Getting the night train to Chiangmai from Bangkok

Emily

I’ll be completely honest, I’m not a fan of Bangkok. It has it’s moments but mostly I find it too busy and too alike the traffic congestion in London. It doesn’t really do Thailand justice. A few people may disagree with me and that’s fine, that’s just my personal opinion. 🙂

We stayed in Bangkok for three nights after flying over from Bali. As usual, I was very sad to be leaving Bali again. It’s one of my favourite places and wish I could of stayed longer. It was especially good this time because my Mum and her partner came out to meet us. We all had a great time and I really didn’t want it to end. We also didn’t have one single drop of rain!

We didn’t get up to much in Bangkok because it poured down with rain every day. Our ponchos definitely got a good rinse and unfortunately so did we, when we accidentally left them at our hotel. We went to the Paragon Mall cinema to watch IT and that’s all we got up to really. It was a great film and one I have been desperate to watch since it came out. For about £5 each we saw the film and had a bucket of popcorn to go with it. At home your looking at almost £20 just for the film ticket.

We weren’t really sure where our next destination was going to be after Bangkok. We had a few places in mind but in the end, we settled on getting the night train to Chiangmai. The last time I was in Thailand was two years ago and I was on a tour. So although I’ve done it all before, it was all arranged for me. I had to do a fair bit of googling of how’s and where’s before we bought our tickets. The easiest and most sensible way is just to go to the train station yourself and buy the ticket in advance. Also, take your passport with you. Buying the ticket was very quick and the staff at the train station speak fantastic english. I read online that a lot of people get tour companies to get their ticket which is fine if you don’t want to go to the station, but you will have to pay a commission fee. I like having the peace of mind of getting it myself… oh and saving a bit of money of course.

So we checked out of our hotel at 12 o’clock. Ate lunch, went to the gym, twiddled our thumbs and did a lot of mindless scrolling on social media. Finally 5 o’clock came around and we were getting in the taxi for the train station.

I like to be early especially when it comes to travel so we did arrive an hour and a half before we needed to. I would rather that than miss the train any day.

We boarded and found our seats really easily. About an hour after travelling the staff came around and prepared the beds. I got the top bunk and it was surprisingly comfortable. I don’t really sleep on the train, I cat nap. Every so often we’ll go across a really bumping area so you’re constantly being shaken awake. Also they keep the bright lights on all night. Next time I’ll bring a sleeping mask.

We now arrived in Chiangmai and settled into our guesthouse. After last nights napping I’m ready for a snooze. So that’s the plan for this afternoon then we will explore the city a little later on today.

Published by Emily

A strong love and passion for travel, dogs, coffee, dogs and motorbikes. Yes, I did say dogs twice.

26 Comments

  1. Beautiful post Emily and lovely pics of busy Bangkok…….I remember making a brief halt at Bankgkok en route to Hongkong couple of years back…..:)…..nice writing..

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Hi Emily,

    The train is always a fun experience. How are you able to take time to do these trips? Part of your work or walk about!?

    Gary

    On Sun, Sep 24, 2017 at 11:35 PM The Blog of Travel wrote:

    > Emily posted: “I’ll be completely honest, I’m not a fan of Bangkok. It has > it’s moments but mostly I find it too busy and too alike the traffic > congestion in London. It doesn’t really do Thailand justice. A few people > may disagree with me and that’s fine, that’s just my” >

    Like

    Reply

      1. That is so awesome. My oldest stepson John and his girlfriend have your adventurous planning. He is doing another 1 year stint at the Merdoc Station in Antarctica for a year, save up and travel through Australia. Go for your journey and we will pray for your safety. My wife and I are both teachers, but we would like to do more long-term traveling down the road. You inspire all of us.

        Like

        Reply

        1. Thank you Gary! I’m so happy to be reading this. Your support really means a lot to me and it’s very inspiring to continue me add more to my journey. If your step son and his girlfriend ever want any advice or tips please tell them to get in touch. I have a contact page on my site 🙂

          Like

    1. I’m going back there in two weeks, then after another two weeks I’ll be back again. Hopefully the weather will be a bit kinder to us and we can see them then 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Indeed! Bangkok is a very-busy metropolis and Thailand itself as nature offers a lot so it’s a great choice not wasting time in the capital. You should check both North and South of Thailand to get a complete overview. Enjoy your travel!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Hi, I am going to Bangkok and possibly Chiang Mai again in April, can I ask how long the train took and how much it was for the ticket? I hope the weather brightens up for you and you enjoy the rest of your trip!

    Like

    Reply

  13. Great post. I’m also planning to travel from Bangkok to Chiangmai soon and wasn’t too sure what the best way was and your article definitely helped me decide on taking a sleeper train, thanks!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment