Date: October 2017

Destination: Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand return

Class: Second

After weighing up the advantages of catching a train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok over flying, hubby and I decided to purchase a couple of return train tickets.  We both loved trains and this would allow us to travel like the locals. It was also an inexpensive way to get to Chiang Mai which included a night’s accommodation.

After doing a bit of research, it seemed like 12Go Asia was the best place to book the tickets.  You book with them and they go across the road to the Hua Lamphong Station and buy the tickets.  I guess it mostly works but after we booked and paid for ours – air con sleeper carriage first class one way and second class the other, we were told they had run out of first class cabins and we could get a refund at the office in Bangkok.  We made sure to book trains 9 and 10 as these Chinese trains were the newest and nicest having only been running since November 2016.

You can pick up your tickets at the 12Go Asia office located at the DOB building in Bangkok’s city’s centre opposite the Hua Lamphong station where the train leaves from at least 60 minutes before the train leaves.  The office is open between 10am and 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am and 7pm Saturday and Sunday.  There is no cost to collect your tickets from there but I believe there is if you collect them from Chiang Mai going to Bangkok.  You can also choose to have your tickets mailed to you for a small fee.

There is a choice between first, second and third class, whether you want a seat or one that converts to a bed and if you want air conditioning or not.  Prices vary between cabin type, between top and bottom bunk and between destinations.  This is what we paid:

Chiang Mai to Bangkok – 2nd class air conditioned sleeper lower berth 881 THB.

Chiang Mai to Bangkok – 2nd class air conditioned sleeper upper berth 791 THB

Booking fee 500 THB

Bangkok to Chiang Mai – 2nd class air conditioned sleeper lower berth 1041 THB

Bangkok to Chiang Mai – 2nd class air conditioned sleeper upper berth 941 THB

Booking fee 500 THB

The booking fee seemed quite steep compared to the price of the actual tickets but unless you were happy to risk it or go third class, there wasn’t much of an option.

The Hua Lamphong train station is operated by the State Railway of Thailand and is Bangkok’s main railway station.  It opened in 1916 showcasing its Italian Renaissance Revival architecture and serves 60 000 passengers a day.  The large station has more than 20 platforms and a number of places to get food and drink.  There was even a massage centre so I indulged in a foot massage before our train left.  There did appear to be a lack of seating with many people sprawled out on the floor.  We grabbed some snacks before hopping on the train as the woman in the office said the food on the train was very expensive.

We boarded our train that was due to leave at 6pm.  It looked nice and shiny outside and appeared clean and in very good condition inside.  The seats faced each other with an aisle up the middle.  We ended up getting some hot food from the food car and the prices were very reasonable.  We enjoyed looking out the window until it got too dark to see anything and a couple of hours into the trip, someone came along to make up the beds.  The linen was taken from a sealed plastic bag and the staff had obviously done it many times before as they did the task quickly and competently.

There was no internet where we were seated but I believe the food car had a weak connection. There was a drink holder with fold out tray and a power outlet to charge your devices.  A holder attached to the wall allowed you to store your phone or other small items.  The trip was a bit bumpy but I didn’t really mind being rocked to sleep. The beds were suitable and it was good to stretch out properly and sleep.  If you’re up top there’s not really anywhere to leave your bags except on your bed with you.  The lower berth has room underneath to store things.  There was a curtain which pulled across to give you privacy from the other passengers.  Of course there was the odd passenger you could hear snoring but in a set up like that, it’s unavoidable.  As we had heard, the air conditioning was a bit on the cold side but with the sheet and blanket, it was enough to keep you warm.  What I did find to be a problem though was the bright lights that shine in your face when you’re on the top bunk.  That made it harder to sleep.

The train stopped at a number of stations along the way to pick up passengers so the ones across from us were replaced by different ones the following morning.  We arrived at Chiang Mai Station a bit later than the scheduled time of 7:15am.  This train station opened in 1922 and was much smaller than the one in Bangkok.  It was also cleaner and had more character.  From there we were met and taken to our accommodation at Joy’s House.

Pros:

An more interesting way to travel than flying

Affordable and saves on a night’s accommodation

Allows you to interact with the locals

Enables you to see some of the picturesque countryside, especially closer to Chiang Mai

Cons:

The air conditioning can make it a bit too cold if you choose an air-conditioned cabin

Takes longer to get there compared with flying

The bright lights are left on all night and can make it hard to sleep

The toilets which started off clean were pretty disgusting by the end of the journey

In Summary:

We enjoyed our overnight train trip to Chiang Mai and back and would happily do it again although next time I would definitely bring an eye mask or choose a lower berth where the lights weren’t so bright.