Thailand Borders 22: Kuala Lumpur

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail..." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Braving the flood in Alor Setar)

Day 22: Sunday, 01 Dec 2024
Route: Hat Yai - Kuala Lumpur
Distance: 526 km (7:42)

Buffet breakfast in the hotel.

By 7.45 am we checked out and headed out of town south bound. Our first stop was at Bung Nut Halal restaurant in Lang Suan but it was closed. Next we visited Masjid At-Tauheed Lang Suan. The halal restaurant near the mosque has moved to the PTT north bound, 2 km from the mosque.

Bought keropok at a traffic junction from a boy from Nara. He informed us that Hatyai is still under water and all roads leading to the city center are closed.

Stopped for lunch at PTT Halal Foodcourt in Thung Son. Solat break at Masjid Darus Saadan about 40 km from Phathalung.

After prayers we drove direct to Sadao. There were less traffic on the road to the border. Rain has stopped and it was sunny in Hatyai but certain roads leading into central Hatyai were still closed. Flood water has subsided on the route to the border but we could see some houses in the low area are still submerged. In Danok, we bought some nuts, raisins and fruits from a muslim stalls then headed to the border.

It was already dark when we cleared immigration and custom checks at both border control checkpoints. The officers at the border told us that a stretch from Jitra to Kepala Batas on the PLUS highway is flooded and closed. Traffic had to detour and use an alternative road to get to the other end of the highway. Even a few stretches of the alternative route was flooded and could only be accessable to heavy vehicles.

Our reliable bigfoot managed to brave the flood water and get us across to Alor Star town. Before we enter the highway, we stopped at Roti Canai King Restaurant for dinner.

The journey towards south was smooth although the traffic was quite heavy. Stopped at Simpang Pulai R&R for jamak Isyak/Maghrib and a cup of hot steaming coffee. We had been on the road for more than 20 hours and our bodies need to have a rest. Stopped at Hulu Bernam R&R for a quick nap while waiting for Subuh. After freshened up and prayers we continued our journey and detoured to Elmina R&R to have a heavy breakfast of lontong and teh tarik.

After 23 days and 6,854 km on the road, we arrived safely at our Bidara house. Alhamdulillah...