Thai Teen Takes Grandfather on 2,000km Budget Journey to Singapore

A first visit to Singapore, reached without flying

A 16-year-old Thai teenager known as Queue took his grandfather roughly 2,000 kilometres to Singapore by train, bus and on foot, choosing inexpensive transport and accommodation in neighbouring Malaysia to make the visit possible. Two of the fares he shared were about 390 baht per person for the train from Pasir Mas to Johor Bahru and 50 baht each for the bus into Singapore.

The destination was Singapore, but the moment at the centre of the journey was a photograph with his grandfather at the Merlion. For the older man, it was his first visit to the country. For Queue, who had visited Singapore in 2022, it was a chance to return with someone he had already been travelling with since he was 13.

Queue, who documented the trip on the Instagram account kollawat_2626, described his circumstances and the purpose of the journey in a caption:

As a 16-year-old boy, not from a wealthy family, I took my grandfather on a train journey covering 2,000km to Singapore for the first time.

The footage attracted millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes. Queue said he had posted it to preserve a happy memory, not because he expected widespread attention. The response eventually prompted him to announce a YouTube channel called คิวพาลุย, following encouragement from viewers who wanted to see more of his travels.

How they travelled through three countries

The journey involved several separate legs rather than a direct train to Singapore. Queue and his grandfather boarded a third class train from Nakhon Pathom province to Su-ngai Kolok district in Narathiwat province, near the Malaysian border. Third class was described as the cheapest seating option.

Reports also describe Kanchanaburi as the starting point of the wider trip, while identifying Nakhon Pathom as the place where the pair boarded the train south. Queue himself referred to travelling from Kanchanaburi in his account of reaching Singapore.

After arriving at Su-ngai Kolok, they crossed into Malaysia on foot and took a bus to Pasir Mas Railway Station in Kelantan. From there, they travelled by train to Johor Bahru, the Malaysian city where they would stay overnight.

The final international leg was a bus across the Causeway, the road and rail connection between Johor Bahru and Singapore, to Woodlands. Their journey therefore crossed two national borders and required changes between rail, bus and walking.

That distinction matters when describing the achievement. Although Queue called it a train journey, the route depended on several forms of transport. The reported distance of around 2,000 kilometres describes the broader overland adventure, not a single uninterrupted railway service.

The low fares came with long travel times

The inexpensive route required many hours in transit. One account puts the train journey from Nakhon Pathom to Su-ngai Kolok at approximately 17 to 18 hours, followed by around 15 hours on the train from Pasir Mas to Johor Bahru.

Together, those two reported rail legs amount to about 32 to 33 hours. That calculation excludes the bus journeys, walking, border crossings and time spent waiting for connections. Another account describes the journey as taking close to two full days, a duration consistent with the lengthy rail segments, although exact departure and arrival times have not been established.

Queue acknowledged the exhaustion while describing his satisfaction at completing the trip. The teenager said:

I travelled by train from Kanchanaburi to Singapore without taking a plane. At 16, I actually managed to do it. All that exhaustion just disappeared.

His account presents the journey as a deliberate trade between money and time. The pair avoided flying and accepted a succession of long transport legs to reach a destination his grandfather had never visited.

What the disclosed costs actually cover

Queue shared several prices in the comments on his posts, giving a useful but incomplete picture of the budget. The amounts were approximate and related to specific parts of the journey:

• Pasir Mas to Johor Bahru by train: around 390 baht per person, or 780 baht for both travellers.
• Johor Bahru to Woodlands by bus: around 50 baht per person, or 100 baht for the pair.
• Accommodation in Johor Bahru: around 2,000 baht per night.

The two disclosed transport legs therefore total approximately 880 baht for the pair in the direction of Singapore. That is not the price of the complete trip. It leaves out the Thai train tickets, the bus to Pasir Mas, return travel, meals and any other spending that Queue did not itemise.

Reports give slightly different currency conversions for the same expenses. The 390 baht train fare is described as approximately S$14.80, S$15 or S$16, while the room price appears as about S$76 or S$80. The baht figures are broadly consistent; the converted amounts should be treated as rounded estimates rather than exact prices.

The accommodation cost was larger than the two quoted transport legs combined. At around 2,000 baht, one night of lodging was about 2.3 times the 880 baht calculated for those fares for both travellers. This comparison does not establish the full budget, but it shows why accommodation was a substantial part of the spending they disclosed.

Why they slept in Johor Bahru

Despite making Singapore their destination, Queue and his grandfather did not stay there overnight. They returned to Johor Bahru, choosing accommodation on the Malaysian side to keep costs down.

That arrangement added a return border crossing to their visit. It also separated the place they wanted to see from the place they could afford to sleep. No comparable Singapore hotel price was disclosed, so the precise saving cannot be calculated.

Queue said someone he regarded as an older brother helped pay for their accommodation. Descriptions of that person differ: one account calls him an elderly figure, while others describe a man Queue respected like an older brother. His identity, age and relationship to the teenager have not been established.

The consistent point is that Queue acknowledged help with the room expense. The journey was economical, but the teenager did not present it as something he financed entirely alone. He described the purpose of the trip in a message thanking supporters:

This is a budget trip focusing truly on a lifetime experience. Thanks for all the support.

A familiar landmark, a different memory

At the Merlion, the footage showed Queue and his grandfather posing for photographs. Queue could also be heard asking his grandfather to act naturally while being filmed, wanting to capture the moment rather than a formal performance for the camera.

The visit carried a different meaning for each traveller. Queue had already been to Singapore and Merlion Park in 2022. His grandfather was seeing the country for the first time, making the shared photographs a record of a new experience for the older man.

The Singapore journey was also part of an existing travel relationship. Queue later shared older photographs with his grandfather and said they had begun travelling together when he was 13. At 16, he was extending a habit they had developed over roughly three years.

There is no complete public itinerary showing every place they visited in Singapore. The Merlion is the clearly documented stop. Their photographs there, rather than an extensive list of attractions, became the central image of the trip.

Millions watched, but reports differ on posting dates

The response grew well beyond the personal audience Queue had expected. One account records more than 7.9 million views, 813,000 likes and 4,400 comments on the video. Other accounts give more than 686,000, 760,000, 792,000 or 816,000 likes, with comment totals ranging from above 3,700 to above 4,000.

Those figures are separate reported snapshots, not totals to be added together. They may reflect different publication times or different posts, but that cannot be established precisely. The same caution applies to the date of the main upload: reports identify October 6, October 7 and October 8.

The reported sequence is:

• 2022: Queue visited Singapore and Merlion Park before the trip with his grandfather.
• September 30: Queue appears to have begun posting about the journey.
• October 6 to October 8: Reports place the widely shared post or video on different dates within this period.
• After the video drew attention: Queue thanked viewers and announced his YouTube channel following their suggestions.

Many commenters praised Queue for making the journey happen, wished his grandfather good health and encouraged the pair to keep travelling together. Others suggested a YouTube channel and said they would watch more adventures.

Queue said the scale of the response surprised him. His announcement of คิวพาลุย was the clearest next step, but no date for another journey or a future video release was given. The grandfather's name and age, the complete trip cost and the exact travel dates also remain undisclosed.

Key Points

• Queue, a 16-year-old Thai teenager, took his grandfather approximately 2,000 kilometres to Singapore by train, bus and on foot.
• The route passed through Su-ngai Kolok, Pasir Mas and Johor Bahru before entering Singapore at Woodlands.
• The disclosed Malaysian train and Singapore bus fares totalled about 880 baht for both travellers in one direction, excluding other trip costs.
• They stayed in Johor Bahru for around 2,000 baht per night, with help paying for accommodation.
• Queue had visited Singapore in 2022, but this was his grandfather's first visit to the country.
• The footage attracted millions of views. Reported posting dates and engagement counts differ.
• Queue subsequently announced the YouTube channel คิวพาลุย after encouragement from viewers.