Update 24/11 Butterworth - Bangkok

The short walk from Butterworth
train station (B) to Butterworth
Bus Terminal B1 (A)

Well, it turned out that all seats / beds in the train Butterworth - Hat Yai were sold out, so the plan for the route Butterworth - Bangkok has been slightly changed.

I will now go off the train at Butterworth station early morning on Tuesday and continue by mini-van to Hat Yai. There I will need to change to a coach to Bangkok. As it turns out this is even a slightly cheaper option, saving RM 30 in total, good for two meals :)

As for time-loss... It should not make a whole lot of difference. Butterworth - Hat Yai by mini-van should take about 5 - 6 hours and Hat Yai to Bangkok by coach about 8 - 10 hours. Worst-case scenario I will be arriving in Bangkok on Wednesday noon.

From there, I'm catching a coach from Mo Chit bus station directly to to Chiang Rai (initially I would go to Chiang Mai first, but the new plan seems cheaper and shorter). I arrive in Chiang Rai some 10 hours later, late evening. This already close to the Laos norder, I will simply take a tuktuk to the ferry port in Chiang Khong and wait a few hours for the first ferry to start its engine and cross the mighty Mekong river over to Laos (around 06:00, Thursday)

It appear that there is only one bus going from Huay Xai to Jinghong per day, at 08:00 in the morning, so I need to rush a little in order to catch it. Arriving there some 10 hours later, it's just one last bus journey to Kunming. I will most probably not be able to catch the train the day in Kunming, so I will have a full day (Friday, 30th) for sight-seeing. The train to Baoji leaves at 18:48 reaching Baoji Sunday morning around 04:00.