Crossing the Border Between Malaysia and Thailand - The Road to Songkhla
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Our time in Malaysia was finally at an end. We had arrived in Kuala Lumpur in the middle of October and had spent 6 weeks exploring the country. Our final destination of George Town had been fantastic, a fiesta of food, street art and late night drinks. On the horizon now though was our return to one of our favourite countries on the face of Planet Earth - Thailand!
We had booked a bus through the Easybook app which would pick us up in George Town, cross the border and drop us off in the centre of Hat Yai, the biggest city in Southern Thailand. From there we would immediately attempt to make our own way north east to the historic coastal town of Songkhla.
The bus tickets cost us 100 RM for the two of us (£18.80 or $22.90). When we booked the tickets on Easybook, there were options to catch the bus from the Greenlane McDonald’s (in town) or from the main bus terminal slightly south of George Town. We opted for the slightly cheaper tickets, with the pick up point from the Greenlane McDonald’s, which was only a short 15 minute Grab taxi ride away from our hostel in central George Town. Tickets booked we received both email and WhatsApp confirmation, along with detailed instructions and photographs of where we needed to wait for our 8.15am pickup.
The day didn’t start fantastically. We had originally planned to get some breakfast Dim Sum before making our way over to the pickup point, but the only restaurant that looked open and serving was still setting up and couldn’t give us a takeaway. A McDonalds breakfast it would have to be (sacrilege but John was secretly looking forward to a hash brown).
A quick Grab and a cheap forgettable breakfast later, John’s phone rang. It was still twenty minutes before the pickup time and we were waiting in the car park as per our received instructions. The phone call from the bus driver asking where we were, therefore took us by complete surprise. The bus driver seemed to be saying we needed to immediately make our way to a different pickup point somewhere else in George Town entirely. With us speaking no more than extremely basic Malaysian (terima kasih, sedap and nasi lemak ayam were about our limit) and the bus driver equally not fluent in English, we eventually gave up on trying to understand where he wanted us to be and forwarded the WhatsApp conversation between us and the ticket office showing where we had been told to be and where we were now standing.
The bus driver to his credit immediately apologised for the mix up and told us to wait exactly where we were. 5 minutes later the mini bus arrived and we clambered in and set off for the border. The first hour or so, we appeared to be just circling around Penang picking up other travellers. Eventually, we crossed the water back onto mainland Malaysia and headed north to the Sadao border crossing.
We stopped about twenty minutes before the border in a (very nice) service station for the driver to arrange our TM6 immigration forms. A fee of 10 RM each (£1.87 or $2.29) was asked for by the bus driver and when asked, he said that this was for the Thai government insurance. We’re not sure whether this was to get the immigration forms completed by the service station, or if it is the new tourist tax, but either way we were at a service station in the middle of nowhere and did want to cross the border that day, so we paid. Our driver took the money and our passports and returned with completed TM6 immigrations forms, all we needed to do was to sign them (or so we thought).
A short drive later and we arrived at the Malaysian side of the Sadao border crossing. We decamped from the minibus and picked up our luggage as we needed to scan it through the Malaysian border. Bags scanned and our passports stamped to exit Malaysia, we got back onto the mini bus and crossed no man's land to the Thai immigration border. At time of writing, Thailand was being very generous to UK citizens and had temporarily (from October 2022 to March 2023) allowed a 45 day visa on arrival. All we needed to provide at immigration was the full address of our Songkhla hostel (the TM6 immigration form printed at the service station just said Hat Yai) and specify the number of days we wanted to be in Thailand. The Thai immigration was friendly and efficient, and very soon our passports were stamped with our 45 day visas. We headed out back into the blazing sun, and for the first time in five very long years we were back on Thai soil. We were ecstatic!
Back on the bus we were joined by a friendly energetic Thai lady who quickly asked everyone on the mini bus where they needed to be dropped off in the large city of Hat Yai. As we weren’t quite sure of how we were going to make our way to Songkhla we asked to be dropped at the main bus station.
At the main bus station we were passed from helpful person to helpful person like a baton in a relay race all the way down the line of buses to a half-full minivan to Songkhla. The tickets for the 29 km journey would cost us 34 Thai baht each (£0.80 or $0.98). We may be looking at this whole episode through rose tinted specs, but the instant jovial friendliness of the Thai’s was immediately apparent and very welcoming. Our little minivan quickly filled up and started the drive to Songkhla. Partway through the journey a plastic basket was passed through the bus for everyone to place their fare in and sort out their own change. Again this was a little reminder that we were very far away from South London as we can’t imagine what would happen if you tried this on the 159 bus to Marble Arch!
As we approached Songkhla the driver would stop wherever he was asked to, dropping passengers off on the side of the road. We stayed on until the end where we pulled up in a petrol station near the clock tower in central Songkhla. Hoisting our packs onto our back, we started the short walk to our hostel in the heart of the old town. As so frequently happens to us, we were waylaid by our stomachs and the call of curry. We stopped at a small joint serving rice and a selection of curries and tucked into our first Thai meal.
Sitting on plastic chairs and eating deliciously spicy curries, we knew we had arrived. We were finally back!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
Booking bus and train tickets between Malaysia and Thailand
When we made this journey, as we mentioned above, we booked our tickets through Easybook. However since writing this article, we have made this journey again, and this time we booked our tickets through 12Go.
12Go is a great option if you want to book your tickets ahead of time, with plenty of departure times and locations. For those who would like a private transfer, you can even book your own taxi!
Book your tickets here.
You can also cross the Thailand / Malaysia border via train. To do this you will need to book a train ticket to Padang Besar. Once you’ve arrived at the station you will need to get stamped out / stamped into whichever country you’re heading to and then board a train to your next destination. There is currently one train a day running between Padang Besar to Bangkok and five trains a day running from Padang Besar to Kuala Lumpur. If you’re heading to Singapore you will need to change trains in Kuala Lumpur. Again you can book train tickets in advance via 12Go.
Useful information for crossing the border between Malaysia and Thailand
By road you will need to cross the border at the Sadao border point.
Time difference between Malaysia and Thailand
Thailand and Malaysia are in different time zones with Malaysia being GMT +8 and Thailand being GMT +7. Be aware of this time difference if you’re booking onward travel / when approaching the border checkpoint.
Malaysia - Sadao Border Opening Times
On the Malaysian side, the Sadao border checkpoint is open from 6am to 12am.
Thailand - Sadao Border Opening Times
If you’re leaving from Thailand and entering into Malaysia the border is open from 5am to 11pm.
How to cross the border
Crossing the border on either side is a very similar process. On either side of the border checkpoint, you will need to make sure you have received your exit and entry stamp from both countries in your passport.
You will also need to have your luggage scanned through so will need to decamp from your bus and cross the border on foot with your luggage. Your driver will be waiting the other side for you to cross.
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The southern Thai city of Hat Yai is full of night markets. Following inspiration from YouTube we set ourselves the food challenge - The £5 market munching feast! What Thai foods can we get for £5? Can two people really get dinner for £5 in Thailand? How much chilli can one Som Tam contain? Is Hat Yai Fried Chicken really worth the hype? Read on to find out!