The Rich and The Poor
Singapore -> Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), 20th March 2002
Yawwwnnnn! I crawled out of bed at the far too early time of 6am
this morning. I quietly packed my bags, trying not to disturb my
fellow backpackers who were still deep in slumber. In less than
half-an-hour I was stumbling down the street towards Bugis MRT
station. I used my Transitlink card for the last time to get to the
station nearest the railway station. Unfortunately its a 15 minute
walk between the 2 stations, so I had to lumber onwards, heavily
laden with my bags.
When I reached the station, I threw my bags onto the blue plastic
chairs, and collapsed, soaked in sweat. Yummy, what a way to start
the day. I quickly decided that I needed a few cold drinks. After I
bought my refreshments, I changed my remaining Singapore money in to
Malaysian Ringgit.
As I sat there draining my ice cold drink, I suddenly remembered
about Malaysian customs. I needed the embarkation and customs forms.
I heaved my bags back up and rushed over to the help desk. He told
me that I'd be able to get them at the customs desk on the way to
the train.
At about 7:30am, they slid back the big grey gates and we were
allowed through to the platform. The guy checked our tickets, then
we were sent forward to various queues, depending on what
nationality we were. After standing for ages in an amazing queue
that never moved, I eventually reached the gate, where the official
checked my passport then handed me the necessary forms for getting
into Malaysia.
Checking the seat number on my ticket, I wandered along the train
until I located the correct carriage, then jumped aboard. The train
was surprisingly good quality, almost as nice as the new ones back
home! It was definitely as good as any standard European train.
The train journey between Singapore and Malaysia is quite an
interesting one. Luckily, I ended up sitting next to a very helpful
Asian man, or I might have got very confused! Pay attention here,
especially if you're considering doing this journey.
Once everyone was aboard, the train pulled promptly out of the
station and headed north towards Malaysia. After about 20 minutes,
the train began slowing down again and the driver made an
announcement over the tannoy. Well, I say announcement, but the
speaker was broken, so all we got was a garbled mess. It was like a
cross between a turkey being strangled and a drowning frog. Even if
I could have heard what he was saying, I suspect he was talking in
Malay, so I wouldn't have understood anyway. Luckily, the man I was
sitting next to, told me what was going on. This stop was the
customs stop, we were crossing the border to Malaysia. Everyone
needed to get off and go through customs & immigration.
So, after the train stopped, everyone jumped off. I followed the
signs to immigration, and passed through immigration quickly. After
this, I walked through the empty customs barriers to a large empty
hall, I stopped and looked at the signs. One pointed to the exit
hall, the other pointed to the train. I guessed I wasn't going to
the exit hall, so I followed the sign to the train, and stopped by a
pair of large glass doors leading back out onto the platform. I
could see the train lying peacefully, but the doors wouldn't open. I
stood waiting, and was soon joined by the other passengers. The
crowd continued to get larger, and when everyone was ready, the
doors slid open and we all hurried back onto the train.
It was quite a strange procedure, but it's got to be done! Anyone
who's considering doing this journey, note that it's normal for
immigration NOT to take your Malaysian arrival card off you. This is
quite strange, because it's the only proof that you've entered the
country legally. However, the guy assured me it would be ok and
they'd take both the arrival & departure cards off me when I left
Malaysia.
For the journey, I was seated next to a Malaysian business man. He
was quite friendly and we talked quite a bit. I learned that his
name is Billy and that he's a railway engineer. He has 2 houses, one
in Singapore and one in KL (the common & affectionate name for Kuala
Lumpur). We talked about all sorts of things, from the UK economy,
to the Singapore MRT, to his time at Uni in England, to what I could
do in KL. After a while, he pulled out a business card and gave it
to me. He said I could call him next time I was in Singapore!
Thanks!
The journey took about 7 hours, and was pretty uneventful. However,
as we passed through Malaysia, I was reminded of a story I studied
at school called 'The Train To Rhodesia'. Here I was, sitting in
this very comfortable, clean & modern train, encased behind a
barrier of steel & glass. On the other side of the barrier, I could
observe, but not interact, with the very different and basic lives
of the poorer Malaysian that we passed.
The train snaked through dense, lush, green foliage, interspaced
with simple, wooden dwellings. Many of the homes were little more
than shacks ins a sprawling shantytown. Collections of dirty, brown
houses, topped with rusted corrugated iron sheets lay solemnly along
the track. In the overgrown gardens, piles of rubble, broken
bicycles and decaying waste lay, uninterested in the world around
them. The only people we passed were labourers, toiling hard on the
line and the occasional road-side seller, under a faded blue
tarpaulin, trying to eke a meagre income. Life looked hard here.
Things began to look up as we got nearer to KL. But Billy told me
that these shiny, new, 'middle-class', suburban houses were vacant.
No one could afford to live in them, so they sat, undisturbed and
empty. Personally, I think the situation just before we reached the
station was the worst.
Looking out of the right-hand window, huge, modern sky-scrapers
reached high into the heavens. Modern, unmanned LRT trains zoomed
silently around the new, sparkling office blocks. Just like any
other prosperous city. But, looking out of the left-hand window,
were little more than slums. Decaying, dwellings and piles of waste.
Again, dirty, overgrown, rusted shacks sided the tracks. The other
face of KL that is sadly ignored.
We soon entered a tunnel and the train ground to a halt inside the
ultra-modern 'KL Sentral' train station. I grabbed my bags, said
goodbye to Billy, then alighted.
Emerging from the escalator, I looked around at this amazing
station. It was as fantastically clean & modern as any top European
train station, such as Waterloo (England) or Garde d'Nord (France).
It's quite outstanding, KL is an extremely successful city with lots
of modern technology. The first commonwealth games to take place in
Asia, happened here. And of course, the massive twin Petronas
Towers. (Featured in the Sean Connery Film 'Entrapment'.) two of the
tallest structures in the world.
I had picked a hostel out of the rough guide which was supposed to
be right in KL station. I walked around for a while, unsuccessfully
trying to find the hostel. In the end, I was forced to go to one of
the information desks. It turned out that 'KL Station' and 'KL
Sentral Station' are two different stations.
So, thanking the man, I bought a return ticket for KL Station (I
needed to come back to my ticket for the train to Thailand), then
hopped on the train again.
One stop later, I got off and started hunting for the hostel. After
10 minutes of walking around with my bags in the hot, humid weather,
again I had to ask someone. Out of the station attendants knew where
it was, and kindly escorted me to it. On the way we talked, and I
learned that he's a big Liverpool fan!
Anyhow, we eventually reached a hotel, and pointed inside saying
this was it. Doubtfully, I thanked him and he handed me over to the
receptionist. Looking around me, I was pretty sure that this was an
expensive hotel, not a cheap hostel. Eventually, I explained this to
the receptionist, and he helpfully pointed me round the corner.
Walking round the corner, then back again and round a different
corner, I saw a big poster for the 'Travellers Station Backpackers
Hostel'. As I approached, a chubby Malay guy came over and asked me
if I was looking for a good hotel. He conveniently knew one and even
more conveniently, he was a taxi driver. I told him that I was
looking for this hostel, pointing to the big sign. He said 'Ah, no,
that has closed down'. Hmmm I wasn't sure. Was this a ploy? After
hesitating for a bit, I walked up the stairs to check, and lo &
behold, there was a big, locked, derelict gate. Ok, he was right.
Luckily, I'd taken a leaflet for another hostel from a guy at the
station. So I turned round to go back to the station. The guy
insisted I take a taxi, but I just waved my return train ticket, and
he gave up.
I returned to KL Sentral, then as the leaflet suggests, I jumped on
the LRT Train. After one stop on the LRT, I got off and looked
around to find myself in bustling Chinatown. The streets were packed
with cars and local vendors. I navigated round them and soon found
the hostel.
It was a lovely little hostel, with huge, bright dorm rooms and at
RM12 (about 2 pounds) it was a bargain. Interestingly, in the Malay
style, shoes had to be taken off before entering the main part of
the building. After dumping my bags on my bed, I took a much needed
shower to get rid of the sweat from the hot weather. I then headed
off to explore KL city...
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