Overnight sleeper train: Bangkok to Surat Thani

Just after Songkran, we took an overnight sleeper train to the south of Thailand, form Bangkok to Surat Thani, a big transport hub. It wasn’t our first overnight train and definitely not the last – we love trains! So we want to share this with those who are planning their Thai train trips.

The best option is to book seats on a 2^nd class sleeper train (fan) at Hua Lamphong train station, roughly two weeks ahead of your trip. South of Thailand has many popular destinations, so tickets do sell out. This time the lady at the counter offered me a joint ticket consisting of a train to Surat Thani and bus service to Krabi, and back. I agreed, but was later disappointed as upon our return from Krabi the transfer service had some organisational issues, as the bus company wasn’t informed that they had to transfer us from Surat Thani bus station to the train station. So next time we will just book the joint ticket one-way, as it’s generally organised, and it costs roughly the same as it would if you did all the legs on your own (which is more fun and adventurous if you have time).

We go to the station with at least an hour to spare. We’re kind of cautious now as I’ve seen public transport leave slightly ahead of schedule. Nobody would be bothered if the train left a bit early, so keep that in mind. Both at the station and inside the train felt like there was some government campaign going on – there were yellow posters reading ‘NO ALCOHOL ON THE TRAIN’. You can find videos on Youtube of young westerners partying on a night train and drinking excessively, but that’s history now.

I suppose once you close your curtain for the night you could have a sneaky beer or something, but you can only fit two people comfortably in the sleeper seat, plus there are train guards patrolling throughout the night. Actually I thought of booking just a lower bunk-bed because Auste and I both fit in that one bed alright, including our two 30+ litre Ospreys! And we’re not even that skinny. Well, sort of. But I just can’t picture myself trying to explain this sort of arrangement to the ticket officer. Well, even with two tickets, we both sleep in that one bed anyway. In general, the train is very organised, and they have shower cabins, squat toilets (with toilet paper!), sinks, bins, and some trains even have women-only carriages as there have been some accidents in the past.

The tickets cost us 500 for the upper bed and 550 for the lower bed. That is for the fan carriage, not air-con. We have travelled in air-con trains before and they turn too damn cold, where the blanket which they provide isn’t enough and you can’t go back to sleep for the rest of the night. The fan-carriages are really warm, and the fans are actually useless apart from their monotonous hypnotising noise that they make. A few hours into the ride though you get a nice breeze through the window.

The lower bed is more expensive because you can open the window for some air, but it does let a few mosquitos in. You’re still actually sweating for the first half of the night, because the train is extremely slow and keeps stopping every two minutes to give way to faster trains. Those, by the way, scare the hell out of me even when I’m sleeping, as they fly-by at the speed of light and it feels as if it’s going to hit the old rusty sleeper. Half-way through the journey it gets cooler and you need to use the blanket.

The upper bed has no window, you can smell the fumes, and you see the light all night, and you are closer to the noisy fan, and you feel more motion, and there’s less leg room – that is why we both sleep in the lower bed. It isn’t as comfortable, but it’s better than the upper bunk, at least for me. Regardless of where you sleep, in the morning your nose will be blocked and full of dark substance.

The staff usually start making the beds almost as soon as the train starts moving at around 8 PM. They tend to be pretty frustrated and rude, but they have to make a lot of beds! You can also buy (overpriced and not really fresh clingfilm-wrapped) food from the restaurant, and staff distribute the menus throughout the train. They also come round in the morning offering coffee. It’s a shame they don’t let hawkers into 1^st and 2^nd class carriages, as they usually have interesting foods for sale. When we travel 3^rd class, it’s different though, where hawkers jump on at one stop while the train is moving, jump off at another, just trying to sell their dishes.

I see overnight train travel as a good alternative to taking a van with a crazy driver, or flying (which works out roughly twice more expensive). I love train travel – you see good sights, save on accommodation, and it’s fun, it’s kind of romantic and has some glamour to it. Sometimes the trains can be on time, sometimes a bit late, and sometimes very late. And by very late I mean 4 hours, so don’t plan any other connections straight after the scheduled arrival time.

Our train travel inspiration comes from http://seat61.com/

Kind of up-to-date and accurate prices, routes, and times at http://thairailways.com/