9 1/2 hours

van cab > ferry > feet > train > cab

Not too bad! Quickest trip yet (I think).  We left Penang at 8 PM deciding to take a van cab instead of walking the almost mile with our 30lb+ bags to the jetty - lesson learned (we walked it the first time) and definitely worth spending the $1/person.  Plus, the ferry back to the mainland was free!  The connected train station is still a 10 minute walk from where we got off the ferry (up and down two sets of staircases), so we didn't miss out on all huffing and puffing.  This "overnight" train never really let us sleep (lights on, frequent stops) and arrived at 5 am. With barely any sleep and ready to crash we checked into our hotel in Kuala Lumpur only to learn we couldn't get into the room for another 8.5 hours!! So we posted up at the coffee shop, most likely overstaying our welcome, using their free wifi and actually got some good trip planning done.