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Just from the window of the world! Take a sleeper train to Phrae province in northern Thailand
“I wanted to ride an overseas sleeper train once!”
Hello, this is Macchan.
Do you know the program ``From the Window of the World''? It's actually a 5-minute program that connects programs, but each episode gives you a glimpse of local train journeys around the world, making you feel like you're actually traveling to that place by train. It's a program, isn't it? Kenjiro Ishimaru's narration is also wonderful.
Your voice is soothing. Come to think of it, I haven't seen you on TV lately, Ishimaru-san.
How is he? This time on my trip to Thailand, I had planned to go to Phrae Province in the north, but perhaps inspired by Seeing the World Through the Window, I decided to take the overnight train to Phrae Province.
I have never used a sleeper train in Japan, so this trip to Thailand was my first time on a sleeper train.
Oh, I'm so excited!
Tickets for the Thai National Railways sleeper train that I used this time can be purchased online from Japan.
This article introduces how to purchase. ↓
table of contents
Overview of this train trip
The purpose of this sleeper train trip was to travel from Bangkok to Deen Chai Station, the closest station to Phrae Province in the north.
We plan to travel from Den Chai Station to Phrae Province by songthaew or taxi. Well, I guess it'll work out somehow. The straight line distance to Denchai is 420km, and the travel distance is just over 500km.
Here's your ticket.
If you make a reservation in advance online, you can download it as a PDF, so print it out and bring it with you.
It will depart from Bangkok's Hua Lamphong Station at 22:00 and arrive at its destination, Denchai, at 07:17 the next morning.
It's about 9 and a half hours. This way, you will be able to get enough sleep without any problems. The train I booked this time is a 2nd class train.
The cost is around 670 baht (2000 yen) per person. Instead of a private room, you can choose between the upper and lower bunk beds. Train classes and systems are summarized in this article ↓
Click here for how to reserve tickets ↓
Let's go! Departing from Hua Lamphong Station at night
The departure point is Bangkok's National Railway Hua Lamphong Station.
There are no showers on the train, so I was enjoying a public bath at Yunomori Onsen that day, but various things took longer than I expected and I arrived at Hua Lamphong Station at the last minute. On the way, I had some sad thoughts running through my head, like how I might not make it in time and what would happen if I canceled the hotel for the play, but I was relieved that I was able to arrive safely. .
Hua Lamphong Station is lit up at night and shines beautifully.
It's like Disneyland at night.
The front entrance seems to be closed at night, and the man in charge asks him to go around from the other side.
I was nervous for a moment because I couldn't enter, but I was able to take a detour and enter.
The signboard says "Bangkok (Krung Thep)".
The train we will be riding on is already on standby.
Seeing the real thing definitely makes me excited! The car body is painted in Thailand's colors of purple and yellow, and the contrast is really cute. I'm not usually very interested in trains, but I felt like I could understand a little bit of the romance of ``shooting trains.''
This train is bound for Chiang Mai.
You can go to Chiang Mai by riding for another 2 hours from Den Chai. Well, the scheduled time arrived at 22:00 and the sleeper train started moving exactly on time. The train journey takes about 9 hours. I truly felt that it was a great experience for me to be able to be so excited even as an adult.
What is it like inside a sleeper train?
"Let's go!"
Well, the train started moving safely.
This time I was riding with his wife. It holds down the top and bottom of the bunk bed. If you look around, you'll see a pretty good occupancy rate.
There seemed to be a lot of foreigners on board, and there were almost no empty beds. This is what the bottom bunk bed looks like.
It's a little small, but if you try hard enough, two adults can sleep next to each other. There are hooks to hang bags, but unfortunately there were no shelves or stands to put drinks etc. I gingerly decided to have a drink while placing my beer in the narrow space of the window sill.
On the other hand, the upper row is a little narrower both vertically and horizontally than the lower row. As a result, the fare is slightly cheaper. It might be a little tough for big foreigners.
Also, although this was as expected, the air conditioning was still a bit cold.
There are thin towel blankets, but I think it will feel quite cold if you wear short sleeves. I had prepared a top and bottom with long sleeves and long pants, knowing that this would be a lot of luggage, but she was having a hard time without them. (Incidentally, I still caught a cold the next day.) If you are on the train, please bring long-sleeved sweatshirts for both your top and bottom.
Is there a toilet?
A toilet and a simple wash basin were located at the front of each vehicle. As you can imagine, it's not that pretty. There is also running water, so you can brush your teeth in the car.
Also, there are no carts for selling merchandise like on the Japanese Shinkansen.
However, sometimes, I don't know if it's official or unofficial, but the sales lady will come and sell juice and sweets while chanting "chip chip chip~". "What are chips?" Do you mean potato chips?
If you're hungry, please buy some.
There is no such thing as turning off the lights, and the lights inside the car are never turned off for reasons such as crime prevention.
You can block out light by closing the curtains next to each bed. The date has changed and I'm feeling depressed, so I decided to go to bed. Good night Bangkok.
Arrived safely at Denchai
"good morning..."
I woke up about 30 minutes before the scheduled time.
I didn't get a good night's sleep, but I was able to sleep without any problems. It's getting bright outside and the countryside stretches out as far as the eye can see.
We arrived at Den Chai station almost on time. A staff member was kind enough to say, ``It's time to eat.''
We arrived safely at Den Chai.
As I had researched in advance, it was a place where there didn't seem to be anything around.
Now, I was wandering around thinking about how to go play.
Her uncle called out to her. ``Hey, I guess we're going to play,
so let's get in.'' ``Okay, but I'll take a moment to use the restroom.'' `
`Okay, let's get in, we can go later.'' Apparently it was the songthaew's uncle.
Not knowing what to expect, she got on the songthaew and left Deen Chai Station in about 5 minutes.
Bye Bye Chai.
By the way, the purpose of this sleeper train trip was to experience indigo dyeing in Phrae Prefecture, the town of indigo dyeing. The following article summarizes the indigo dyeing experience in Phrae Prefecture. Please take a look as well.
summary
Traveling on a sleeper train in Thailand, I had the feeling of seeing the world from the train window.
In a faraway land, you spend the night in the same vehicle with people you don't speak the same language with. You should experience something like this at least once in your life. Now, here is a summary of the important points to keep in mind when riding Thailand's sleeper trains.
- It's cold inside the train, so bring a top and bottom with long sleeves.
- There is a sink so you can brush your teeth
- Tickets should be printed in advance and brought with you.
- Departs on time, so arrive with plenty of time to spare.
I would be happy if this article sparked your interest in traveling by sleeper train in Thailand.
I would appreciate it if you could share it if you found it helpful.
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