The 13.5hr train ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
I remember the girl at the travel agency where I was staying to be very surprised that I decided to take a 12hr+ overnight train in 2nd class to Chiang Mai instead of flying in just over 2 hours. Flying would have costed 4x more, but considering the train ticket cost me about 15$, it still wasn't much.
I have to say that the train ride was 100% worth it! The train was noisy, lots of locals on board, it was extremely slow with lots of stops, and it was difficult sleeping. But what an experience!
First, I arrived 1.5hrs early at the train station. I was practically the only non-thai there. I then sat down beside a cute, young Thai girl (maybe 16-17 years old) who seemed fascinated in me. After a couple minutes, she put her arm beside mine to check the difference in skin color. I then offered her a piece of gum, she gladly accepted and made a big bow to me. First time I've seen someone do that to me. She literally spoke no english, but we understood each other that I was in a sleeper and that she probably wasn't (sleeper was quite a bit more expensive). Anyway, the train came and we parted ways, but this little moment was really wonderfull and really put the trip into positive perspective.
After a deplorable experience in Bangkok, I finally left with a very positive one.
On the train, I was bunking with dutch guy named Jan. We immediatly hit it off and practically spoke the entire train ride. He's spending 3 weeks in Thailand and wanted to see the north before heading off back south to the islands.
When we arrived at Chiang Mai, it wasn't with anticipation as the ride just flew by without noticing anything..
I have to say that the train ride was 100% worth it! The train was noisy, lots of locals on board, it was extremely slow with lots of stops, and it was difficult sleeping. But what an experience!
First, I arrived 1.5hrs early at the train station. I was practically the only non-thai there. I then sat down beside a cute, young Thai girl (maybe 16-17 years old) who seemed fascinated in me. After a couple minutes, she put her arm beside mine to check the difference in skin color. I then offered her a piece of gum, she gladly accepted and made a big bow to me. First time I've seen someone do that to me. She literally spoke no english, but we understood each other that I was in a sleeper and that she probably wasn't (sleeper was quite a bit more expensive). Anyway, the train came and we parted ways, but this little moment was really wonderfull and really put the trip into positive perspective.
After a deplorable experience in Bangkok, I finally left with a very positive one.
On the train, I was bunking with dutch guy named Jan. We immediatly hit it off and practically spoke the entire train ride. He's spending 3 weeks in Thailand and wanted to see the north before heading off back south to the islands.
When we arrived at Chiang Mai, it wasn't with anticipation as the ride just flew by without noticing anything..
posted by Benji99 at 8:24 AM
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