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[VW]

Went to Thailand last year for a great trip up north from Bangkok to Chiangmai (the second largest city in Thailand). We took the train and that's definately a good ride. I was not so lucky because I slept under the lights for our compartment, so it was like having to go to sleep around daytime and having the sun in your face. Despite this, it was ver nice. Starting in Bangkok you leave the city at the end of the afternoon/beginning of the evening, so still daylight. The train goes through the parts of town you normally would not get: people living litterally 1 meter from the railtrack. after that you will notice that you leave the busy city. The day after in the morning you wake up and see a totally different landscape. At the station there are some people trying to sell you trips. We took a taxi to the hotel and this cabdriver had his own travelagency, so we met him the day after to go to an elephant reservation. Was a great experience. On the way back we passed by a nice park with lots of bridges over a small river with some waterfalls. Really nice. The city Chiang mai is much more relaxed than Bangkok, people are really more laid back. The town itself is worth a couple of days as well. rent a scooter or moped to explore the mountains nearby and enjoy the view (watch the traffic going out of the city, since there are only a few routes going out of the city, this is an 'adventure'.)

Have fun!!

Victor

[Beast]

Victor,
Can you tell me what's the best way to travel from Bang Kok to Chaing Main Plane or Train. How long does it take me by train, how are the trains in Thailand

[Victor]

Hi Beast,

Trains are worth the trip, we took the sleeper class, so you are sure that you have a bed and it was really fun! You can buy a couple of beers (Singha's) in the train. It will depend on the season how busy it will get, so better buy tickets 1 or 2 days in advance or even before you depart (assuming you will spend a couple of days in Bangkok and after that travel up North to Chiang Mai). By Train it takes about 12-14 hours (say from 1800 hrs till 7 or 8 in the morning), of which most of the time you can sleep if you want. What we did is take the train up there and fly back (we had to fly to the south, and flew via Bangkok anyway). Be aware of the many low cost airlines you have these days in especially the Thai area. So conncetion between Bangkok and Chiang Mai will be easy to buy a one way ticket (or return ticket).

Hope you have lots of fun!!

Victor

PS: don't let the tuktuk drivers fool you in Bangkok: they say it's closed but they know another place you will like.... We wanted to go to a mall, but the tuktuks near the hotel told us it was closed... we took another tuktuk and we got there: it was open (and there was the Thaiboxing game we wanted to see). That's also fun!

[Beast]

Hi Victor,

thanks a lot!!

Beast

[admin]

Hi Beast,

have a look at: http://www.asiatrotter.com/en/country/thailand/48

Webmaster