World Travels - Trains Across Thailand - My (Sort of) Epic Adventure Through All of Thailand
Up until a few days ago, I had never been on a train.
I've flown tens of thousands of miles in total across the earth.
My trip to Thailand took me all the way across the US from NY, over the Pacific, to Taipei, and then to Bangkok, back in March.
Definitely had my share of bus rides in multiple countries
One trip totaled 38.5 hours to Vancouver, BC from Cali, up the Pacific Northwest. What a gorgeous trip, I wish I had taken photos.
Cross country driving is something I'm no stranger to either.
I've done the US 4 times in total - twice in a car that was converted into a show vehicle (my 2013 Scion FR-S) and then twice in my 2014 Subaru WRX STI. Some wild times in those cars and breathtaking views, I highly recommend doing a cross country trip if you never have.
For the car enthusiasts here, here are a few shots of my old FR-S - I miss drifting this beauty.
A life-changing scuba diving tri, massive ferries to Cozumel from mainland Mexico, boats on Lake Mead in Vegas going fishing and island hopping, adventuring out on whale watches in the Northeast US - I've done a fair amount of water travel too.
(I don't have my own epic dive shots but credit to Trip Advisor for the shot!
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But trains? I hadn't knocked that sucker off the list quite yet.
I'm currently writing this while laying in my sleeper cabin. Not too shabby.
My time in Thailand is nearly up - I have 7 days left on my stamp in, and I've already done 2 border runs and my 1 extension - so it's definitely time to go. Throw in the events of the past few weeks, and yeah, I'm ready to get out of here.
Almost 4 months here - wow. Time has surely flown by. Started out in Bangkok at the end of March, stayed for a month, went to Chiang Mai for 2.5 months, and then shot back to Bangkok about 5 days ago.
In the blink of an eye, it's already over. I should have done more while I was here. So I turned to my trusty journal to mull over some thoughts.
My first train ride was AWFUL - I booked the cheapest ticket possible since I had almost nothing to my name after the hospital BS.
So this "farang" got the old train, with the old style gray benches. Windows for ventilation and cooling, no fan, no A/C.
You could smoke on the train ride on the train car connection spots - that was interesting. Hanging off the side of the train while it was going full speed - I had a blast.
Then I fell asleep.
I was abruptly woken when the train decided to come to a halt suddenly - it slammed to a stop and threw me from my bench into the aisle while I was still asleep.
Woken up by slamming my shoulder into the aisle and everyone just sort of staring at me, haha. Total farang style - classy.
So I decided that after that extremely uncomfortable 16-hour trip, that the next trip, I'd book a better ticket.
I didn't have much money, but fortunately, a sleeper cabin in 2nd class only cost about $32 USD from Bangkok all the way to Hat Yai.
18 hour trip with top-notch service for $32USD, in a sleeper cabin? Feel like I scored a hell of a deal there.
The lady in the cabin next to me also graciously gave me a pad thai meal - she bought two and wanted to bring me one. I love Thai people - most are so kind.
This dude across from me was also pretty chill!
The train also stops at certain intervals and some hawkers will come on and offer cheap food, gift items, and more. It's kind of neat, and I took advantage of that on my first train ride - spent about $1.50 for food on the entire ride :)
I'd say this is a much better way to travel across a country compared to a bus - it's slower, but can be way more comfortable, affordable, and give you some "focus time" if you need it. I'm using my time here to write and catch up on work - although my phone keeps losing signal and dropping my hotspot!
If you ever have the chance to take a train ride across a country, get a comfy sleeper cabin (if they offer it), kick back, relax, get some work done, and just enjoy the ride.
Stay classy, Steemians.
-Panda
https://CoinPanda.io
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HOLY COW! I've had terrible internet the past few days (in Penang, Malaysia) but this is HUGE! Thank you so much! I truly appreciate that!
Wow this is amazing! I hope youll have the best of time over there:) Thailand is so beautiful and incredibly cheap compared to where I live! Oh and theres someone in my appartment building who owns the bad boy in which you were drifting with;) thanks for sharing your travel diary xoxoxox
Thanks so much! I appreciate that :) Thailand was very affordable and absolutely beautiful, and so is Malaysia so far!
That's awesome - do they own the same color FR-S? I miss that thing :D
Awwww thats awesome, very happy to hear that!:) same color i swear!!!! Crazy stuff:P
Haha that's awesome! Steal that car if you can ;)
HAHAHAHAHA
Whoa... I am actually impressed you went through all this. I only flew to Thailand and never tried the train.
I took the train across Europe from Austria to Germany to Czech Republic; and then later between Netherlands and Belgium.
But no, I didn't even tried cross State train in Malaysia (I mean from Penang all the way to Singapore), although I might tempted to try that when I visit Singapore in the future. The ETS train from Ipoh to KL is my favourite, but there is no cabin, because you don't need it!
I love my travel adventures, what can I say!
Wow, that sounds like quite the adventure itself - I've never been anywhere in Europe, but I imagine that hitching a train across all those countries would be pretty amazing!
I'm considering taking a trip down to Singapore when my Malaysian stamp is due to expire, but probably only for a few days. Perhaps I should take the train - you've sparked another idea! Haha :)
Was the ride comparable with this beauty? 😀
$1.50 for your food sounds like a great deal.
Haha, the ride was so much better this time around :P
It was a REALLY good deal, too much of a deal and that's why I paid for it in pain hahaha.
Did the DC to Boston route on a train...twice. Eight hours of travel...well worth it. A cross country trip is definitely in the cards.
Definitely check out a cross-country trip dude - so worth it. I would definitely do it again with the addition of a camper/RV - that would be so sick to do!
The worst train I have ever been on was a sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan. The cabin was okay, apart from door creaked every bump and jolt, so all the time, but I can sleep through anything so not too bad, but it was definitely better to hold on than visit the toilet!
LOL yeah I can relate to the toilet thing - definitely wasn't fun on the first train, although the 2nd train (sleeper) was good in that regard!
Thanks for showing some love, and sorry it took me so long to reply - internet has been crappy so far :/ Just made it to Kuala Lumpur though so it's gotten better now!
Glad to know you are ok.
Thank you <3 Glad to have your support!