There were plenty of space to park our bikes. So that said, my suspicion was confirmed.
We placed the bikes next to some cargo materials bound for Hat Yai.
The train ride was roughly about one and a-half hours.
We arrived in Hat Yai around noon and Roger had suggested lunch at a place he was familiar with.
He said there is a noodle stall that serves Koay Teow Lueah (boat koay teow).
I bought the idea lock, stock and barrel and at 30 baht a bowl, one cannot ask for more.
The noodles were really tasty and later, I had a chance to talk to the owner who told me that he used the Isan style to prepare his noodles.
It was much later that found out from my Thai friend Santi Senarat that blood is mixed into the soup which gave it a dark appearance.
Over the past four days, we've had some good luck with our choice of accommodation under RM50 or 500 baht.
In the case of the Emperor Hotel in Hat Yai, it was very clear that one cannot trust the internet entirely.
I found this place through Agoda.com and it turned out that the hotel was a real run down place offering just the bare minimal.
It looked like a haunted hotel just like a scene out of some Thai horror movie.
The place looked very depressing.
So, I took this with a pinch of salt because it cost only 470 baht including all that fees and stuff charged by Agoda.com
This was the lowest point in the trip. But we kept our chin up. Our plan was to survive the night, get a couple of hours of sleep and get the hell out.
Michelle went for a Thai massage while I did some laundry in the room.
Our plan was to have dinner and perhaps a beer at one of the nightspots.
I took the guys and treated them to dinner at Jae Lek restaurant at Thanon Niphat Uthit 1.
The food was decent, but through the years, I guess their standards have dropped.
Later, we had some dessert at a stall next to the hotel and seeing as it is, I wasn't really in favour of spending the last night having drinks at Hat Yai's nightspot.
I knew it would be an expensive affair.
So far, I've kept to my budget and we were doing well.
At Hat Yai, we bought the return ticket.
When we boarded the train, someone else had taken our seats.
So, I decided to gamble with the seats on row 15.
When the conductor came, he asked for our tickets and some explanation.
Well, lucky for us, he diverted the passengers who had booked the seats we took to the forward section of the coach.
Later at night, the guy said he might charge us RM10 or more for the bikes. I told him if we could come up with an amicable settlement and what he said was: "Tunggu la nanti bila kita sampai Butterworth.." (wait till we reached Butterworth).
And throughout the journey, we didn't pay a single sen.
By daybreak, we arrived at KL Sentral.
We parted way with Andrew and continued on the LRT to Petaling Jaya with Roger.
Michelle and I got off at the Paramount station and cycled to her mum's place in SS3 which was less than 2km away.
We ended our tour with the journey home and were greeted by our kidz...
LEFT - A photo session with a group of Thai cyclists in Hat Yai.
RIGHT - Arrival at KL Sentral train station.