The pair of us have had another busy day here at Bigland Towers. Dawn’s been slaving away in her home office downstairs, having her day packed with online meetings and vast amounts of paperwork and spreadsheets. Remember the concept of the ‘paperless office’? It never happened, but at least this houshold doesn’t generate anywhere near as much as we once did.
Whilst Dee was busy downstairs I’ve been kept busy upstairs. I’ve almost finished editing and captioning my Asia travel pictures. The latest batches can be found if you follow these links to either the rail or travel images. Out of the pair of use I was the luckier one as I was able to tear myself away from my desk for an hour late this afternoon in order to complet my daily walk which I combined with a visit to our local supermarket to post some mail. I even made a detour via our local pub, the ‘Big 6’ for a quick pint. We visit infrequently nowadays. This was my first time over the threshold since I got back from Asia. Appropriately, the beer I chose was a pint of Elland brewery’s ‘Tank Engine’, a zesty pale ale at 4.8%. After a few months away where the only beer that passed my lips was lager it was lovely to taste a proper pint of bitter – but just the one mind!
When I returned home Dee was still bashing the computer keys so I took over domestic chores including cooking. Well, reheating really. I didn’t have to prepare anything fresh. Instead, we’d taken one of Dee’s home-cooked prawn and chorizo risottos out of the freezer. They’re spicy, filling and delicious! Now it’s time to switch off and relax for the rest of the evening before another busy day tomorrow. Dawn’s in the CRN office tomorrow but I’ll be at my desk in order to finish off the last few Asia pics which will leave me free to focus on other jobs next week – and even get out with the camera to catch up on the UK rail scene – although I’m not sure where I’ll go yet. There’s plenty to look at West of here, so it all depends on the weather.
Now I’ll leave you with the picture of the day, which has nothing to do with architecture or trains for a change. This time it’s flowers. I’d no idea what this particular bloom was that I’d photographed in Kuala Lumpur but it’s been identified thanks to my old friend Peter Mugridge. Here’s Cheilocostus speciosus, or crêpe ginger.
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It’s been another busy and varied day here at Bigland Towers, most of it spent holed up in my office, tying to clear-up a backlog of picture editing, paperwork and other administrative chores. I’d hoped I might have got out with the camera for a while, but it wasn’t to be. The weather’s improved slightly in that we’ve not had wall to wall rain but the low cloud and grey skies have hardly been conducive to slipping out. Instead I made the most of my desk time. I’ve almost cleared the picture editing/captioning backlog. You can find new additions from my Singapore sojourns on My Zenfolio website. The travel shots are here and the rail shots are here.
Of course, today was also budget day. I resisted the temptation to watch as I was working as I knew I’d only end up shouting at the TV at the sheer brass-neck of Hunt and Co claiming what a wonderful job they’re doing of running the economy and how the country’s safe in their hands. As soon as they have to claim the budget won’t just help the rich you know the opposite is true. Meanwhile, the OBR predicts the UK will avoid recession in 2023, but the economy will shrink by 0.2% and we’ll have the biggest fall in spending power for 70 years which makes Hunt’s budget look like little more than tinkering to shore up the Tory vote (hence the pension changes that benefit the rich), Some of the other stuff announced was so trivial and banal it gave the game away. Levelling up? Nah, we’ve ditched that idea by deferring building HS2 North of Birmingham for two years to ‘save’ money (although that’s been proven to be a lie by the leak of the Government’s own assessments) instead Hunt announced £200m this year to help local councils in England repair potholes. Well, that’ll really turn things around, won’t it? Honestly, talk about a Government without an ambition or vision – or contact with the real world! Oh, and don’t get me started on the freezing of the fuel duty escalator for the nth year in a row. That’ll cost £6bn this year and hardly help the government reach its net-zero target. It’s yet another populist measure that shows winning an election is all that matters. The environment (and the planet) be damned!
Meanwhile – in that real world – the banking sector is in danger of going into another meltdown. The collapse of America’s Silicon Valley Bank has been followed by a crisis at Credit Suisse which has spooked the global markets even more. The FTSE lost 3.83% of its value today, the biggest fall since the start of the Covid pandemic, wiping out all of 2023 gains to take us back to December 2022. The global economy – already rocked by the Ukraine war – could be entering even choppier waters and with the UK’s economy having so many underlying weaknesses (and an incompetent Government) we’re more susceptible than many. I genuinely hope I’m proved wrong on this one as I’m fed up of living in uncertain times.
All this has meant I’ve been in pensive mode today. Having returned from Asia I’ve tried to remain optimistic, but when I see the state of the UK it’s hard to maintain that sometimes. I visited one of our local supermarkets today to pick up some more shopping and the way prices have increased just in the two months I’ve been away was a shock. Inflation may be going down later this year, but does anyone seriously think that means prices are going to decline? When I look at the cost of living here compared to Malaysia and Thailand…
Anyway, I’ll try and find my optimism again soo. I’m sure it’s here somewhere…
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture – which is another from my Asia trip. Regular readers will know of my interest in and love of architecture. Whilst I was wandering around Singapore I spotted these old spiral staircase fire escapes. I love the style, shapes and colours so couldn’t resist grabbing a picture.
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Now I’m back in the UK I’m returning to the picture of the day format for daily blogs as life isn’t going to be quite as exciting or colourful here in dear old Blighty although I have do some interesting trips and visits planned over the next few months. Today wasn’t one of them! Dawn had to go into the Community Rail Network office in Huddersfield whilst I was half tempted to go for a wander with the camera as the weather this morning was gorgeous. It was one of those crisp sunny mornings that really make you want to enjoy the day, but the forecast showed that it wasn’t going to last. The forecast was spot on. By lunchtime heavy cloud had enveloped the valley, closely followed by heavy snow showers but the snow didn’t stick as the ground was so sodden.
Deciding I was going to be more productive at home I retreated to the office to continue paper shuffling and picture editing until late in the afternoon when I decided exercise was more important. Wrapping myself up in waterproofs I strolled down to Sowerby Bridge. I’d half a mind to try and get a few pictures of the Trans-Pennine Express services which are being diverted through the Calder Valley due to the engineering blockade at Stalybridge but the weather didn’t play ball. Mind you, the lateness of the day and the position of the sun (when it shone) didn’t help. Maybe tomorrow as I’m still readjusting to the UK weather after two months in Asia where it’s much more predictable – and a damned sight warmer!
Back home I knocked off early in order to take up cooking duties whilst Dawn was at work. We’d purchased all the ingredients for a Thai green curry, a dish we both really enjoy so I spent a happy hour chopping chicken and slicing veg before filling the kitchen with some delicious smells to welcome Dee when she walked in the door.
Now it’s time to wind down for the evening and leave you with today’s picture, which is another from my recent Asian travels. Singapore has some amazing architecture – old and new. This includes stations on their metro network, especially on some of the newer lines. They’re essays in glass and steel, but each one’s different. Here’s Stevens station on the Thompson-East Coast line which only opened in November 2022.
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Today was my first Monday back at work and the past two months travels already seem like a dream if it wasn’t for the fact I’ve all the pictures that prove it was real. Oh, and a tan! Jet lag is already receding. I’m still waking up early but not half-way through the night, although tiredness in the evening is still hitting me. It’s not as if I’ve been exerting myself physically as I’ve been stuck behind a desk for the vast majority of the day because I’ve been busy wading through emails and a pile of real mail that’s been accumulating whilst I’ve been away. Then there’s been the weather. We had heavy, gusting rain during the night that’s disposed of all of the remaining snow. The rain returned this morning and never really went away. Persistent precipitation meant that I didn’t even get out for a walk today – making it only the second time I’ve not hit my steps target this year. I’m hoping to make up for that tomorrow although the forecast looks bleak.
On the bright side, I’ve got a lot done today even though I’ve been trying to ease myself back in to my usual routine slowly. I’ve edited the final selection of pictures from my trip although most of them still need to have captions added. I did get a few dozen completed which you can find in the Malaysian gallery (link) on my Zenfolio website. There’s many more to follow tomorrow. Now it’s time to call it a day as the jet lag’s beginning to catch up with me and I’m planning on an early night. But, before I go I’ll leave you with a sample shot from my latest Malaysian pictures.
Homelessness is a problem in Malaysia, just as it is in the UK, although as a more developed and richer country we have even less of an excuse to allow it to happen. People find all sorts of temporary places to live. In the case of the chap in the green shirt it’s the bus station underneath the Komtar centre which provides a roof over his head (and that of several others). His belongings are hung on the rail next to him and stored underneath seats to the right. With the constant to-ing and fro-ing of buses it’s hardly the quietest or least polluted place to live, but at least it’s safe…
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I’ve had a fantastic time travelling through Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore these past two months, but I have to admit it was rather nice to get back to Bigland Towers yesterday after such a long journey back to the UK. Dawn was a star and prepared food for the pair of us whilst I unpacked and got used to being home again. Come early evening the lack of sleep caught up with me. Apparently, I fell asleep by 20:30. I was wide awake again by 05:00 so crept out of bed so as not to disturb Dee and spent several hours editing pictures in the office before Dawn woke. My body clock was telling me 05:00 was early afternoon Singapore time. I suspect my sleep patterns will take a few days for my natural rhythms to adjust which is why the two of us have had a slow, relaxed day today. Well, that and the fact we’ve both been on our own for the past couple of months so have to get used to being a couple again. In truth, we’ve both had a lovely day at home catching up with each other about all those things you can’t fit into a weekly video call which is what we kept up whilst I was away.
Come late afternoon with the yesterday’s snow having nearly all melted we walked down into Sowerby Bridge for the first time this year. It being Sunday the place was quiet. The supermarkets and most other places were shut. Even the few pubs that were open were quiet. All except the ‘Hogshead’ brew pub where we called in for a drink. That place was full but not overflowing so we managed to find a seat. It felt strange to be back in a pub after being in Asia for so long. I’d rarely visited any bars whilst I’d been away – and those that I had were very different to a British pub full of white faces!
Now, having enjoyed the fruits of Dawn’s efforts in the kitchen which produced slow-cooked chicken with pressure-cooked veg we’re having a quiet night in and about to enjoy each others company whilst watching a film. I’ll be working from home for much of this week as there’s loads to catch up with but I plan to have a day out covering some of the changes going on with the rail network in the North-West – weather permitting…
The nearest I got to a local pub in Malaysia was this beer and wine shop in Georgetown. In the evening customers would grab a stool or two and take over the road outside. There was a fantastic mix of locals from different communities, expats and travellers from all around the world.
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This is a short blog from me as that was a long 24 hours – and then some! I was up at 05:30 yesterday in order to pack and make my way to Changi airport where I arrived at 08:00. I finally left the airport on a Singapore Airlines flight at 02:15 the next morning! Then I had a 14 hour flight during which managed a couple of hours sleep at best (so my Fitbits tells me). After landing at Heathrow at 08:25 Dawn met me at terminal 3 for a delayed but wonderful reunion after my 2 month absence. I’d enough time to grab a shower at the hotel room Dee had booked for us (but I never got to share with her) before it was time to leave and head back North. Making our way to Kings Cross via the Piccadilly line we were soon speeding our way up the East Coast Main Line to Leeds before catching a local service to a snow-covered Halifax and the Calder valley. In the space of a day I’ve gone from the 31 degree heat and humidity of Singapore to temperatures hovering around freezing! There’s so much that I could write about the journey but tonight’s not the time. I’ll flesh this blog out more tomorrow when I’ve had some sleep. It’s great to be home and now it’s time to have some quality-time with my wife. See you all tomorrow!
The view from our bedroom window looking out across a snow-covered Calder Valley with the next load on its way…
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I’m now at Changi airport waiting for my flight to Doha. Changi’s always been on of the world’s best airports when it comes to facilities. Rather than being confined to the usual regimented rows of airport seating I’m relaxing in a single seat recliner with a table fitted with power sockets. I’m sat next to a large garden water feature, complete with fish to watch if you want to pass the time!
To give the Qatar airport staff credit. I was dealt with by a lovely young woman of Japanese extraction who heard my tale of woe regarding booking and immediately took me to a desk and found me window seats on both flights. I’d have thought they’d have all been taken but I expect I’m not alone in having problems checking in via their website!
I was looking forward to coming home but now the news has broken that the shitshow we call a government has postponed building sections of HS2, the new high-speed railway on cost grounds. The idea that a 2 year delay will save money is the stuff of fantasy, but it does show just how economically incompetent they are. They’ve already wasted hundreds of millions on the project with dither and delay which has led to plan revisions and more waste. I really can’t wait to see the back of this lot.
No doubt I’ll be blogging about this at greater length when I get back to the UK and there’s no travel tales to regale you with, In the meantime, I’m going to relax, enjoy the facilities at Changi and enjoy my flights. I’ve a rapid transit in Doha so there’ll be no time to blog there. What I won’t be doing in Changi is enjoying a drink. Apart from the fact it’s far too early this is one expensive airport. Here’s the bar prices. $21.50? That’s £13.35 a pint!
There’s no Wetherspoons full of drunks here…
The next you’ll hear from me us when I’m back in the UK. Dawn (blizzards in the Pennines permitting) is coming to Heathrow to meet me. We’re having an overnight in a hotel before travelling home together, so don’t expect to hear from me later today, even though I do arrive back in the UK this evening!
10:30.
Oh, shit! We’ve just been told our flight is delayed by at least an hour, so that’s my connection in Doha almost certainly missed (I only had 80 mins to connect). I’ve been told I’ll be put on the next available flight to Heathrow, but at this stage I’ve absolutely no idea when that will be.
12:45.
I’m still at Changi airport. The Qatar staff had promised at 12:00 update. This has now slipped to 13:00. Looking out I can see our plane on the tarmac with the cowlings around one engine lifted. That means we’re going to be delayed for several hours yet. It also means I can kiss goodbye to getting back to the UK today. The last flight from Doha arrives at Heathrow at 22:00, two hours behind the one I should have been on. The maths simply don’t stack up. I await the 13:00 update with interest…
17:00.
The 13:00 update was to move the time of the update to 15:00. It was clear by now this was no minor problem. Shortly afterwards we received the news that the plane was was being rescheduled – to 04:00 tomorrow. We were all to be taken back into Singapore where we’d be put up in a hotel until coaches came to collect us at 01:00. This meant going back through the faff of immigration and filling out online passport checks first, then collecting our baggage and jumping into taxis to take us to our hotel, the £200 a night Grand Park City Hotel, not the sort of establishment I’d normally stay in on my own unless I was on a press trip!
Dinner (on Qatar) is at 18:30. In the meantime I’m going to relax for a bit and enjoy the luxury.
17:15.
Whilst I was writing this I had a phone call from the airline. They’ve pulled out some stops and rebooked me on a direct flight from Singapore to London with Singapore airlines. Now, instead of arriving God knows when, I’ll be in London at 05:55 tomorrow morning. Still later than arriving today, but a lot better than having to change at Doha and get a flight whenever.
19:15.
The saga continues! I’ve just received an email from Singapore Airlines to say my new flight (SQ322) is delayed! Instead of leaving ay 23:45 tonight it will now depart at 02:10 on the 11th. I’m really not bothered as it means I land at a better time – 08:20, which means Dawn gets a lie in at the hotel!
23:45.
I have this feeling of Deja Vu! I’m back at Changi airport only this time it’s terminal 3 not 1. 3 is rather like having an airport tacked on to the side of a shopping centre. Admittedly, there’s some interesting architectural features and lots of planting, but – it’s still a shopping centre.
Having been fed and watered at the hotel earlier I’m fine so resisted all the temptations. To be honest the price of local dishes isn’t bad. It’s the Western stuff thats ‘chingy’. But, right now I simply want to get on that plane and head home.
00:35.
Still waiting for the call to head through security to the gate. Apparently (in contrast to the size of the rest of the airport) the holding area’s small. In an effort to stay awake I went for a long wander into terminal 1 where I was earlier. Changi’s a truly International airport. There’s folks from all corners of the planet here. Quite a few have bedded down as their flights aren’t for ages. No-one bothers them. It’s a marked contrast to the last time I spent a night at Stansted before catching an early morning flight. The airport had security going around harassing anyone who tried to get in a horizontal position as it was ‘forbidden’. I’ve ensured I’ve never used that airport since.
Don’t try this at Stansted, and don’t expect any carpet either.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I was hoping to have a full and busy day here in Singapore but that was thwarted by my airline – Qatar. I’d tried to check-in online with them the other day but their website’s crap. It keeps hanging up. I even tried on my phone where I got a little further before the same thing happened. In frustration I tweeted about it and tagged them in. This gained a response which I thought was hopeful but it proved to be anything but. Whoever was on the other end of the Direct Messages went through the standard checklist. Not quite ‘have you tried turning if off and turning it back on again’ but not far off! When I was asked for information I’d already supplied I started to get a tad tetchy – especially as we were getting nowhere slowly. I was asked if I’d tried using another device – after having explained I’d used both my laptop and smartphone from the initial message. In the end, their bod on the ‘help’ desk gave up, basically. Their ‘constructive’ suggestion was that I turn up at the airport an hour early as I might get a seat I want! FFS! That’s it? What pissed me off even more was that I didn’t even get an apology, never mind any real help. To add insult to injury, Qatar sent me an email this evening asking me to check-in online. They’re oblivious to my earlier problems. Just for fun I clicked on it to see if it’d work. Did it hell…
After getting p*ssed off with Qatar Airlines and with the clock ticking I decided to head out to salvage at least some of the day. I found a local Indian establishment that served and excellent Masala Dosa which I scoffed for brunch before catching an MRT train from Little India down to Marina by the Bay – an area of Singapore that never even existed the first time I came here. It’s developed a lot since my last visit in 2017. In truth, it’s a fascinating ‘green’ area as it contains so many ecological sites as well as brilliant architecture. There’s ‘cloud forest’ which puts all Victorian palm and greenhouses to shame. Plus, there’s also ‘supertree grove‘ which makes you feel like players in the film ‘Avatar’. As if this wasn’t enough there’s also some great views across the serried ranks of ships waiting their turn to dock in the harbour. There’s so many that they look like a WW2 invasion fleet – on steroids.
The new waterfront.
In finest ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’ tradition I walked almost all the way back home via a couple of places I’ve long memory of. Needless to say, that culminated in the 2nd shower of the day!
Afterwards I went out again to travel on the MRT whilst getting a few pictures. I pitched up at the end of the line, Marina Bay. Formerly Known as Keppel harbour the place has history, much of which is to do with WW2 evacuations but also a rather audacious seaborne raid launched after the island had fallen to the Japanese. The raid’s remembered by this plaque on the waterfront.
This evening I stayed closer to home as I needed to pack ready for a silly ‘o clock start (thanks, Qatar) whilst giving myself a free few hours to have something to eat, then write this – which was delayed by the fact I got into conversations with total strangers. The first was a retired Air Force technician around my age who now runs fitness classes. He was fascinating to talk to as we both shared a similar (although not identical) perspective, The rest we could agree to have differing opinions on. The second chap I met I bumped into purely because we ended up sharing a table at a popular Indian eatery. He was a wagon driver, originally from Tamil Nadu in the very South of India. He’d left his family behind to come and work in Singapore where he could earn good money and send remittances home. What a lovely way to end my trip, talking to locals and incomers about their very different lives out here.
My last Indian meal in Asia for now. This was a gorgeous chicken curry, full of the rich flavours of individual spices.
Now I’m back in the hotel, not quite believing that tomorrow I’ll be flying back to the UK. And what a time to do so. I won’t even touch on the shambles that passes for Government right now. My immediate concern is that there’s up to 40cm of snow predicted for West Yorkshire. A bit of a contrast to where I’m travelling from. But, whatever the weather, I know I’ve a warm welcome awaiting me as Dawn’s coming down to meet me at Heathrow, where we’ve a hotel booked for a night as I land far too late to get a train North.
So, this is my final blog from Asia – on this trip anyway. It won’t be long before I’m back The past two months have been fantastic but I’m not going to try and sum up the trip in this blog as it’s late and I’ve got to pack. Instead, here’s a few pictures from today’s wanderings.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Well, that was an interesting day. Yesterday I mentioned that my hotel wasn’t exactly what you’d call ‘top flight’ and probably rented rooms by the hour. Well, I was up at 06:30 this morning and when I went to open the bathroom door – it fell off in my hands! I get the impression that some of the clientele aren’t too bothered about the way they treat the place. This suspicion hardened when when I got the lift to the lobby and spotted a long list of repairs to be done to various rooms which had been left atop a toolkit by the lift door. As I was only here for the night I wasn’t too bothered. I’ve stayed in some far worse fleapits in my time travelling. At least here they’d got someone going round repairing things!
I was out early as I wanted to get some shots of the Johor Baru-Woodlands (Singapore) ‘Tebrau’ shuttle train crossing the causeway before it was my turn to ride on it. I also wanted to have a look at construction work on the new Rapid Transit System that will replace it in 2027. It took me a while to find a good spot overlooking the causeway but I was in place in plenty of time for the 08:30 departure from Woodlands. The light was good and I could frame the train with the backdrop of the massive Woodlands customs and immigration checkpoint. Of course, this is railway photography you’re talking about so the law of Sod came into play. Just before the train appeared the sun disappeared behind some clouds! Here’s the less than ideal shot I was left with.
Oh, well, I’ve got until 2027 to try again! The pipes you see in the foreground carried water from Malaysia to Singapore, although I’m not sure if they’re still in use.
Further East of the causeway construction’s progressing on the piers to carry the new RTS line.
The RTS will terminate just North of the existing Johor Baru station which means it has to loop around the station on a series of viaducts. Here’s Bukit Chagar station under construction, adjacent to the existing railway.
Having walked a serious distance to amass these and many other shots I headed back to have a last shower (sans shower door) and one last Roti Canai breakfast before reporting to the railway station to await the departure of the 11:30 shuttle to Woodlands. The system at JB’s very efficient. Barriers open 30 mins before departure. You don’t need your ticket. Instead gates scan your passport (the number’s recorded when you buy online). Heading downstairs you pass through Malaysian Immigration then you’re held in a waiting area until the train’s ready. There’s no seat reservations, you just pile on. The journey across the causeway to Woodlands takes around 10 minutes, then you’re hurried off into immigration. No photographs are permitted on the platform. As you’d expect, Singapore customs and immigration staff are very efficient, you’re through in no-time. What was unexpected was they also have a sense of humour. A middle-aged female Officer joked ‘follow the handsome one’ about her older male colleague who was directing people through the barriers! Once through I caught a bus to Nearby Woodlands MRT before jumping on the train to Little India where my hotel is. It’s certainly better looked after than my last quarters, but then it’s over 3 times the price!
The rest of my day’s been spent catching up on some work and wandering Little India. The colours, sounds and smells are wonderful – as is the food. My friend Nicholas joined me for an evening meal at one of the Biryani stalls he knows in Lekka market. He had the chicken, I had mutton – which was excellent. the price was 7 Singaporean dollars apiece.
This is known a dum biryani because it comes with a curry sauce.
Sadly, we won’t have to catch up again on this trip. Now I’m back in my hotel writing this before enjoying my last full day in Asia, so it’s goodnight from me as I want to be up early in the morning…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
There’s another rolling blog from me today as I’m on the move again. It’s time to say goodbye to KL and begin the trek back towards Singapore ready for my flight back to the UK on Saturday. Shortly, I’ll begin my journey from Pasir Seni to KL Sentral to catch train EG9321, the 12:10 to Gemas, which is the junction for the ‘jungle railway’ up the East Coast to Tumpat. It’s also the present limit of electrification so it’s where I change to a diesel-hauled service which will take me down to Johor Baru.
I’ll blog throughout the day, so feel free to keep popping back and see how the trip goes. I won’t get to JB until late this evening which means there’ll be plenty to write about…
12:34.
The journey to KL Sentral was easy. The MRT station at Pasir Seni was only a couple of hundred yards away from my hotel.
First train of the day. On the MRT heading to Sentral
From there it’s one stop to Sentral which despite it’s size, is hardly a busy station as there’s so few trains at the moment due to the Klang valley double tracking project having such an impact on capacity. There’s also acres of wasted space.
Waterloo it ain’t…
Sadly, KTM have gone down the airline route of corralling passengers in waiting areas, only letting them down onto the platform a few minutes before the train’s due.
When my train turned up it was stopped short on the long platform to allow departing passengers off first. It then crawled forward to pick up the next load – us! I can sort of see the logic in this but when you consider how most railway work this does seem a time-consuming faff.
Now I’m on-board ETS 204. One of the earlier CRRC sets built in 2014.
14:00.
A few minutes ago we left Seremban. It’s the furthest point on the KL commuter network and home depot for the SCS trainsets. It also retains one of the old station buildings which makes it a rather attractive place.
15:15.
Despite our late departure from KL our train had no trouble making up time and delivered us to Gemas spot on 14:50. It’s a cross-platform Interchange here so I went from this…
ETS204 at Gemas, having left Butterworth this morning the set’s preparing to head back North.To this! ‘Blue Tiger’ 26113 ready to take us to Johor Baru. It’s unusual to find this class of loco working passenger trains.
17:15.
We’ve just stopped in the middle of nowhere to let a Northbound service pass. Whilst the track has been doubled at the MP 642.75 (just North of Paloh) it hasn’t been fully commissioned and only works as a passing loop. It was a great location to stop as the rather nice house on a hill was nearby, surrounded by new palm oil plantations.
There’s worse places to live, and at least you won’t get flooded…
23:30 (Malay time).
Apologies for the blogging gap. It’s been for several reasons One was because I was too busy watching the world go by, and the second was that my Singaporean friend Nicholas Lim had travelled up to Kluang to join me on the trip down to Johor Baru! What I’d missed whilst I was in KL was that the state of Johor had been hit by torrential rain this week which has led to extreme flooding. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never known it as wet this time of year, but Johor really has copped for it. When we left Gemas I saw sights around the railway like this. Low-lying land totally under water. Thankfully the railway has been rebuilt and raised otherwise there’s no way I’d have got back to Singapore by land.
The next person who tells me climate change is a myth is going to get a real mouthful. I’ve been travelling this part of the world for 31 years and I’ve never known the weather to be so unpredictable.
Fortunately, the floods were subsiding and the weather was picking up, so I could snatch the occasional picture from an open train door, although this crew were rather strict about me doing so.
Passing an up train in the middle of nowhere North of Paloh. This is a temporary loop until the double-tracking is completed.
Nick joined me at Kluang. As we’d seats reserved in different coaches we adjourned to the buffet car where we could sit together. Now, I know Mark (the man in seat 61) recommends independent ticketing companies where you pay a fee, but I’d heartily recommend the KITS app from KTM. Not only is it so easy to use but you get to choose your seat (the others don’t let you) you also get to see just how many seats are available on the train you’re looking at. Plus, you get instant confirmation that you have a ticket and you can download it straight away, or just save it in the app.
We had a great journey, with Nick giving me some very interesting historical and background info on Malaysian railways operations. At JB we parted company until tomorrow. I’m back in the hotel I stayed in when I first arrived but I have to say it’s not what I first experienced. I’ve now got a crap room on the 5th floor which is lacking so many things – a flushing toilet being one of them! If I was staying for more than one night I’d be kicking up merry hell, but it’s literally just a place to crash for the night. Johor Baru’s an odd place. You’d think it would be trying to mirror Singapore on the other side of the causeway – and in some (foreign investment) ways it does, but it also feels really seedy. Looking at my hotel I’m surprised they don’t rent rooms by the hour. There’s a few very unattractive ‘ladies of the night’ hanging around the main drag, although I suspect ladies may be too gender specific. There’s a backstreet off the main drag called Jalan Meldrum (no, really!) which seems to have the most life as one side of the street’s lined with restaurants. I did escape my hotel for an hour and had a rare (and bloody expensive) beer so that I could watch the world go by. Like everywhere in Malaysia all the different communities mixed freely, but it’s not a patch on Georgetown.
I don’t believe it!
Anyways. I’m off to nice, clean and even more expensive Singapore tomorrow. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the place – far from it. When I’ve been travelling the backwaters of Asia it was always a great place to dip into for a few days. I christened it ‘the land where everything works’ (even in the cheap seats). It’s just all a little more safe and sanitised.
Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m going to be up early as there’s a lot of pictures I want to get before catching the 11:30 shuttle train across the border to Woodlands.
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Paul Bigland 