We're doing a mini female Fodorite foodie trip to SEAsia early this summer and are interested in overland options between Singapore and Penang or between KL and Penang.

Has anyone taken the deluxe overnight sleeper between Sin-KL or the 1st class sleeper between KL-Penang? Happy with the experience or were there concerns?

Sorry, Mari, I can't answer your question. But I just wanted to say that I am so jealous of all of you going off to eat in SIngapore and Penang. I know you'll have wonderful food and wonderful company!

Hi Kathie, that's only half of it! Other half is a bicycling tour through the Mekong Delta, ending at that village where the raging thunder and lightning cut short our visit to my friend's house. We MUST have a shot at her fishpond toilet as well as a leisurely boat trip to their rice paddies.

Using your Penang TR, btw.

mini female trip?? OMG Mari, that means only you and Mels get to go, as I haven't been mini in years!!!

Read this although it doesn't address your question directly.

So what's the best way to get to KL? (from Singapore)

http://travel.asiaone.com/Travel/New...212-49309.html

OMG. Thanks, that was a sobering piece. I think if we go that route, we definitely go by deluxe sleeper and bring food. And toilet paper.

If you don't want to fly, there are some super-deluxe bus services between the two cities.

And I thought a shopping center in Bandung was the only one with fish-pond toilets.

If you deceide to take the train you can save quite a bit by taking it from Johor Bahru in Malaysia. A deluxe or a 1st class sleeping cabin from Sinapore will cost $174 and $117 respectively for two people. From JB these same will cost $74 and $49. The difference being due to the exchange rates.

It is easy to get to the JB train station either by bus or by taxi. A taxi will cost around $25. A bus is much cheaper

Thank you very much. Had read about the price difference but had no idea it was that much.

For anybody else considering this route, here are 2 links:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj-tZBBDXD8

http://www.travelwithyourkids.com/de...umpur-by-train

youtube shows 2nd-class berths, lined top and bottom on both sides of the train aisle w/ curtains for privacy. This group of middle-aged women looks happy and not too unrested on arrival.

travelwithyourkids is a lengthy first-person account of an unforgettable, uncomfortable night on the deluxe sleeper. The writer loves overnight sleepers in Japan and Europe but says he should have avoided this one.

I haven't traveled on trains in Malaysia, but I have done it in Thailand, and I found second class, which looks to be the same as Malaysian second class, just fine. Definitely avoid third - I wound up doing a long overnight in Thai third by mistake and it was much more uncomfortable than withyourkids first class experience! Don't know why he bothered with food and a shower for that short a trip in any case, and any border crossing is liable to be a pain - another reason to start in Johor Bahru. See www.seat61.com/Malaysia.htm for more pix and info.

I'm back to report on the Sin-KL deluxe first-class sleeper or whatever the top-class private compartment w/ bathroom is called. We went, we survived, and I actually enjoyed it!

After researching the meager reviews available, we went prepared w/ earplugs and snacks, and we knew not to change into sleepwear until after the train ride was interrupted at the Malaysian border. Seven of us reserved 4 cabins--one was solo so did not have to pull down the top bunk, making her cabin the only one where people cd sit comfortably. Some of us gathered in there til bedtime.

Observations:

--EARPLUGS not needed. Announcements were not ear-splitting, and did not punctuate sleep as there were no stops (that I was aware of) thru the middle of the night.

--ROCKING of train not violent. More noticeable than other trains, but if you like being rocked to sleep on trains, you won't mind.

--IMMIGRATION STOP at Malaysian border not bad. Due to a delay in getting started, we didn't come to this til midnite or so, and then we got off w/ only our passports and waited til officers w/ dogs had scoured the train before being let back on. Total time was 20-30 minutes. Fine for a middle-of-nite groggy-giddy talk session; I had fun.

--SHOWERS: People who showered in the private bathrooms of their cabins liked the journey better than those who didn't. We were all pretty sticky after a full day in Singapore. NOTE: better to shower when the train is not moving, as MelissaHI keeps reminding us! She was rocking, swaying and soaping at the same time.

--TV: forget it. I don't think any of ours worked.

--FOOD: comments ranged from inedible to good (that was me). No dining car, just a cabin attendant knocking on doors and passing out box meals. If I recall, choices were sandwich or fried rice, and all I knew chose the fried rice, tho by the time dinner came at 1 a.m., nobody was running around comparing notes. I ate the whole thing. We had also brought fruit and snacks, having been warned about the food. BREAKFAST was another matter: meager sandwiches on white bread, w/ instant coffee or tea. I think mine had a slice of cheese, period.

COST: We paid roughly $111 Singapore for a top bunk and $134 for a bottom bunk, so $245 per cabin. Departure time was something like 9 p.m. and scheduled arrival at 6 a.m., but the actual times were well behind.

Would I do it again? Yes! Recommended for seasoned, non-picky travelers who like sleeper train journeys. Much rougher than Swiss/French/Japanese sleeper trains, much better than Vietnamese.