Are you in the midst of planning for a trip to “Sawadeekap” land? Beside taking a flight or road trip, you can also have another option taking ETS or train, old-world mode of exploration.
A Malaysian netizen took XiaoHongShu to share how to travel in ETS and the procedure to enter customs to Hatyai, a 3D2N trip for only RM500 in average per person!
▼ Very good explanation + in detail !!
Post 1：
The post read：
Here are the tips taking a train to Hatyai! Select a good seat and let’s go!
Today i’m going to talk about how to select the seat in the train~ It’s easy to have a free & easy trip in Hatyai. Wait no more, let’s plan a trip with your family and friends soon!
1）Most people will be confused by Platinum and Gold. Actually you will just need to focus on the travelling time. We selected the earliest departure time -7am
▶ You will need to reach half an hour earlier ( Best is 40 minutes to 1 hour )
▶ No need to check-in baggage, but you will need to queue to scan your E-ticket.
▶ You do not need to print the ticket. But in the case, your elderly don’t know how to scan, you can also print out the ticket.
▼ KTM official website to buy ticket：【Click here】
▼ The optimal seat is the forward-facing seat. The post author is telling you how to avoid buying the backward-facing seat.
▼ Business class
2）Business class & Economy class
36 seats in Business class, double-seater and single-seater, more spacious and comfortable. With WIFI service available too. 45° incline seat, meal included with good services. The price is slightly higher, about RM100++ higher than economy class.
▼ Business class
▶ I selected economy class, round trip for RM200 but meals not included. You will need to bring your own food.
The train depart on time, so please go to train station earlier, as you will need to scan the e-ticket. We started our journey at 7am and reach Hatyai at around 1pm~
▶ Thailand is 1 hour behind us. Procedure is pretty easy going through customs. I will be telling you in the next post~
Post 2：
The post read：
Only spending RM500 per person and you can go to Hatyai! Let’s board on the train and start exploring !
The previous post is about how to book ticket, select seat ~ This post i’m going to share what you are going to do when you reach Padang Besar.
Those days you will need to walk across the skybridge to customs to enter the country. But now the skybridge is temporary closed so you will need to take a ride to the customs.
▼ When you reach customs, you will need to go to the left and you will find a QR code at the entrance.
▼ Next will be filling some info and uploading MySejahtera vaccination certificate and show the officer.
The Thailand timing will be an hour behind us. So, you will need to arrange your itinerary with the local timing. For example : Train at Malaysia time 4pm ( Thailand time: 3pm), I will suggest you to leave at around 12:30pm.
From customs to Hatyai city centre will take around 1 hour. I have not include timing if long queue for going through customs – then car transfer to Padang Besar train station.
To be safe 1.30 -2 hours is just nice.
*Padang Besar – Hatyai SRT ( Malaysia Time) : 1) 9.55am 2) 4.40pm
*Hatyai – Padang Besar SRT ( Thailand Time) : 1) 7.30am. 2) 2pm
▶ How to go Customs in Thailand to leave the country?
1）SRT train
2）You can also get contact number from the driver that you travel with in Thailand, tell them your departure time and place to pick you up.
▶ After you reach Malaysia, how to travel to train station?
1）Get Grab e-hailing car ( Around RM5/RM6)
2）Taxi service at the customs entrance（RM10 per trip）
3) Some private car ( They will come forward and ask you where you want to go, normally is RM10 per person)
▶ Regarding the travel budget？
For me, it’s a budget travelling. I didn’t really buy a lot, but mainly sight-seeing and enjoying local food and massage~ ( Greenway market – must go)
- 3D2N（ To be honest, too short. I will suggest 4D3N trip）
Round trip train tickets cost RM200, accommodation for 2 person is RM100/night, transportation for RM400. The overall expenses is not too high. 1 portion of noodle or rice will be RM6-8.
If you bring additional RM400 will be more than enough ( But if you want to shop till drop then you will not have enough)
- Must try : Nescafe (Black amber), Dessert cafe, After You
- Must go : Central Festival shopping mall
▶ TukTuk
Normally when you asked 【How much】They will tell you 30baht（Around RM3.60）per person.
Actually it’s normally 20 baht ( Around RM2.40) per person. So you can just say No and negotiate with them said 20 baht. ( If more people can asked for a even lower price).
Here is the spots that you shouldn’t miss:
- Big C Extra
- Greenway night market 4-10pm ( closed on Monday)
- Lee Gardens
- Kim Yong Market ( It’s a morning market, start at 8am)
- Central festival
- 7-11 convenient store
Video ① ：
Video ② ：
▼ Q : Is it only 1 stop to reach Hatyai? will the train stop in between?
A: There will be a few stops, including Ipoh, Butterworth around 10 stops i think.
▼ Q: What about the prepaid card?
A: You can get Thailand sim card in Padang Besar or else can turn on the roaming.
▼ Q: Do Thailand customs still need rtk test result?
A: No need. They will just need the vaccination cert.
Info via：Special thanks to Von 是依文本人 / XiaoHongShu for the rights to share!
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