Forty hours in the same set of clothes (I only have two "sets" of clothes - one for biking and one for non-biking activities. This time I am wearing a hybrid of them, biking shirt and regular shorts with biking shoes).
All this for what normally is a twelve-hour ride. I was able to get out of Jerentut, but not on the 12:30 PM train. I had to wait another eight hours for the 6:22 PM train. The 12:30 is an "express" only and does not have cargo capacity.
Once out of Jerentut, the #58 local route (my third time on this route in four days) rolls on for seven hours until reaching the end of its line at Gua Musang. I arrive at one in the morning, Tuesday.
I then find out that the next train that leaves Gua Musang, the 4:44, is an express. So now I have to wait until seven in the morning for the train that hits every single town and village along the route until it reaches its destination of Pasir Mas at noontime. I am now thirty kilometers from crossing the Malaysian border.
I bike the distance after eating my last Malaysian meal, chicken in a tomato onion curry sauce over rice with sauteed oyster mushrooms (a common item in the daily market) and baby bok choy. Also in the veggies was some extra flavor provided by a couple of tiny, tiny silk worms (presumably) not washed out before cooking.
Eighteen miles to the Thai border is a short distance for me after going all the way down to Singapore. But the mood changed a little after considering all that I had to go through just to get my bicycle on the proper trains. During this hour's time, the thought did occur to me that if I just biked to the border from Jerentut in the first place, I would cross into Thailand just a few hours later. I saved almost no time by taking the train system!
The Malaysian immigration officer did have a curious look when he saw my passport. This only meant just a few more minutes standing at the border. The Thai side was easier. I just filled out a form and was back in Thailand.
The final challenge was getting out of southern Thailand. For the past few years, this area has had occasional insurgent activity that is being unsecessfully suppressed by the military. Thais from other areas try to avoid this area after nightfall, so I felt it was in my best interests to follow suit.
Only one bus was leaving town. The midnight express bus leaves at 5 pm and arrived Phuket twelve hours later. I managed to get four hours of sleep on the bus. This gave me enough strength to bike a final 18 km to get to Debbie and Eric's house close to Naiharn Beach.
Finally, my journey has ended...
