Night Train adventures

It seems we’re getting better at doing less and relaxing more.
We’ve also come to the conclusion that a 6-month travel adventure shouldn’t consist of nonstop activities. Sometimes a cup of tea (or a cocktail) and a nice view over a city, a mountain range or a beach is all you need to be happy. We’ve also started to read a lot about Buddhism to get a better understanding about its philosophy and core principles. We find it remarkable how friendly and unobtrusive this religion is and we’re becoming secret admirers of the Buddha and his teachings.

With this in mind we both decided to start our day with a meditation practice and then treat ourselves with a pedicure (Semmy) and a Thai Massage (Pascal). After all, this is our last day in Bangkok and the only thing we need to do is catch the Night Train from Hua Lamphong Railway Station to Chiang Mai at 18:10. So, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, it turns out that extensive beauty/wellness treatments can make your brain a little bit foggy which in turn can distort your perception of time (and space!) quite heavily. Here’s what happened:

It’s around 4 pm in the afternoon and we still got almost 2h to get back to our hotel, grab our already packed bags and take a taxi to the train station. Sounds (to Pascal) like plenty of time for a quick visit at the Bangkok Arts & Culture Center which is on our way to the hotel. Thanks to Semmy (and possibly God) we decide to not do that and take the next BTS train to St. Louis instead. 15 min later we’re out of the train and book a taxi (via app) while walking towards the hotel. We receive a notification that our driver will be there in 12 min and that the ride will take another 28 min. Still plenty of time.

A few seconds later the “Grab” app sends us a message that the driver needs to drop off another passenger before stopping at our place. Fine. By now, we’re both ready - sitting on our packed bags in the hotel lobby and browsing on our phones. After a while Pascal starts to check the taxi app for updates on our ride. Seems like the roads are full of traffic. The car icon doesn’t seem to move much. Time to check Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Fotos etc. Uff. 10 Minutes go by. 15 Minutes. 20 Minutes. It’s exhausting to look at the app. After what seemed to be an eternity the driver finally pulls up at our hotel. It’s now 17:00. We both rush outside to throw our luggage into the trunk and jump in the car to fasten our seatbelts. Unimpressed by our hurry the taxi driver slowly rolls back into traffic nightmare.

Pascal continues to monitor the taxi app in real time to check the progress. Unfortunately, the only thing progressing seems to be the estimated time of arrival. We’re stuck in rush hour traffic, the lights go from green to orange to red and we’re barely moving at all. Pedestrians walking on the sideway pass by while we’re looking in horror at our gradually melting time buffer. ETA = 17:35…17:38….17:45…..we’re getting nervous. Also, we still have to physically pick up our tickets at a counter outside of the train station. And we need to get some food for dinner as there won’t be any on the train due to COVID restictions. God damn what where we thinking?? 😱
While we’re checking google maps, fast food options and calculating walking distances our driver misses every single opportunity to move forward quicker in the traffic queue. A dozen other cars squeeze into our lane just before us. Seems like we’ve gotten the only driver in this city who actually keeps the minimum distance! Not that it would have made a big difference, but it definitely increased our tension. Yeay…3 people living in the moment!!
Time for a few deep breaths to let go and accept that we can’t change or control the situation. Ommm.

After 50 minutes in the taxi we’re finally approaching Bangkok train station. We’ve got exactly 20 minutes to find the ticket office, buy food and get on the train. Semmy runs for the ticket counter while Pascal takes care of the bags and screens FAST food options. 10 minutes later we’re crossing a 3 lane road (eyes closed - no time to wait for green lights) and pace towards the station’s entrance with our heavy bags. “Train to Chiang Mai - Platform 6 - leaving in 5 minutes!” Pascal rushes to a small shop and buys a couple of sandwiches and drinks in literally no time. With yet another bag we make our last sprint towards the train that already has it’s engines running. Train conductors in uniform are nodding at us to emphasize the need for hurry. Made it!!

It’s now 18:08 and we heave our baggage into the wagon. Friendly railway staff help us to our seats. Wow…that was crazy!! Exhausted but happy to have made it just in time we sink into our seats and give each other a high five and a kiss. At exactly 18:10 the train leaves Bangkok as planned - like a Swiss clockwork.

We sit in our compartment and watch out of the window. The train moves slowly northwards through Bangkok while it’s getting darker outside. What a wonderful perspective to look at the city (and its traffic!). The ride is astonishingly quiet - just a soft buzzing of the diesel engines. After having stored our suitcases under the seats we unpack our ham & cheese and tuna (oops…) sandwiches and start to chew. It’s a slow and steady way of travelling and we absolutely love it!

FYI: We’re in 2nd class (costs 27 EUR p.P). The 1st class (approx. 50 EUR) was our preferred option as it allows for much more privacy (1 cabin with a sink and two convertible beds) but it was already sold out 8 weeks in advance (because there are only 12 of these rooms on the train). The bathrooms are also shared in 1st class but compared to 2nd class (where there are 3 WCs + two additional sinks per waggon) you can also have a hot shower there. It would’ve been amazing to experience this as well but we were also happy with our option. Overall, the beds are equally comfortable and you get a really good A/C in both. It’s actually so good, that we both put on long pants and a hoodie to stay warm. 😅

At Around 8pm the train conductor comes by to make the beds which is a standard procedure. That means everyone has to get up from their seat while the train staff converts the seats into beds and puts fresh covers on the duvets and pillows for each passenger. The upper bed (which contains the
mattresses and duvets for both upper and lower bed) simply gets pulled down at an angle from the ceiling and the lower bed is set up by shifting the seats inward and pushing the backrests down to form the bearing surface for the mattress.
This process is repeated a hundred times for each bed pair. The train conductors are very quick and it takes them less than a minute per bed. After roughly 30 minutes all beds are converted and most people are getting ready to rest. We did the same and after having brushed our teeth we both watched some Netflix before drawing the curtains close and eventually going to sleep. 😴

Of course, nothing beats sleeping in your own bed and we’re barely able to stretch out BUT we found the whole experience super exciting and were actually able to get some sleep. As we leave behind the urban areas around Bangkok and ride into much more rural areas of northern Thailand the train noticeably picks up speed and the stops (roughly 20 in total) become fewer. Still, the train itself is quite slow (751 km / 11h = 68 km/h average speed) - even though we’re in the “Special Express” which is 3h faster. However, time is relative. We’re actually travelling quite efficiently by using our “unproductive time” to travel to another city. How amazing is that!? Plus, we’re saving on a hotel for another night which made the already cheap ride even more attractive compared to flying. Also, it is much more eco friendly! 💪

Overall, the train ride was a little bit shaky from time to time but nothing compared to turbulence on an aircraft. Much more comparable to a baby crib that is gently rocked sideways. Combined with the clacking of the railway tracks it was kind of meditative in a way. 😌

We absolutely loved it and would definitely do it again! Only downside: The lights are never turned off. So, we where extremely happy to have brought sleeping masks! :-)

At 7:15 am we arrive in Chiang Mai fairly well rested.

Time for the next chapter! 🤩Read more