dropped us at both immigration, before taking us to Hatyai Junction. On the way, we also dropped Richard’s father at his hotel at Hatyai’s town. Our decision to take this minivan proved to be a wise one as we reached Hatyai station just in time to catch the train to Phatthalung.

Day 1 (Part 2) : SRT train (Hatyai – Phatthalung)

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is the state-owned rail operator under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport in Thailand. The train that will bring you from Hatyai Junction to Phatthalung is the Southern Line. Here’s the timetable I managed to find online for trains from Hatyai to Phatthalung, and vise versa. The entire journey takes only 2 hours (83km), and it passes several other smaller stations along the way such as Khao Chai Son (more about that later).

How much does it cost

The train fares for ordinary and rapid services are as follows:

Ordinary: 18 Baht (adult), 9 Baht (child), only 3rd class fan seats

Rapid: 48 Baht (adult) and 39 Baht (child) for 3rd class fan seats, or 71 Baht (adult) and 51 Baht (child) for 2nd class fan seats

18 Baht ordinary train ticket from Hatyai to Phatthalung

Delays are common for ordinary service trains, so if you want to feel more secure,you may want to pay a little extra for a Rapid train, which is more likely to run on time. But if you are traveling on a morning train, ordinary trains will likely not be delayed especially the first train (train 446) which departs from Hatyai as the first station. 

Special Express service is best avoided as they are charged a fixed fee, no matter the distance travelled. Therefore, it is not worth paying for if you are only going to Phatthalung. Train 37 or 38 for example charges 231 Baht (Child 211 Baht) for 2nd class fan seats and 208 Baht (Child 199 Baht) for 3rd class fan seats. Train 35 or 36 on the other hand, only 1st and 2nd class air-conditioned sleeper seats and will therefore cost a minimum of 511 Baht (approximately SGD21 / RM66) for the cheapest seat. The same applies to trains 41 or 42 which are the fast 2nd class air-conditioned seat only services which will set you back for 351 Baht (approximately SGD15 / RM47).

How to get your tickets

You can book train tickets in Thailand online directly from SRT. There are small extra fees to pay (depending on the class of seat / berth you want to book), but this is the cheapest way to book your train tickets in Thailand online. You will have to create an account to book tickets. Alternatively, you can also book your train tickets online via 12go or Busonlineticket.

If your schedule is flexible or may change unexpectedly, you can also purchase your ticket over the counter.

Our journey

We did not purchase our ticket in advance and thank god that was what we did. Honestly, traffic at the immigration office could be unexpectedly long and we did delay a little as we dropped Richard’s father at his hotel before proceeding to the train station. We also waited for quite a bit at Padang Besar for the immigration office to open and for bargaining the minivan price with the driver. We managed to reach Hatyai Junction around 9.10am, which is 8 minutes before the train departs. Lucky for us that we reached just in time for the 9.18 train. Throughout our ride to Phatthalung, the carriage we were in were not fully seated with plenty of seats for us to roam around. Hence, I reckon that advance booking online is not necessary unless for weekend and Thailand public holiday or school holidays (it was weekday and Malaysia public holiday but Phatthalung isn’t well-known among Malaysian tourist). 

Orange carriage (photo credit: CK)

The entire 2-hour train ride to Phatthalung was a rather pleasant journey. Just like the orange-painted wooden seats in the carriage we chose, our mood for the day was bright and cheery, although we were all sleep deprived. The entire ride was full of laughter and we had fun taking photos and checking out the daily lives of the locals. As the train stopped at each station, food vendors walked along the railway tracks passing through each carriage to sell their products. Some even boarded the train to sell their items. Passengers from the trains on the opposite track looked out of the window, amused to have seen some foreigner in this area not frequently travelled by foreigners. 

Train to Phatthalung (photo credit: Arthur)

We bought some interesting mini rice dumplings from a lady vendor and even chatted with an uncle (although we don’t understand each other, body language helps. LOL). Soon, we reached Phatthalung around 11.30pm, just in time for lunch.

Day 1 (Part 3) : Songthaew (Phatthalung train station to resort)

Getting a Songthaew

The first thing we looked for once we reached Phatthalung station was the public toilet. There are of course toilets on the train but somehow the “cleanliness” wasn’t so appealing, so we waited until we reached Phatthalung. Thankfully, the one at the station was clean enough. The next thing we did was looking for a ride to our resort. There were songthaew and motor taxis drivers around the train stations, and we were approached by one songthaew driver. After some negotiation with the help of Google Translate (Richard has gotten a Thailand simcard earlier on), we managed to get a ride for 40 Baht (SGD1.65 / RM5.20) per person (one way). As we were starving, we made a promise to be back for the ride after our lunch.

Looking for restaurant in Phatthalung town (photo credit: CK)

We walked around with our backpacks on our back, wondering around town to find a place to fill our stomach. There weren’t many restaurant visible in the area we circled around, and we finally come across a decent-looking local Thai restaurant – Khao Mae. 

Lunch at Khao Mae

Lunch at Khao Mae

Here’s some of the food we ordered for lunch that day. The total bill summed up to only 1100 Baht for the 9 of us. That’s 122 Baht (SGD5.03 / RM15.89) per person.

Thai style hor fun

Basil pork with rice

Seafood fried rice

Padthai

Tomyum seafood soup

Stir-fry seafood with rice

After lunch, we were supposed to walk back to the train station to get on our songthaew, but we finally got defeated by the hot weather and decided to ditch the previous driver as we managed to fetch another songthaew just outside of Khao Mae. 40 Baht per person seemed like a market rate as we were quoted the same. 

The ride took only around 20 minutes, and once we arrived, we made sure to take the drivers phone number (thank goodness we had Richard who remember to do just that) so that we can call him shall we need a ride for the following days. I suggest you to also do the same, since it’s rather impossible to fetch a songthaew around the resort area.

Day 1 (Part 4) : Sai Klong Song Lae Resort

Once we arrived at the resort, we proceeded to check in. Booking was made online in advance, but payment is only made on the spot. We booked 4 queen-bed chalets for the 9 of us, which costs 1000 Baht per chalet per night. That’s 8000 Baht for two nights for the 9 of us. After splitting the cost, it’s 889 Baht (SGD36.58 / RM115.56) per person for two nights. Not bad, huh?

Wooden bungalow at Sai Klong Song Lae

Beach-feel bungalow

Our room

Here’s how our room looked like from the inside. 

Every room is painted in different colour. Ours is in teal

Room for two

Queen size bed

Sunset

At late evening, we came out from our room and went to the restaurant just outside of our chalet, where it overlooks the lake, for the opportunity to catch the sunset. Here’s some photos from my Sony a6000.

Yok Yar (fishing platform) next to the banks

Sun setting

Almost gone

Dinner at Yok Yor Kicthen

Dinner for the night was at Yok Yor Kitchen just right beside the lake, operated by the same owner of the resort. A quick glance at the menu reveals authentic Thai dishes at very affordable price. Here’s what we ordered for the night:

Fried calamari

Stir-fry lotus root with century egg

Stir-fry squid

Tomyum seafood soup

Stir-fry petai and prawns

Deep fried fish

Fish curry with lotus root

The dinner only costs us 1,495 Baht (166 Baht per person or approximately SGD6.84 / RM21.59). With our tummy filled, we went back to our respective rooms for shower, before gathering in the boys’ room for board game and beer. 

… and our footprints in Phatthalung continues [Day 2 – Thale Noi]

Epilogue:

The entire journey from KL to Phatthalung may seem like a hassle to some people, but it didn’t matter that much to travel-enthusiast like me. Through this travel arrangement, I had the experience of taking both the ETS and SRT for the first time in my life. Yes, it’s my first rides on both trains and I love experiencing new things as much as exploring new destinations. There was nothing to see on the ETS as we travel in the night, and the seat was rather uncomfortable to sleep on. For those who would prefer to get better rest for the journey ahead, perhaps a flight directly to Hatyai (especially during promotion) could be a much better choice. 

Loving this shot of us in on the vibrant orange-coloured seats

The train from Hatyai to Phatthalung is an eye-opener for me. Not only that it was pretty comfortable for a short 2-hour ride, I was particularly impressed that it was so affordable. Affordable is an understatement, I should say it was darn cheap for only 18 Baht (SGD0.74 / RM2.34). It isn’t air-conditioned, but the smile on those pretty local faces and the cold breezes and scenic view from the window made up for it. If you like train or have never been on the SRT, don’t miss it. Even if you aren’t a fan of train or have been on the train, I would still suggest taking the train to Phatthalung. It’s actually faster and I think it would be more comfortable than a 3-hour bus ride (80 Baht). 

Thanks for reading. Stay tune for my next post on Thale Noi!

Related entries:

Summary of itinerary

Day 2 - Thale Noi

Day 2 - Temples of Phatthalung

Day 3 and 4 - Khao Chai Son, Hatyai and journey home