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KTM Train Station Waiting Lounge
KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
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Padang Besar KTM Station, Perlis
Malaysia / Thai Border
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Lee Garden Night Market
Hat Yai, Thailand |
Day 1 Sunday June 21 2026 (Kuala Lumpur & Hat Yai) - kick start my 1st day (an exciting day) taking a KTM train departing KL Sentral at 09.55 arriving Padang Besar (Perlis), the Malaysia / Thai border town at 15.10 (Malaysian time), upon arrival, we took a VIP van ride (Rm30) from KTM Padang Besar train station & after Malaysia & Thai immigration clearance, we arrived in our hotel (Firendlytel) in Hat Yai at around 15.30 (Thai time). After a short rest & in the evening, we "hunt" for food followed by a leisure walk to the Lee Garden Night Market & the surrounding. I had been to Hat Yai numerous time over the past few decades & often used the city as a stopover to "catch" a sleeper train to Bangkok ......
Hat Yai, Thailand - a city in far south of Thailand & close proximity to the northern states of Peninsula Malaysia, is a sprawling commercial hub & shopping destination; at the Khlong Hae Floating Market, vendors sell local foods & handicrafts from traditional boats docked in a canal; the Wat Hat Yai Nai temple is known for its 35m long reclining Buddha; outside the city centre, Hat Yai is a hilly green area with a standing Buddha statute & a cable car.
In late Nov / Dec 2025, Hat Yai experienced the worst flooding in decades, triggered by an unprecedented 630mm of rainfall, the disaster left major sections of the city submerged under 2 to 5 meters of water, causing widespread destruction & badly affected the local economy.
1) Rapid KL LRT train ride (Rm1.90) from SS15 LRT station > KL Sentral (08.30 > 09.10)
2) KTM train station waiting lounge - we arrived earlier, so a little bit waiting before boarding the train at 09.45.
3) Boarding a KTM Platinum train (Rm77, Senior Citizen) from KL Sentral departing 09.55 > arriving Padang Besar 15.10 (Malaysia / Thai Border, Thai time is 14.10.
4) Suburban & countryside scenery from Kuala Lumpur > Padang Besar - the train made a number of brief stopovers in 13 regional train stations along the way. A very pleasant train drive, so just sit, relax & enjoy the countryside scenery for the next 5 hours !
5) Arriving in KTM train station, Padang Besar, Perlis, Malaysia
6) Bought a VIP van ticket (@Rm30) from a travel agency booth operating in KTM Padang Besar train station for a ride to our hotel in Hat Yai, Thailand. For passengers who prepare to wait, you can consider taking a Thai shuttle non-airconditioned train from KTM Padang Besar station > Hat Yai Junction (approx 53km)
7) Hotel Accommodation (1 night): Friendlytel Hotel, room tariff Rm73, 2 single beds.
8) A local Chinese temple nearby Friendlytel Hotel, Hat Yai.
9) Dinner in a Thai restaurant nearby our hotel - savoured a plate of crab meat fried rice (70bht) & stir-fried chicken rice (60bht), this restaurant had s steady stream of customers at the time of our visit.
10) After a dinner in a local restaurant nearby our hotel, we took an evening walk to Lee Garden Night Market to get a feel of the nightlife in this popular place frequented by tourists & locals.
11) Lee Garden Night Market, Hat Yai, Thailand - a vibrant & bustling night market located in front of the Lee Garden Plaza, offering a wide varieties of local Thai seafood, street food & delicious treats, there are tables & chairs for visitors to dine & enjoy eating the food here.
12) Odeon Shopping Mall, Hat Yai - an older Hat Yai mall with a supermarket, clothing stores & a food court, near Lee Garden Night Market.
13) Hat Yai Train Station, Thailand - Hat Yai Junction is an international railway station & a Class 1 railway station for the State Railway of Thailand in the canter of Hat Yai City, Songkhla Province. I had in numerous occasions took a sleeper overnight train from Hat Yai Junction to Bangkok; a brief visit this evening to inquire on train timetable for a visit from Hat Yai > Sungai Golok in our last leg of visit in southern Thailand. Good Night !
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