I've done both the PEN-KUL leg and PEN-BKK legs before. The PEN-KUL leg is a lengthy one compared taking the bus, it winds through some OKish scenery along the way, but I couldn't really recommend it.

PEN-BKK is a long haul of a trip, usually runs late in my understanding, so you get 20 hours or so on the train. The second class sleeper was alright in my experience, but given the cost of an AirAsia flight PEN-BKK, it'd be tough to recommend the train unless you really enjoy travel by train.

As for Jetstar Asia, they're a decent LCC - probably the best of the three that do the SIN-BKK route (the others are Tiger and AirAsia). They have 20kg allowance, instead of 15kg, they have assigned seating, and they fly from Terminal 1 at Changi (instead of the budget terminal). Make sure you check the after tax fares though, rather than the initial fares that display, as they'll vary widely. But if Jetstar comes up the cheapest then it's a good option to take.

Yup: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...7&postcount=13

Probably the best of the bunch.

I second GibSpmuh's suggestion to take the bus between KL and Singapore. Much quicker and more pleasant than the train. Some of the higher end coaches have personal TV screens and food served by a hostess.

Take the first class bus. i took it last week and it was a great experience. avod, large leather seats (just 16 on the whole bus!!), $32 singapore, food, great service, basically you cant go wrong. and its 4 hours, while the train is 7.

Ha ha... the SIN-KUL train journey takes me back to my childhood in SIN. Those journeys were pretty fun.

Having said that though, I would only take the journey for nostalgic reasons. It just takes too long.

The train is fine if you need to travel overnight.

If you want quick fast service though, take the bus. Here is the webpage for the bus :

http://www.plusliner.com/

Take the airport shuttle to Capthorn hotel (7 SGD) from SIN, and you can find the deluxe coaches counter inside the hotel. The cost is 60SGD thereabouts. The trip is 4.5-5 hours, and it will drop you at the KTMB train station in KL. You got (lousy) movie, some (lousy) food, and some drinks. If you need to get to KUL, you can take the KTM commuter train from KTMB to KL Sentral and then the airport train (about 40 minutes, about 70 RM).

I would only use this company if all the other luxury coaches are fully booked.

Owned by cronies of the former malaysian prime minister, the staff there have a certain attitude as though they are part of the malaysian civil service. They used to monopolise the "luxury" coach service several years back but since then several competitors have emerged offering much better service.

I would usually choose the coaches based on the departure/arrival locations used by the operators. In Kuala Lumpur the locations are Corus Hotel/KLCC (aeroline), Crowne Plaza (airebus), Mid-Valley (airebus), Imbi / Pasar Rakyat(transtar), Hotel Istana (luxury travel&tours). In Singapore, the locations are Harbour Front Centre (aeroline), Marina Mandarin (airebus), Galleria Scotts Road (airebus), Golden Mile Complex (transtar), Le Meridien (luxury travel&tours).

I enjoyed the first class sleeper ride back in 2005... the food was "interesting" but otherwise good, and I bunked with interesting characters both ways.

Someone told me that the SIN-KUL train is the only place in the world where you get stamped into a country (Malaysia's border control is at the SIN station) before you get stamped out of the first country (Singapore's border control is at Woodland, about an hour after you leave SIN). Something to do with the train line being owned by Malaysia ever since the Straits got their independence from Britain.

I took the first class SIN-KUL train last year about this time. The trip doesn't afford a lot of time for sleeping (or showering the next morning for that matter) and you have the added annoyance of riding the train for 30-45 minutes just to have to disembark at the Malaysian border to go through immigration. That takes a long time while you wait for the entire train to clear.

The bed was a bit narrow and I found the shaking made it hard to sleep/stay in bed. The early morning arrival was a bit troublesome too.

Only after arriving did I read about the first class busses (some have sleeper arrangements I believe) which looked like a much better option in hindsight.

Put the blame where it belongs -- you have to disembark at Singapore exit immigration. As another poster noted, Malaysian immigration is handled at the train station, before you get on the train; likewise, on the way into Singapore, Malaysian passport control is done on board the train but the Singaporeans make you disembark.

The history behind this weirdness: Singapore and Malaysian immigration used to be both sensibly located at the Singapore station. Singapore built a massive new immigration complex at Woodlands, and Malaysia said they'd move to it. Then Malaysia realized that Singapore really wanted to grab back the train line (occupying acres of primo property in central Singapore), and stayed put, while Singapore went and moved to Woodlands anyway, and has since done its level best to make using the train as inconvenient as possible. Then again, KTMB also has its fair share of stupidity, eg. the ludicrous pretense that S$1 = RM1 when buying any tickets out of Singapore...

I have read thru most of this thread, and the consensus for surface travel is to use one of the better bus companies rather than the train. I’m trying to decide what is the best course of action for a 4pm departure from Changi airport but lstarting from KUL.

I could fly on MH/SQ KUL-SIN. Would it be worth paying for 1st class since it is not much more than economy? The problem with bus/train travel is I would need to arrive in SIN the day before my flight unless I use the overnight train. I will be in SE Asia for 6 days, the first 3 in SIN for the January SIN DO, the other 3 in KUL.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Hi,

Since flights in either directions take between 30-45mins, ( or even less ) it is best to take economy.
It is too short a time to enjoy enything in First anyway.
First on MH 734s is as good as the EY.
SQ flies the 772s.So EY on that is pretty comfy.

Personally, I will not pay so much for First on such a short journey.

Have a good safe trip.
Cheers!

I would say it sounds like it comes down to miles and lounge access - do you want access to a lounge at KUL and how many extra miles will you earn by paying the extra for first?

Perhaps you could do the 'buy a flexible return ticket then change the return date' so you still have access to a lounge in Changi? At least I've read something about that around here.

This is extremely helpful information. My questions:

• How many hours is the bus ride from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur?
• How far is the Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur, from Le Meridien?
• Is the ride of interest from a scenic standpoint?

1) 5hrs including 2 immigration stops (on both sides of the border) and 1 toilet stop. Do however make sure that your date does not coincide with a major public holiday when the highways are usually jammed and takes considerably longer.

2) Hotel Istana is located near the Bukit Bintang district in the CBD and if you take a taxi to LeMeridien it would probably take 15min under light traffic or 30min under moderate traffic. During peak/rush hours on a weekday it may take as long as an hour.

3) Since the coaches bypass the towns and villages, there isnt much of a view except for oil palm plantations and rolling hills. Best to keep yourselves occupied with a movie or music.

For drop-off proximity to the Hilton/LeMeridien at KL Sentral, FirstCoach http://www.firstcoach.com.my/ offers a very basic serviice and drops off near the Bangsar LRT station which is 1 stop on LRT from Sentral or 3-5min by taxi.
Nice Coaches (Plusliner) http://www.parkmayberhad.com/nice.html drops off at the old railway station which is also 3-5min from Sentral but hailing a cab may be difficult there.