[Watch] Malaysian Woman Quits Job, Takes Train To America
A Kuala Lumpur content creator has embarked on an overland and sea journey from Malaysia to the United States — no flights, no fixed end date, and a departure timed around a train that runs once a month.
She left with a train ticket, a camera, and a plan she admits was not fully ready.
Siao Sparrow, a Malaysian content creator based in Kuala Lumpur, departed KL Sentral on Sunday (9 August) on a direct train to Hat Yai — the first leg of a solo journey from Malaysia to the United States without boarding a single flight.
She took the overnight train to Padang Besar, crossed the border on foot, and continued to Hat Yai — the unglamorous but reliable way most overland travellers enter Thailand from Malaysia.
The 11.5-hour service stops at Padang Besar, the Malaysia-Thailand border, where all passengers disembark with luggage for customs and immigration before continuing.
From Hat Yai, the planned route continues through Thailand, Laos, China, Xinjiang, Central Asia, Turkey, and Europe — concluding with a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean to Florida.
The KL–Hat Yai direct train, recently relaunched after a hiatus, runs once a month.
She missed the sleeper berth window and boarded with a seat ticket instead.
By morning, a stranger had offered her an empty bunk — a stranger who, it turned out, already followed her on Xiaohongshu.
No arrival date for the United States has been stated.
“To be honest, I felt nervous setting off,” she said.
