We travelled from Surat Thani to Bangkok earlier this month. We decided to experience the over night sleeper train. Here is a diary of how our night went.
Firstly, we booked online via 12goasia.com - remember you have to book more than 84hours before scheduled departure. They always charge an online fee but it will cost more going to a travel agency. It's a manual booking service so they get your online request and then book tickets manually. We requested a first class sleeper but it wasn't available so we got our second choice which was 2nd class air con. You pay the full amount then they refund you the difference - it says the refund is in cash but when we collected our tickets at Surat Thani Parcels office they had no idea about any cash refund. We contacted 12goasia who said that it was too much cash to send them to refund us so it is being processed as a refund to our account. We asked for email confirmation of this and it was sent immediately confirming the pending refund.
6.15pm -we get told to wait at Platform 1, but we are confused because there is a train at platform 2 and the next scheduled train departure is at 8.14pm???
6.30pm - We show another member of staff our ticket and he directs us to platform 2, checking with another two members of staff we confirm this is the right train. So be sure to double check with different staff members.
6.35pm - We board the train, booking an upper berth and lower berth at the same time means our seats are opposite each other, and therefor one above and the directly below. Perfect! The leather seats are very spacious and are really comfortable.
The luggage stands are between each two seats making it perfect to keep an eye on your luggage whilst traveling.
7pm - The train hasn't moved yet but there's a few noises (adding the other carriages). A lady comes around and gives us a Food menu. All items are set dishes with rice, fruit and fruit juice for 170-210baht, you can order a seafood set menu for two for 420baht. You can also order breakfast 100-150baht.
7.10pm - she comes back around to take orders, we decline because we want to explore the "restaurant cart" later on. The train is now moving.
7.25pm - A man comes around and ties the baggage to make sure it doesn't move. We've counted four guards walking down the aisles, our tickets have been checked. Not sure if we are going to be able to drink our Changs on here?! (There has been an alcohol ban on these trains for the last few years.)
8.00pm - The lady who took food orders earlier starts bringing people their food. Those people have their tables set out by the lady.
8.30pm - A man starts coming round and starts to set up the beds - you don't have to yet but most of the people in the carriage have, looks like we are in a quiet carriage. We agree and decide to walk down to the restaurant. All linen is clean, you have a pillow, fitted white sheet and a blanket.
9.30pm - After requesting some changes with ingredients on the set menu successfully with the Thai lady we've eaten and paid our Bill of 340baht. The restaurant is small and all the windows are open so it's very loud from the train. It's hard walking back it's about five carriages until we reach ours and people have started sleeping anyway in the third classes. The train also stops at this point and picks a lot of people up, no clue where we are!
10pm - We both sit/lay in the bed on the lower berth and play cards for a bit, it's private and both berths have curtains.
10.30pm - I retire to the upper berth using the ladder and it is quite easy to get into bed. The upper berth is A LOT smaller than the lower berth even for little 5ft4 me, although there's plenty of room to stretch out.
0530am - I wake and it sounds like the train is making some stops. I can hear a woman calling "tea, coffee, milo"
0600am - a lot of movement, I open my curtain and the lady is there asking for hot drinks, I order a coffee for 40baht. The man who put the beds together last night then puts our beds back into seats.
0700am - train stops at Hua Lamphong train station, Bangkok.
TIPS
1. Let the lady with the food menu take your food order for the evening meal to have at your seat. The restaurants nothing special and can be far away to where your allocated seats are and its Nicer to sit in your seat especially if you have 1st or 2nd class.
2. If there are two of you and you want to be together make sure you book an upper and a lower berth! Note difference in price: for this time and the 2nd class AC sleeper it was 768baht for lower berth and 698baht for the upper berth, booking fee is 650baht, but you would pay more going into a travel agency.
3. You will find Western toilets onboard look for them, toilet roll provided. Hand wash at sink.
4. If you can't sleep with the light on then you must book a lower berth. An upper berth despite the curtain you can see the light brightening up the hallway - these don't turn off! Take an eye mask for the light and ear plugs for sure because you can hear people snoring.
5. Don't order breakfast. The food is basic, you'll be off the train early and unless you've booked early check in (You can request early check in when booking your hotel HERE and HERE), its probably worth going to sit somewhere for breakfast after you've got off the train. It will more than likely be cheaper too. There are places in the train station that will be open at this time.
6. There is lots of security onboard, it felt quite safe and we didn't have any of our belongings stolen. We did however keep our cash, phone on us at all times for peace of mind.
7. Make sure your electronics are fully charged and you've charged any spare batteries that you will need - there are plug sockets onboard but it's hit and miss whether there will be one near you and it's likely they are already being used.
8. Alcohol is not served on here due to an incident a few years ago. We brought beer on but didn't feel comfortable drinking it. It's possible in first class, it is more private.
9. This is a perfect way to travel, saving you money off accommodation for the night and getting from A to B.
10. Note you can only collect your train tickets on the day of departure so make sure you are aware of the times they are open. To collect tickets in Surat Thani we were aware that the parcels office (the allocated collection point in ST) was open 24hours. Make no mistake they aren't all open 24 hours! They aren't all in train station as well. Double check!
11. If you want to spend less opt for 2nd class sleeper with a fan, it's cheaper and a lot of people told us it was great, a couple actually said they walked into the Aircon cabin and they thought it was too cold.
I hope this helps and if it did, please share it with your friends or other people you think may benefit from the blog.
Happy travels
Jade
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