All aboard the sleeper train

On 20 December we moved down south to spend Christmas and New Year at the beach resort of Hua Hin.

As we have the luxury of time (and its more fun), we opted for a sleeper train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok which took 12 hours. Arriving on 21 December early morning we then took a 4 hour long morning train to our final destination.

I would highly recommend the newer Chinese sleeper train experience in second class. 

First comment to make is the train is very clean.  There are a team of cleaners sweeping and mopping the floor during the evening, collecting your rubbish and cleaning the toilets. 

There is no restaurant carriage open since Covid, but there is a caterer taking orders and delivering dinner to your table. We did buy a meal but it wasn't the best - now we know why the locals brought food on the train with them! 

When you board the train you sit in normal seats. A little too hard if you opt to take a day train. Around 8pm a guard comes through each carriage and transforms the seats and overhead drawer into a lower and upper berth bed. They put fresh linen on a mattress and pillowcase. And provide a clean blanket. I opted for the safe lower berth as I'm always up and down to the toilet in the night.

I wouldn't say I slept all night but it was as comfortable as it can be on a train hurtling down the tracks!

At 5am we were woken by the caterer selling coffee and the Guard put all our beds back into seats at 6am. It's a well oiled military operation!

After a very short 45 minute break in Bangkok Hua Lamphong Station (which will shut soon) 

- we boarded the final class train for the final journey to Hua Hin.

Within our train fare we got a coffee, water and an early lunch which I have to say was interesting.

#thailandtrains #chiangmai #bangkok