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#1 batman4ever

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Posted 31 March 2015 - 03:26 PM

As we often seem to be in a hurry while we are on Holiday, we often seems to prefer to fly instaed of a (imho) more relaxed way to travel....by either bus...or Train... :)

tried myself a few times and even i have to admit they dont have western standard...its quite charming to travel by train...

 

my last train ride was from BKK  (hualamphong...AKA central station) to surat-thani...and from there by bus to Phuket...train was departuring at 7.30 PM...arrived in surat thani around 8am NeXT morning ( was aprox 45 min late)...straight to the bus waiting for us....and after aprox 3 hour we crossed the bridge to Phuket...45 min later we were dropped of 5 km from Patong...where a minibus took us the last way for 200 thb...

 

this time i booked 1 class sleeper..and with the bus to Phuket it was 1500 thb...but can be done for 1000thb if you choose 2 class sleeper...which i believe is the Price you would have paid for a hotel for the night :)

 

the only "con" was that the 1 class wagon was locked up from the rest of the train...but we had our own steward that served food and beers...and whatever we ordered,,,and you had to step over them...or wake them up if we wanted to go to the restaurent car which i found was annoying....so NeXT time i will go second class...and spend more time in the reaturent-car where there normally seems to be a lot of people... or to be real hardcore...and choose 3 class for that big amout of 297 THB... :mrgreen:  think it could be fun to try that just for once :clapclap:

 

The best page for info about Traintravel in Thailand can be found HERE...http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm  :rock:


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#2 rxpharm

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Posted 31 March 2015 - 08:22 PM

I agree that if you are not in a rush, taking the train is a good alternative transport. Years ago, I took the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai with my ex-gf - we booked the 1st class sleepers.

 

It was great, but I'm not sure I would try the 3rd class - hard bench seats no a/c for a long trip. Batman4ever is a braver soul than me!

 

For those who enjoy antiques, there is a place in Thailand that features use of a steam locomotive. I will post the information if I can find the information again - and if it is still operating.


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#3 Platapuss

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Posted 01 April 2015 - 02:48 AM

Thanks for the train info . Must give it a go next time in Los .

#4 Janus

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Posted 02 April 2015 - 02:16 PM

Thanks for the info. I will try it December Bangkok-Phuket. Normaly I always travel on plane, but it sound like good fun. :cheer:



#5 batman4ever

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Posted 02 April 2015 - 05:56 PM

Another good reason for trying this is that normally we stay in the center of the city...then we first have to grap a taxi to the airport...in which we always have to calculate to be in 2 hours before departure, we have to make sure we dont have any liquids in our hand-luggage....and we sit waiting to board with the risk of the plane is delayed...when we finally arrive...we have to wait for the suitcase (if it shows up)...and then Again wait/find a cap...that we have to pay to take us to the city Again, often a long ride as they always seems to place the airports far away from the city :wacko:


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#6 ASJ

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Posted 02 April 2015 - 06:25 PM

The only train I took beside the BTS in BKK was a train from BKK to Aranya Pratet (Thai Border of Cambodia) for a visa run.  It was a feckin long day leaving early in the morning from Ekkami Station and getting back around 7 P.M..  The countryside looks all the same, a lot of stops with country local getting on and off. A bunch of backpackers putting their grubby feet out the windows over seats.  You could smoke if you went in between cars.  They also came around selling drinks of snacks. Had a kid selling them out of a bucket he carried around.  You could also hop out at some of the stops which had stalls with a lot more selection. I think this train was all one class. The only farangs were backpacker types of travelers.  I took a ladyboy with me and she was free. I think my cost was around 180 baht. this was over five years ago now. One way was over 4 hours.  Very uncomfortable hard plastic seats.

 

The alternative was taking a mini bus which was about 2,000 baht each I think, which might have included the cost for the stamp/sticker. 

 

With cheap Air Asia flights and even reasonable Thai air flights, I can't see myself taking a day out of my trip for long haul travel by train. 



#7 rxpharm

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Posted 02 April 2015 - 06:37 PM

It really depends how how much time you've got in LOS. If you're in LOS for a month, getting in a longer train trip is a good way to get to see the countryside - and going up north to Chiang Mai isn't the same as going south to Phuket or NE for a visa run. Also as Batman4ever wrote - it doesn't really take up that much more time than flying or taking a bus. Also if you're with an lb - it's an adventure!

 

However, I can see a short 2 week trip would be a different matter. However, I would not recommend using 3rd class for a longer trip.

 

I've found the information about the steam train trip. It's from Richard Barrow's Blog

 

 

Steam Train Ride to Ayutthaya
March 24, 2014

By Richard Barrow

 

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On Sunday I went on the annual steam train trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya. This is the one that celebrates the anniversary of the State Railway of Thailand. This year they are celebrating 117 years on Wednesday 26th March. Normally they do the steam train trip on the 26th March but for some reason this year they decided to move it to the nearest Sunday. I presume to make it easier for people to attend. There are three other opportunities during the year to ride steam trains in Thailand. These are 12th August (Queen’s Birthday), 23rd October (Chulalongkorn Day) and 5th December (King’s Birthday).

 

 

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For this trip to Ayutthaya, two Pacific Steam locomotives were used. No. 824 was used for the outward journey and No. 850 for the return journey. There were originally 30 of these steam locomotives that were manufactured by the Japan Association of Railway Industry. But only these two remain in service. Locomotive No. 824 officially first ran in 1949 and No. 850 in 1951. These locomotives were recently repaired and modified and were given a new boiler, an electric generator and a new coat of paint. They were then brought back into service on 5th October 2012 and are used for special occasions.

 

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The train ride started from Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok at 8 a.m. However, I think a lot of people were there as early as 7 a.m. so that they could take pictures of themselves either standing by the locomotive or even up inside the engine. To ride the train you need to buy a ticket. However, you don’t need to buy these tickets to go and take pictures. In theory you just need to buy a platform ticket for a few Baht, though I met some people who hadn’t even done that. I think on a day like this you can get away with it. You can either take pictures here or anywhere along the route out of Bangkok.

 

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At about 7:45 a.m. some officials from the State Railway of Thailand took part in a small ceremony to put flower garlands on the front of the steam trains as a kind of offering for good luck. They also sometimes make an offering at the station shrine. The national anthem was played on the speakers at 8 a.m. and then shortly afterwards, the bell was rang, whistles blown and the steam train slowly started to move out of the station. As we left the station, we could see many photographers on both sides taking pictures of the steam train pulling the eight carriages.

 

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To be honest, the best view of the steam train is track side. When you are in the carriage you don’t really get to see the locomotives that much. The track to Ayutthaya was straight for much of the time, but we did catch a glimpse of the front of the train whenever it went around a corner.

 

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Riding in the front carriage is marginally more exciting as you can smell the smoke and hear more clearly the whistle being blown as it passed communities in Bangkok. Even though we couldn’t always see the engine ourselves, it was good seeing the reaction of people that were watching us as we passed. Many took pictures or just waved.

 

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This is a view of the standard coaches that we rode on the trip to Ayutthaya. It was a hot day outside, but with the help of open windows and fans we were comfortable enough inside. I have ridden in the air-conditioned carriage in the past, but I think that kind of defeats the purpose of riding a steam train. You cannot see, smell or hear anything.

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This is the ticket collector that came down the carriages.  This trip cost 222 Baht return for the ride only or 555 Baht for the ride and a tour of Ayutthaya by coach. I presume you could buy just a one way ticket. I’m not sure about that. But I met several people who bought the return ticket and planned to take the next train back.

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The ride to Ayutthaya from Bangkok was scheduled to take two hours. That is, leaving Hua Lamphong at 8 a.m. and arriving in Ayutthaya at 10 a.m. However, we made an unscheduled stop in Bang Pa-In which delayed us by about 20 minutes. But everyone got a chance to get out to take pictures of the steam engines.

 

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As it was the anniversary of the State Railway of Thailand, we had a warm welcome at Ayutthaya train station. There were vendors dressed in clothes from the reign of King Rama V who offered us free traditional food. All very good and tasty. There was also a small performance for us to watch and an exhibition on the history of the railway in Thailand.

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Your next opportunity to ride the steam train in Thailand is on 12th August 2014. This trip has already been confirmed to be going to Nakhon Pathom to the West of Bangkok. Tickets will go on sale about a month in advance at any train station in Bangkok. They go quickly so you will need to be fast.  I will blog here and also tweet on @RichardBarrow when I hear about it.

 

                                                                                                            

                                                                                      A later update about the steam train

The annual steam train trip on Chulalongkorn Day will take place on 23rd October 2014. Steam enthusiasts from all around the country will be gathering at Hua Lamphong Station in Bangkok next Thursday. Tickets for the roundtrip to Ayutthaya are 250 Baht per person. This includes snacks. You can buy at Hua Lamphong Station now. Tickets for the seats go fast. Even if there aren’t any tickets left, it’s worth going to the station just to watch the steam train in action. It’s great going on one of these train trips, but I think even better to either watch as it leaves or arrives at a station. When you sit in one of the carriages you don’t see so much. The next steam train trip will be on the King’s Birthday which is 5th December 2014, followed by 26th March 2015 and 12th August 2015.

 

The train is due to leave Hua Lamphong station at 8 a.m. There is no reason why you cannot go there early in the morning at say 7:30 a.m. to take pictures first. Alternatively, you can wait at one of the other stations in Bangkok. For example Samsen Station (8:13 a.m.), Bang Sue Station (8:21 a.m., Bang Khen Station (8:33 a.m.), Laksi Station (8:43 a.m.), Don Mueang Station (8:53 a.m.), Bang Pa In (9:42 a.m.) and Ayutthaya (10:10 a.m.). This is of course subject to change and delays.

The train will do the return trip at 4:30 p.m. and expected to arrive at Hua Lamphong at 6:25 p.m.  Bang Pa In (4:47 p.m.), Don Mueang Station (5:36 p.m.), Laksi Station (5:43 p.m.), Bang Khen Station (5:54 p.m.), Bang Sue Station (6:01 p.m.),  Samsen Station (6:09 p.m.) and Hua Lamphong (6:25 p.m.). All times are of course subject to change and are based on previous trips. I took the top picture at Hua Lamphong and the above picture at Bang Sue.

 

 

 


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#8 thailover57

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Posted 02 April 2015 - 09:26 PM

Also, in the last year there were numerous derailments/crashes. Travel and safety appear to be mutually exclusive now in Thailand (read the recent stories about airplane safety). And it seems every week there's at least one bus or mini-van crash.
Old, cantankerous, and sorry if I piss you off - well, not really. Just enjoy!




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