Having only slept for 3 hours, I left my bed grouchily as I prepared to go to Tanjong Pagar KTM Station (not to be confused with the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station). When the announcement about the closure of this station went public, many people had been flocking to this once-forgotten station for a train ride out of Singapore (the news of its closure was certainly a major motivation!). As it had been quite some time since I had travelled with mum, we decided to take one of the last trains leaving from this historic train station and head northeast into the famed Jungle Railway (had always wanted to do this as well) After stopping at Gua Musang (S$41 per ticket) for a night, we will continue the train journey all the way up to Kota Bharu before heading to the Malay heartland state of Terengganu and touristy Malacca.

When we got to the train station, the KTM officers still looked pretty sleepy while the lights for the main hall was not even switched on yet. It started drizzling as the officer pulled open the metal gate for us to settle immigration necessities before boarding the train. This is probably a very unique arrangement as train passengers will get to go through Malaysian immigration first (right in the Singapore territory) before clearing Singaporean immigration at the official border in Woodlands. With the official closure of this station, another source of dispute between the 2 countries would have been resolved.

It continued to pour as the train (No.14 Ekspres Sinaran Timur) throttled off the almost-defunct train station at 4.30am sharp. There was not much view (except for blurry street lights) especially during the wee hours of a rainy morning along the Tanjong Pagar/Bukit Timah/Woodlands (the 3 train stations in Singapore) rail stretch, I felt nostalgic when I recalled the memories of the train trips I did when young. After more than 80 years of service, the train station was finally nearing its eternal retirement (well, 1 more historic link between Malaysia and Singapore is severed).

After clearing the Singapore immigration "officially" at Woodlands, we crossed the causeway and arrived at the brand new JB Sentral Station (it was nearly 6am). The sky was rather dark as we continued the journey up north as the rain did not stop. The ride went rather well but just before we got into Segamat, I realised my 5-year old camera (procured just before my trip to Beijing in 2006) could no longer be switched on. Thus, I had to take all my photographs with my iPhone 3GS which was definitely not one of the best camera in this world. Sigh and RIP my dear Canon S3 IS...