Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Bagan SPU


Far Across the Straits Night View from top of Penang Hills


Butterworth (population 108,000)

is the principal town of Province Wellesley (Malay: Seberang Perai) in the state of Penang in Malaysia. To many locals, Butterworth is known as Bagan. Butterworth is the site of the Malayan Railway station for Penang, and is linked to the island by the Penang Ferry Service and by the 13.5 km Penang Bridge.

A point of tourist interest in the town is the Penang Bird Park, a landscaped park with over 300 species of birds from all over Southeast Asia.

Butterworth is also the site of a Royal Malaysian Air Force station, RMAF Butterworth, formerly operated by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force, and is now the Headquarters of the Integrated Area Defence System (HQIADS) of the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

Butterworth will be the site of an integrated transport hub called Penang Sentral, which will integrate rail, ferry and bus transport.The housing estate of Taman Bagan is located at the Seberang Perai Utara - Tengah border.

Butterworth is the main town on the mainland side of Penang state in Malaysia. Smaller, more industrial and practical, Butterworth does not have any of the atmosphere which Georgetown across the Penang Straits has. It is however an important transportation hub for all train and many bus services which do not go directly to Penang island.

Butterworth is also the mainland terminal for the Penang ferry.

By train

Butterworth railway station is conveniently located next to the bus and ferry terminal, south of the town centre. It is a major rail terminal for Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malayan Railways) trains heading south to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and north to Hat Yai in Thailand as well as the State Railways of Thailand's International Express to Bangkok.

· To/from Kuala Lumpur - from Kuala Lumpur the Senandung Langkawi arrives at Butterworth at 05:40 and then departs for Hat Yai. In the other direction, the train from Hat Yai arrives at Butterworth at 22:30 and departs for Kuala Lumpur. The Ekspres Sinaran runs on Sundays between Kuala Lumpur and Butterwork. It departs Kuala Lumpur at 08:10 and arrives at Butterworth at 15:50. From Butterworth, trains leave at 08:00 and arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 16:05.

· From Bangkok - an overnight train departs Bangkok daily at 14:45 (Thai time). It is scheduled to arrive at Butterworth at 12:55 (Malaysian time) but normally gets there late, usually around 14:00-14:30. Fares vary depending on the type of berth and carriage; an air-con upper berth costs 1,120 baht (as at April 2007). The surcharge for a bicycle is 104 baht to the border; a further small freight charge may be made by KTMB for the border-Butterworth leg.

· To Bangkok - the International Express leaves Butterworth daily at 13:15, going via Hat Yai, Surat Thani (for Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan, Ko Tao), Chumphon, Hua Hin, etc.

By bus
· To/from Kuala Lumpur - almost hourly, journey takes 5 hours and costs around 25 ringgit.

· Rapid Penang - bus services cover entire Penang state

By boat

The much-loved Penang ferry departs regularly from the Butterworth Ferry Terminal for George Town. The ferry terminal is conveniently connected with the railway station and bus terminal via covered walkways - a rare example of good public transport planning in Malaysia. Caution when using the toilets. Travellers may want to consider using toilets at their hotels or at restaurants as the ferry toilets are infamous for their overuse and offensive odours.

Monday, October 25, 2004

Welcome to Bagan SPU Weblog

My warmest Welcome.
This blog is dedeiated to records the development on Butterworth, or Bagan Seberang Perai Utara, SPU in short.