holiday plan

[paperboy]

I posted last week on the Aisa board, about info regarding Vietnam, ive decided to give it a miss,
Fly from Paris, too bkk, then get the Train up to chaing mai, and stay there for 10 days, traveling around that area
2 years ago, i flew up there with air asia, but this time fancy the train, seems a nice stress free journey,

after my 10 days, i think to come back on train and head for Hua Hin for a week, then into BKK to finish my holiday off.
I want too stray out of Pattaya this trip, ive got totally borred with it, want more out of my holidays.
Does anybody think this is a good plan. or im i missing something???

any help would be good
plan too stay at Pj place, 2 years a go i stayed at the ramming lodge
not booked the hotel for Hua Hin yet. any suggestions please
then BKK love the rose hotel

thanks in advance

[travelerjim]

Your plan as outlined sounds great!
PJ's Place in ChiangMai is perfect and I highly recommend it.

Train fm BKK to CM also a nice change...an Expat friend of mine who has
done this (he loves trains)...recommends it too.
Maybe he will add his thoughts on the train ride option.

Enjoy :-)

tj

[joe552]

A few years ago I took the train from CM to Bangkok and really enjoyed the experience. If you like train travel, I'd recommend it.

[gaymandenmark]

Sounds like a great plan.

However when I was in Hua Hin, many years ago, I was a littlebit disappointed. I felt there was too many middleaged package tourist, and for me the beach did not have that tropical "touch"

But on the other hand it is a relaxed and nice place.

How old are you paperboy.?
You seems to have enough time, some days in BKK, 10 days in CM area and a week in Hua Hin.
If I was you I would not plan to much.

I would maybe also look into Koh Samet or Koh Chang, but then you should maybe bring your own eyecandy.

PS I support your train plans, if you are open minded, it can really be a funny and nice experience.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

I agree. Going up by train on the overnight sleeper is fun.

My advice, speaking as somebody who has done it, is to book as far in advance as you can.

I left it until two days before to book, and I wasnt able to book the overnight I wanted, i had to wait until the next day, when I got what was probably the last berth.

I went in second class AC (four people per compartment). If you are going with your boyfriend, you might want to try and get a first class compartment (for two people).

Tell us how you get on!

[Shuee]

overnight trains are a different experience to try, but a bit creepy as there were many crawling bugs all around the floor & mattress that you sleep on, not just a few but many, maybe thats why i found it so hard to sleep? take a can of bug spray with you!

[gaymandenmark]

@shuee, sounds terrible, but I have been taken that night train 3 times and have never experienced that problem.
I don't doubt your experience, but it was not mine.

Now I enjoy train travel at home and especially the Sleeper services (with single occupancy cabin), but it seems that Thai overnight train travel will involve possibly sharing a compartment with 3 complete strangers who will doubtless cough, splutter and fart all night whilst "bugs" (presumably cockroaches and bedbugs to name but two varieties) scuttle around the floor and crawl all over your mattress whilst you attempt to sleep?

The solution - a can of bug spray :dontknow:
Well, spraying the cabin and the occupants with choking insecticide will go down really well with your new-found roomies, won't it?

Not my idea of "fun" - I think I'll stick to the airlines and obviate those possibilities.


:hello2:

[joe552]

oh where's you're sense of adventure, scottish-guy? it could be like an Agatha Christie novel - you never know who'll be sharing your cabin - exciting and scary.

[gaymandenmark]

he he, yeah I am with you on this Joe.
BTW this is a great link about trains in Thailand, just scroll down a littlebit.
http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm

[Neal]

I don't know, they all look very nice and clean to me with what appears to be very nice meals. First class accommodation especially. I used to enjoy taking the train many places in the USA, sleeping accommodation so that I could sit all day and watch the outside beauty from the comfort of the rail. The oly thing I hesitate about is that I have heard of several delays. anyone hear anything about that?

[christianpfc]

I went by overnight train from Bkk to Chiang Mai. It was two hours late, apart from that everything was fine. If you are tall you might have problems, I am 184 cm and when I lie normal stretched out feet and head touch the ends. There were no compartments. The whole train is one compartment, people lie left and right from the passage, and you are separated from the passing travellers by a curtain.

[gaymandenmark]

As far as I remember correct the train left BKK on time almost, but it has always been late into Chiang Mai.
But I has not been into a hurry, so it really does not matter to me.

[Neal]

Well may I ask were you in a sleeper and what class of service?

[gaymandenmark]

. The whole train is one compartment, people lie left and right from the passage, and you are separated from the passing travellers by a curtain.

When I look at old american movies it is the american way, adopted to the thai railways?

[Daniel-old]

sharing a compartment with 3 complete strangers who will doubtless cough, splutter and fart all night whilst "bugs" scuttle around the floor and crawl all over your mattress


...it could be like an Agatha Christie novel

Fucking Murder on the Chiang Mai Express

[anonone]

overnight trains are a different experience to try, but a bit creepy as there were many crawling bugs all around the floor & mattress that you sleep on, not just a few but many, maybe thats why i found it so hard to sleep? take a can of bug spray with you!

I had a similar experience on one of my bus rides from Isaan back to Pattaya. Many cockroaches visible...

The same bus company from Pattaya to Isann, no bugs at all.

Maybe just luck of the draw...?

[Captain Swing]

I went by overnight train from Bkk to Chiang Mai. If you are tall you might have problems, I am 184 cm and when I lie normal stretched out feet and head touch the ends. There were no compartments. The whole train is one compartment, people lie left and right from the passage, and you are separated from the passing travellers by a curtain.

I took the train to Surin for the Elephant Festival some years ago and it was as Christian describes--I enjoyed it but would have slept better if the berth had been an inch or two longer. I don't recall any creepy-crawlies. One drawback--the toilet facilities might best be considered "For emergency use only." If you do take the train, and I encourage you to, try to look out the window at night when you're passing through a rural area; with no "light pollution" the sky was more star-filled than any I've ever seen--a memorable sight.

[francois]

The train from Bangkok to Chang Mai does have a first class section where there are compartments. Each compartment had two bunks, one above the other; they may not be comfortable for a tall person. The food was served in our compartment and it did not seem we had a choice to move elsewhere in the train. To move forward to the coach section it would be necessary to traverse the sleeping cars with their berths on either side and, since it was the overnight train, this did not seem like a good idea in the dark.
Yes, the restrooms were not the finest but since ours was at the very end of the train it was less used.
Since first class was at the end of the train it was possible to stand on the outside rear platform and enjoy the view, what there was of it.

[christianpfc]

Second class sleeper with fan (aircon is more expensive and I read that it is too cold):

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/various%20stuff/DSCN2165.jpg

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/various%20stuff/DSCN2164.jpg

[gaymandenmark]

DaBoss I was in the aircon sleeper and to christianpfc the aircon was not to cold.
Maybe I will take the 1 class next time, but I will ofcourse not miss the dining wagon with losts of beers and whiskey :laughing3:

...I will of course not miss the dining wagon with losts of beers and whiskey :laughing3:

Having looked at Christian's photos of the sleeping berths, I would prefer just to sit in the dining car, drinking whisky, for the entire 12 hours or however long the journey takes.

I can now appreciate why he thinks Howard's is/was luxurious.

[Neal]

Well I can easily see that first class really means having a place to lie down and sleep rather than sitting in a chair which would be one of my goals.
The problem is that it seems to be no match for Amtrak both in the comfort zone as well as the eating so I just may be better of in the van and stopping and eating and sleeping where I want.

Thai train can't compare with the US or Europe, they are narrow gauge which make them bumpy and prone to derailments; the infrastructure is ancient and poorly maintained. The SRT make more money from property deals than from railway income of all kinds.
A good resource is http://www.seat61.com/thailand

[francois]

Well I can easily see that first class really means having a place to lie down and sleep rather than sitting in a chair which would be one of my goals.
The problem is that it seems to be no match for Amtrak both in the comfort zone as well as the eating so I just may be better of in the van and stopping and eating and sleeping where I want.

My experience was that it did not match Amtrak in the USA but cannot speak for rail service in Europe.
But during the day you can sit in a chair in your compartment which converts to a bed at night. As for dining in your compartment a disappointment.

I recall all of my trip to CM on the over night train but none of the return day time trip.

..My experience was that it did not match Amtrak in the USA but cannot speak for rail service in Europe....

In the UK I use the Sleeper (overnight train) service from Scotland to London fairly regularly - it takes around 8 hours overnight as the train goes pretty slow
This is the only Sleeper service in the UK.
First Class gets you a private compartment, free continental breakfast served in your cabin, complimentary toiletries etc.
Theres a washbasin in the compartment but the WC's are in the corridor.
There's a lounge car for 1st Class only where you can get a nice bottle of Champagne for only ┬г30 and various snackettes. You can sit back, relax, and watch the train make its way.
Very civilised.
Standard (2ndClass) means you have to share a compartment with 1 other person.
There is also a "seat-only" option which is cheaper.
Prices are from ┬г40 Standard Class/┬г75 First Class (Single, advance tickets)
The first class and the Standard Class cabins are exactly the same - the only difference is there are 2 beds instead of 1 in the Std Class.
Even though these train units are 40/50 yrs old (refurbed over time) they are much better than the pics Christian posted.
You arrive in the Centre of London around 7am (not at an airport 50 miles way) - so an ideal way to travel IMHO

[attachment=0:14f9ort9]scotrail_panorama_01.jpg[/attachment:14f9ort9]

[Neal]

Well the US Amtrak I used to take from Washington DC to Florida and back there were compartments to pull your car onto and then a different place for you to sleep. 1st had one bed and then during waking times you could get a very nice meal in the dining car. The great thing of this rain was that you left at about 3pm so you drove all morning, arrived DC about 2, loaded the car, ate a nice dinner and went to a "movie car" watched a movie, went to sleep and awoke in Florida!

New York to DC was the same except you could not take your car.

[paperboy]

thanks for all the replys and advice

i think it will be a great adventure, thats what its all a bout, i could just fly there like before, but was boring and felt i was missing out.
So really looking foward to it, will book the 1st class cabin, so will not be all that bad.

The only other thing was can anybody recomend some where to stay in hua hin

thanks every body

[christianpfc]

No sense of adventure, Scotty?

And let's not forget Thailand is a developing country. The ticket is just 531 Baht (BKK-CNX, 2nd class sleeper up fan), what do you get for that in Europe? I am happy with travelling by train in Thailand.

When you plan cleverly, you even save one night in a hotel (check out of hotel today, sleep in train, check in at your destination the following day).

Yes, I accept it's 531B - but it's even cheaper to walk and I wouldn't do that either.

If you want to travel that way - fair enough but it's not my cup of tea, that's all.

[bruce_nyc]

Sounds like ScottRail has spoiled ScottyBoy.

[Marsilius]

In the UK I use the Sleeper (overnight train) service from Scotland to London fairly regularly - it takes around 8 hours overnight as the train goes pretty slow
This is the only Sleeper service in the UK.

Not so. There is at least one more - in the West Country. See http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Your ... ra-Sleeper (http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Your-journey/On-board/Night-Riviera-Sleeper)

From the recent thread "One night in Bangkok" the (Hibernian) comment "For fuck sake get your facts right Sooty" comes to mind...