From First Class to All Class …

…A journey from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore by Malaysian Railways – part 1

Mention at checkout from the Le Meridien KL that you are leaving the city by train and you are immediately offered (well, it is insisted on actually) assistance to the railway station. This is not a long distance but you can feel a bit like someone out of an old movie being followed across the road to the station by a bellboy with a typically large hotel “trolley” with just your bags on it. The feeling of importance is quickly dashed when it is discovered that the First Class Lounge is not open prior to this trip. Hmmm, is this a warning of things to come, as it has been open for the morning departure on our previous trips. We find a seat in the departure area and assure the bellboy that we will be OK. Nothing else in the station is yet open in the way of food establishments. I had planned to perhaps forage and gather some sustenance for the journey. Ah, wait a minute; Maccas is open. Why did that not surprise me? An orange juice and a McMuffin will do while we wait and we will get lunch on the train.

An attempt to buy two donuts, for a bit more junk food on the train, accelerates into a major negotiating business deal. They don’t have their cash register working yet, the shop assistant who does that has not arrived and no-one else can set it up. Can I just leave the money with them and take the donuts? No, they are not sure how to calculate the ++ and the amount may not be correct. Hmmm. Ah, but there is a nett price on the menu for six donuts and can I just pay that? Consultation takes place between the staff, and at that stage I almost totally loose the inclination to eat a donut. However, it is decided that I can do that if I choose six donuts. OK, six donuts are selected, placed in a box, I hand over the correct money, and then there is a long search for an appropriately sized plastic bag to carry them in. I escape with just the box of donuts, wondering what himself is going to say when I turn up with six donuts! It is all said; I won’t spell it out!

Soon there is an announcement that we can board and there is a rush for the entry. Eventually we settle into our seats and find that the carriage is only about one third full. We find that a bit unusual, as we thought, when we booked that we had got the last two seats. A brief chat with an English couple who are settling in a few seats from us, and the train pulls out of KL Sentral on its way towards Singapore.

to be continued ...