After 2.5 blissful days on the Perhentians (sleep, eat, swim, sunbathe, eat, swim...) it was time to return to reality. Much to my surprise our ferry back arrived 5 minutes early, but more in line with my expectations it then took 30 minutes to pick up everybody else heading home.

Once at Tok Bali, the taxi mafia was out in force and all attempts to negotiate a fare to Tanah Merah resulted in "lima puluh", which means either "50 ringgit" in Malay or "slimy pigeon" in Finnish. Due to acute lack of choice we opted for a guy who looked like Uday Hussein after getting a few teeth punched in and drove an equally beaten-up old Merc, featuring air-con of the "roll down your window" variety. But he navigated his way through the kampongs well and deposited us right in front of the train station, so no complaints.

So there we were in Tanah Merah town, Kelantan state, home to mosques, cows and a solitary KFC offering the rare luxury of air-conditioning. My companion rapidly Islamicized her hairstyle with a bandanna and we headed for the Colonel's to munch on Pockets of Persia and watch the local bad boys try to hit on the pretty veiled cashier girl; this being, incidentally, the only junk food we ate on the entire trip.

The surprises continued when, not at 19:59 but 3 minutes early, there was a toot-toot and we boarded--

KTMB XT15 "Ekspres Timuran" KBR-SIN seat 1/1

Ekspres Timuran is the flagship train of Malaysia's lesser-used eastern rail track, aptly known as the "Jungle Train". The trip from Tanah Merah to Singapore takes 12 hours and costs all of RM 46.50 (~$12) in an air-conditioned 2nd class sleeping berth, the fanciest digs offered. Unlike my previous 1st-class experience, there are no separate berths, just beds lined up on both sides of the carriage with curtains for privacy. Works well enough, but the train shakes, rattles and rolls quite a bit when puffing across Malaysia's mountainous backbone and I didn't sleep too well that night; the ride only quieted down a bit when we reached the southern flatlands and merged with the west coast track at Gemas.

In a final surprise, we arrived at Johor Bahru at 8 AM on the dot, exactly as scheduled. Malaysian immigration officers came on board, cancelled our entry permits not with a stamp but with a stroke of the pen (!), and then the train jolted off across the Causeway to Singapore. Once again, the "Other Passports" line proved faster than the Singaporeans & residents line, and a short taxi ride later the circle had closed and we were home again.