Disclaimer: This review is going to sound whiny and entitled, but I hadn’t read about any of this stuff prior to my trip and wanted to write a review detailing what I experienced to provide a contrast to the glowing reviews I read elsewhere about this overnight train. Before I get real negative, all of the staff on the train except the person mentioned below was very kind and professional, and the quality of the train itself was great. It was very clean, well lit, and stuck to the published schedule. Now on to the bad.
This experience had the potential to be very interesting and memorable (in a good way), but the rude dining staff and less than ideal sleeping conditions marred my group’s enjoyment of what we had read was a must-do in Thailand. We had read all over the internet that Thailand’s trains had hot water stations available for those customers wishing to bring their own food aboard (e.g., instant noodles from the 7-Eleven across the street from the train station in Bangkok) and avoid the overpriced dining car option, and while this was technically true, we were told multiple times that hot water was either not available outright or that we would have to buy the hot water. We went to the dining car to see for ourselves, and lo and behold there was a hot water dispenser behind the lady running the cash register. When we asked if we could have some hot water, she rudely shook her head immediately and starting speaking something in Thai while not even looking at us. We stood there confused at the clear availability of the hot water in front of us and what this woman was saying with her body language (we don’t speak Thai), when finally another employee walked up and more politely said that they could sell us some cold water bottles to make up for the lost sale of giving us hot water. We agreed, paid 60 baht to get hot water poured into our noodle cups, took our 3 purchased water bottles and went back to our cabin. To be clear, I’m not protesting them making us buy the water. I’m more frustrated at the unclear messaging provided by the internet and the train’s own staff, along with the attitude of one of the employees we talked to.
The second reason for this review is the condition of the sleeping cabins. While very clean, relatively spacious, and secure, sleeping came very hard for all of us. This may come down to the fact that my group was towards the front of the car and right above the wheels, but we felt and heard every bump and imperfection in the track below us. At times it sounded like we were in the middle of a heavy metal concert with rapid thumps and bumps every few seconds. Putting in ear plugs didn’t help at all either. Perhaps a pair of noise cancelling headphones would have helped, but we didn’t have any to test. So beware, if you are a light sleeper this overnight train is probably not going to be very kind to you when it comes time to actually sleep.
Myself and my family travel from Bangkok to Chengmai in the First Class Cabin. THE SERVICE IS HORRIBLE, staff attitude is the worst and they even accused our family of spilling their bed. And also told us there is a CCTV IN THE CABIN. We are so shock with all this incident. We will never recommend this train trip to anyone. WORST EVER.
This TRAIN OFFICER in the picture is the worst and with his female colleague who told us there is a CCTV in the cabin.
Excellent service from 12go.asia!! Easy to manage website, friendly staff at the pick up office opposite the station. Easy to read monitors at station help you get on the right train. Have a few baht handy to give to the station toilet attendant before you board or wait until you get on & use their very clean toilet facilities.
The train trip was well organised & the service team on board were excellent. No surprise that the beds were not great but I certainly got many hours sleep before waking up to the hills of Chiang Mai.
An all together great experience.
The Orient Express in all its ancient glory was being stocked for the voyage to Singapore with twenty carriages, half of them sleepers the other half restaurants. The journey to the Malaysian border takes 18 hours, trains are new and fast over there, but this historical train will be crawling on some old route. The whole station with payphones, Information for foreigners-signs and locals sitting on the floor while waiting for their departure is a nostalgic reminder of the past.
This is a large station set in what appears to be an old aircraft hanger. Whilst you are waiting for your train, there’s plenty of food/coffee shops inside and if there’s no seats left in the middle area, you can find your way upstairs to Black Canyon Coffee where the price of a coffee, or bottle of water, might be able to get you a seat away from the hustle and bustle.
The railway police office is in the main station and there appears to be security around, however, any place where there’s a large gathering of people (mainly tourists) who are able to afford the 2,000 baht for a train, I would be aware of the opportunist thief lurking around.
Bright information boards detail the times of your train and what platform to get on. Be sure to sit somewhere where you can see this board to make sure you don’t miss your train.
