Train Travel in Thailand
 

Starting in Singapore I am travelling with quite a lot of flying and ferries in Thailand and Cambodia. Before Cambodia we will be taking a few days beach/diving on the island Koh Tao. I would like to get to Bangkok from there and thought a train journey would be a great way to see some more of Thailand. If I ferry to Sunat Thani and get the day train to Bangkok is there anyone who can confirm this is a worthwhile journey or should I do the sleeper. Not too concerned about time, just whether the journey is nice visually. Or forget the train and take a plane!

I don't think it will be particluarly scenic, the area to the south wasn't. I'd take the eight o'clock night train. Second class sleepers on Thai trains are good, the berths are parallel to side of the train with curtains so you get privacy. Do not try third class!

I agree with Thursdaysd's comments. Having done that trip a couple of times day and night, I would get the night train? There really isn't that much to see.

Second class is better from a sleep point of view as the berths are parallel, in first you get a private compartment but the beds are across the carriage which makes sleep difficult with the rocking and rolling ( at least it does for me!).

Take food as the stuff served on board is below average in quality and above in price. Watch your bags.
www.seat61.com has good info

If you are going from Bangkok to Cambodia, you could have a look at doing it by train.

There's a daily 0555 train from Bangkok [Hualamphong] to Aranyapraphet. 3rd Class only, takes about 6 hours, costs 48 baht, and is a truly authentic and atmospheric Thai experience.

Full details, and onward travel options across the border at Poipet are in the link posted by Crellston.

Yes, but has that border crossing been cleaned up?

Has it been cleaned up? I hope so but I doubt it!

https://www.travelfish.org/location/.../aranyaprathet

The train is, as LL says, truly authentic. i.e. 6 hours on hard wooden benches with no air on. Great fun though and a chance to chat with the local Thai people.

Unless it has changed radically in the last few years, that crossing is not for the nervous or unwary. Rip offs and scams are everywhere on both sides of the border, the Cambodian immigration guys being by far the worst. Our actually ripped up our completed paperwork in front of us because I refused to pay his "fee".

All the seats aren't hard wooden ones. If you get the train at Hualamphong, or Aranyapraphet coming the other way, then you'll be getting on at a terminus and basically have the pick of any carriage you want. All are clean, have loads of fans, and some have soft seats. We sat in the rear carriage with the monks.

Hundreds of tourists cross the border at Poipet ever day, and those that have done their homework properly achieve their goal with the minimum of fuss. We completely ignored anyone offering help or advice, and breezed through in less than 45 minutes.

We even had a couple of nights in Aranyapraphet. Nobody stops there because everyone is in too much of a rush. We enjoyed it.

Some excellent reading and tips about the Poipet border crossing in this Wikitravel link...

http://wikitravel.org/en/Poipet

I did it the other direction, but I took a government bus from the border to Bangkok. Faster and more comfortable.

But a bus ride is simply yet another bus ride. Can you walk up and down the bus? You can on Thai trains. Are there colourful vendors flogging food, drink and goodness knows what else wandering up and down a bus? There are on Thai train.

Thai trains chug along merrily, the scenery passes by slowly and peacefully. Thai buses scream along, the horn is in constant use, if you're unlucky you have to suffer some awful music, and if you sit too close to the driver you'll be able to enjoy all those near misses caused by other road users of all shapes and sizez coming from all diections.

I have ridden in third class on a Thai train. Overnight, even. I have no intention of spending six hours doing it again if I have a choice. Nor, given the climate in Thailand, will I voluntarily travel for six hours without AC.

You don't need A/C on a train if the windows are open and the fans are working. Air will automatically be pumped through as the train trundles along, and aided by the fans it's quite pleasant.

Anyway I'm trying to paint a picture for the OP, and not for someone who clearly doesn't fancy the train experience [again].

This is the direct link on the Seat61 website...

http://www.seat61.com/Cambodia.htm#.V0XdY3prkv4

...just scroll down a little to Bangkok> to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, and all the details are clear and simple to follow.

It's definitely a bit of an adventure and a [minor] challenge. Not for everyone perhaps, but many people follow that route every day without any mishap or regrets.

Moving the air around is of minimal help when the air in question is <b>HUMID</b>. I live with heat and humidity in the summer, I am no longer willing to put up with much of it when I travel.

Okay you win. I hate that word 'humid'. Currenty roasting and melting here in Nicaragua.

What about a trip report LL? Central America is high on our list for next year. Would be interested to learn of your experiences..

Crellston. The Fodor Central America forum doesn't seem to attract many punters so I doubt that I'll bother.

But I'll be posting a few threads on different aspects of our trip on the TA Nicaragua forum. My user mane is The_Giant_Axe.

I posted a thread as a cautionary tale this morning, as I stupidly allowed us to get seen off with a taxi fare this morning from a down town bus station in Managua to our airport hotel for our final night.

We've enjoyed our trip, but as budget travellers we didn't really think much of the accommodation choices in our price bracket, and getting a/c ran out at an extra US$10 a night.

We've been travelling round on chicken buses [old American Blue Bird school bues mainly]. Uncomfortable, usually crowded, but very cheap and all part of the Nica experience.

It's also been constantly v.v.hot and we've melted with the oppressive humidity.

But the beer is ice-cold and cheap @ c£1.25 for a litre bottle of very refreshing lager.

Apologies to the OP for going off-topic.

Well... that was interesting!! Just come back to check it all out and not sure I quite know what is best now. But thanks to one and all mainly LL and Thursdaysd