A TRIP TO ALOR SETAR, KEDAH

The Preparations (9 June 2012)

Recently I travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh by the new double track train, the Electric Train Service (ETS). It was a day trip that took about 2 hours, and I did enjoy the scenery all the way. I planned to travel much further and by the night train.

I arranged for the train schedule and fare for the trip from KL Sentral to Alor Setar, Kedah. I was information technology personnel prior to my retirement and thus I am used to browse the internet for any information that I need. I browsed the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) website to find out more about the fares, train schedules, the up-to-date discount rates and other information. It is regretted to say that the website seems not updated. You can browse the fares pages, but when it comes to the discounts given, especially to a senior citizen, there were no details on how the discounted fares should be calculated. When I called the Call Centre, they did not explain as how the final fare comes to and the discount rates given on the website are different from what was informed to me. No doubt all those who are eligible to discounted fares are not allowed to book their fare online, as there is no way to prove their age and eligibility. They have to go to the counter and provide all documents necessary to book or buy their tickets.

When I travelled with the ETS, the full fare has to be deducted RM8, which is the charge for the seat, before any discount can be calculated. This discounted fare is then added back with the seat charge to get the right amount payable for the fare. I presume the same system applies to the train fare, where the charge for the berth or seat, wherever applicable, has to be deducted from the total fare to calculate the exact discounted fare. We have to know the berth and the seat charges before calculating the exact fare.

I hope information on how fares are calculated for any persons who are eligible for discounted fares or not, and anywhere the person is travelling to, be displayed on the websites as first-hand information, direct, precise, clear, easy to understand and the website pages are easy to reach continuously from one subject to another. The public will then know how much fare and what they are paying for, and to prepare before hand the actual amount to pay at the counters for their tickets. This up-to-date information would help the public and be a good marketing strategy for KTMB. The staffs at the counters should also be able to explain to their customers on details of the payments. Maybe this information may be printed on the ticket itself, where it would state the actual fare, the berth or seat charges, the discounts, if any and the final fare paid.

Those who are eligible for discounts and given these privileges are senior citizens, retirees, the disabled (OKU). For the other passengers, it would be a straight forward case where the fare is concerned. Since we are in Malaysia and most of the passengers are Malaysian, it would be better if the website could be in dual-language and the public may choose either in Bahasa Melayu or English. It would help the public to understand more on what KTMB has to offer and to make KTMB more users friendly. The internet has become part of our daily life nowadays, and that everybody knows how to use it.

The interactive system to book tickets may not be used widely by the public, not everyone would register and use it, maybe because they seldom or once in a while used the train service. What the public want is information only, and finally they still have to go to the counter to get their tickets.

My wife and I went to the KTMB counter and bought our return tickets early to avoid any disappointment.  We chose the night train with the sleeping berth cabin (1^st Class Coach – ADNFB or Air-Conditioned Day-Night First-Class Berth) as advised by the staff at the counter. My wife and I were given 50% and 60% discounts respectively on the fare and that’s the beauty of being senior citizens. With the little information I got from the counter, I was able to calculate how the fares comes to the amount I paid.

KTMB Tickets: KL Sentral to Alor Setar and Return

We bought our tickets on the 9^th. June 2012, and that is a long wait until our departure date. At least we know that we are already being reserved a seat or cabin and it gave us the time to prepare for a journey that we never had the chance.

The Journey (28 June 2012)

On the departure day, Thursday 28^th June 2012, we left our home for KL Sentral and after dinner, we left for Alor Setar with the train leaving the station at about 9.20 pm, and expected to arrive at 7.15 am the next day.

Preparing for the trip; Waiting for the train, restlessly and very excited …

We boarded the train and look for the Coach L3 and Cabin 5 as stated on our tickets. We were delighted to see the cabin which was clean, complete with all the necessities, and well equipped for travellers like us. If we are on any journey, we don’t expect everything would satisfy our every taste. As a traveller, to anywhere you are going you have to bear the hardship and accept whatever is there for you and have to be moderate in all aspects. We accepted the cabin which is very much adequate for us.

The Coach L3 (Top Left); The Cabin 5 – the lower and the top sleeping berths

To familiarise with the coach, we walked around looking for the café or the toilet to make sure we were able to go whenever there was a need to.

We were very excited as this was our maiden travel first class in a train. The journey took some 10 hours passing through about 20 stations along the way. Since we were travelling at night, we may be sleeping most of the time and have to forget the night sceneries.

During the journey, my wife switched on her notebook. She enjoyed browsing the internet while connecting to her Facebook friends, sending messages that she was travelling by train. We experienced no interruptions to browse the internet while in a train.

Browsing the internet in a moving train

There would be a lot of differences between sleeping quietly at home and on a moving train. There were times when we were awakened by the train stopping at the stations along the way. You have to bear the noise around you, all the screeches, the sound of the train braking, or when the coaches are being pulled to move.

We hope we could wake up early the next morning to look at the sun rise. But then, from Kuala Lumpur we were travelling northward and that our cabin is on the west side. We were not able to see the sun rise after all, the sun will not rise until in the early morning.

When we stopped at Bukit Mertajam, the train has to change its locomotive which would be on the other end of the coaches; this locomotive will pull these coaches to continue the journey northward. At Bukit Mertajam, all the trains will move from a T-junction, either going westward towards Butterworth, going to Alor Setar and Thailand to the north or Kuala Lumpur to the south. This would change our positions in the cabin, either going forward or backward according to the movement of the train itself.

The interchange at Bukit Mertajam; the sunrise, a view from the train

At this early morning hours we would be able to see the sun rises, but we have to go out of the cabin and look through the windows on the other side of the coach.

We reached Alor Setar, Kedah at 7.30 am on Friday, 29^th. June 2012. We were a bit tired but then it good to stretch and breathe the cool morning air.

The Arrival (29 June 2012)

What a surprise! At the Alor Setar railway station, there is no platform and we have to step down the train with care. We were stunned at the condition of the station itself. The station is an old building that was built during the British occupancy in Malaysia, and that would be years ago. Most of the railway stations in the peninsular were built with the same design. The clock tower is still there but the clock itself has retired. We are sure that there would be plans to build a new station along with the new double tracks that are currently being built.

Welcome to Alor Setar;
The nostalgic building – the Alor Setar Railway Station

We were waiting for a taxi at the station, and it seems the taxi were selecting their passengers, offering to those who were going much further than the Alor Setar town itself. I walked around and after a few meters I saw one of the hotels in the town. We decided to walk to the town, and we were right as the hotel that we were looking is just round the corner. We stopped at a food stall to have our breakfast, and then walked on to the hotel, The Regency formerly known as The Grand Continental. We registered ourselves and we were allowed to check-in at that hour.

The beautiful sunset from the hotel’s 4^th. Floor

We spent our first day unpacking and relaxing, getting rid of the tiredness of sleeping in the train. It was Friday and the Friday prayers would be held at the state mosque nearby. At noon, I went to the mosque and told my wife to wait for me for lunch.

The State Mosque

We walked around and just nearby the State Mosque we found a very attractive new restaurant, which was officially opened the day before we arrived. The name really did touch our hearts and the interior decorations were beautiful.

The newly opened Restaurant: D’Dapur Ibuku (At My Mother’s Kitchen)

The foods were very tempting, the arrangement was excellent and well done, and my wife did enjoy her lunch.

Enjoying her lunch

We had our breakfast, lunch or dinners at the hotel restaurant, trying to taste all the different food served. Alor Setar is near the Thai border and thus Thai-tasted foods are abundance, we can have our food even at the stalls around the town until late at night.

Breakfast and Dinner with Chicken Rice and Steak

The Desserts: Glutinous rice with mango; Creamed Caramel and my favourite, The Apple Pie!

It was Saturday, 30^th. June 2012 and is our full day to go around the town. We went to the Pekan Rabu, the famous town market and bazaar where fresh local produce and cultural handicrafts are available. The museum and art galleries are nearby, including the Alor Setar Tower, the state mosque, clock tower to name a few. We went visiting these places and here are some of the memories.

Pekan Rabu

Entrance to the “Yellow” Palace; On top of the Alor Setar Tower;
a replica of an old historical building.

The final day was Sunday 1^st. July 2012 and our return train from Alor Setar to Kuala Lumpur was scheduled at about 7.15 pm. We have the whole morning before we check-out of the hotel and depart to the railway station later in the evening. We took this opportunity to walk around to the nearby shops to do some window shopping.

We may be a local tourist trying to get away from the hustle bustle of the Kuala Lumpur City. We take the opportunity to walk around the town looking for anything that differs from what we have seen in the other towns that we visited. Be it local delicacies, home-made utensils and handicrafts, sarongs, shawls, T-shirts, salted fish or even local cakes and tit-bits. It will be something to remember when you have in your collections from different places you have been.

We stopped at a stall to have the most popular dish in the northern states of the Peninsular. This “Laksa” is the favourite not only to the locals but to the visitors alike. The owner prepared her own “laksa”, made from rice flour, with her own recipe for the gravy and the taste is delicious.

The real taste of “Laksa”

To remember this visit, my wife insisted we keep our memories by taking photos. I would be the photographer and she will be the “model” of all those photos I took. The only problem is that a photographer might not be able to snap his own photos! We did not have any digital camera but we use the mobile phone camera instead. Anyway it is good to have something to remember, and we do not know when we will be coming back to this town again. We sent a few photos to those who are close to us by the mobile phone, to let them know that we were on a holiday.

The places of interest around the town

(Top Left) Visiting the Alor Setar Mall (You looked beautiful, girl),

(Top Right) Star Walk Café, (Below Left) in the lift going up the Alor Setar Tower;
(Below Right) in-front of Holiday Villa Hotel

The Return Journey (1 July 2012)

Our return tickets stated that we will be boarding a train with the same Coach L3 and Cabin 5 when we came to Alor Setar. Maybe it is a different train, coincidentally with the same Coach and Cabin number. We want to relax all the way and hoped to reach home safely. It is expected to reach Kuala Lumpur by 6.00 am the next day, 2^nd. July 2012.

The return trip; Goodbye Alor Setar

On our return journey, I could not have a good sleep. I slept at the top berth which seemed to rock and swayed due to the movement of the train, when it braked or when the coach is suddenly being pulled to move.

Home (2 July 2012)

We reached KL Sentral early in the morning, and we joined the office workers in their rush hour to their offices. We travelled to Gombak Station by way of the Kelana Jaya Line, and from there we hired a taxi home to our residence in Taman Seri Gombak.  My wife is on leave and will only be working the next day, 3^rd. July 2012.

The whole holiday was “awesome” as the young generations used to say and we enjoyed it very much. The train service and its facilities are good and no wonder a lot of people keep using the train for their transportation.

One of the reasons of this trip, or any other trips, is trying to get off the stress and the hectic life in Kuala Lumpur City that we have experienced all these while. Every morning I drove my wife to her office early to avoid the traffic, and rushing home in the evening especially when the weather is not on our side and the rain might create flash floods around the city.

We hope this holiday will give us some peace of mind. I am a retired government staff and my wife will follow suit in about a year, and we feel we need to enjoy our life. We will make ourselves happy and try to forget all those that we had experienced, which we tried to cope with pain and difficulty. We hope to live a quiet life for the many remaining years to come.

We hope to continue going on a holiday like what we have done. The next place we would like to go is the Federal Territory, Labuan. I have been there once but my wife did not have the chance yet. We also planned to go to Pulau Langkawi. We have been to this island a few times but going there this time is to recollect the memoirs that we have had. We hope to go only after the Ramadhan fasting month and the Hari Raya celebration that follows.

During my school days, I remembered my teacher told us that the railway tracks, as far as the eyes could see, will never meet. Let’s hope our life is as far as the railway track which seems to end at nowhere. One of these days, we will travel again, to see the world!

The never ending journey

It’s good to be back at home, sweet home.

Note: Comments written on KTMB are writer’s own personal views.