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EAST ASIA

Two brief trips involved here, both the result of stop-overs from Australia visits. On the way back from Perth in 2005 I spent five
days in south-east Asia - two days in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur sandwiched between three days in Singapore. Although
the island state has a well-developed metro system, Singapore has no mainline operator of its own with freight and express
passenger duties provided by Malaysia's KTMB. I reached KL via this 'express' train which covers the 200-odd miles between the
cities in over five hours and is somewhat slower than the rival bus service!

Similarly, Hong Kong has a well-patronised commuter rail system with express services from Kowloon to Shenzhen, Guangzhou,
Shanghai and Beijing provided by China Rail and the Kowloon-Canton Railway. My visit to the Pearl of the Orient was an
integral part of my second sojourn to Australia in May 2007.

Copyright: Stu Levene, 2008.