Why take three hours when you can take three days? We took the slow road/track so you don't have to!

Our journey from South to North Thailand went something like this:

• crazy taxi minibus to Krabi
  • 300 THB each
  • stopped at Krabi airport to drop-off all the other tourists
• local bus on local roads to Surat Thani
  • 150 THB each
  • back past Krabi airport and lots of stops on minor roads
• another crazy taxi minibus to Chumphon
  • 360 THB each
  • lots of stops, pick-ups and drop-offs
• ~£40 for all the buses for both of us
  • paid in cash
• train #168 overnight to Bangkok
  • air-conditioned sleeper
• train #7 all day to Chiang Mai
  • air-conditioned seats with meals
• ~£100 for all the trains for both of us
  • bought via 12Go Asia and picked up at Chumphon tourist office

Flights would have been about £120 for both, plus baggage value package (~£15), plus Krabi taxi (~15). That makes a total of ~£150, which (if you take into account the accommodation on the sleeper train) means we saved about £30, or £10 for each day of travel!

Chumphon

Our original plan had been to check out some of the East islands in the Gulf of Thailand such as Koh Tao but after spending time on some West islands we were beached and reefed out. So we decided to go from Surat Thani to Chumphon (pronounced chum-pon) by road instead of boat and pick up our plan from there.

Bus

I suspect that road is the most dangerous way to travel in Thailand, as it is in most parts of the world. The drivers are pretty speedy and not too keen on traffic rules.

The local bus was fine but it avoided the main roads and stopped a lot. The seats are a bit leathery and sweaty so bring a cushion (or a dry bag to inflate).

Train

The first train was about 9hrs and the second about 11hrs. End-to-end it’s about 22/23hrs so let’s just call it a whole day (from dusk to dusk). Although they didn’t stop at all the stations they did make many stops and were not quick services.

We picked up a Thai SIM for 300 THB with 8 days of unlimited data. There was pretty good LTE signal for most of the daytime journey. There may have been overnight too but we were mostly asleep.

There were a couple of patches of no signal (between Uttaradit and Ban Pin, and just before Chiang Mai in Doi Khun Tan NP) but fortunately these were the mountainous regions with the best scenery. You can also see interesting things on the plains though, such as huge solar farms. The internet access let us publish blog posts and also check the live train running web page, as information on the train consisted of the staff shouting.

There was a guy hawking coffee on board in the morning on the sleeper and a woman selling food at one of the later stations on the day trip (Lampang). You’re not allowed to drink alcohol on the Thai railways and you’ll need plenty of ways to pass the time.

5AM Saint

The night train was half an hour late leaving and an hour and a half late arriving. We were woken at 5am on Sunday morning and dawn broke before our arrival.

The attendants wanted us out of bed so that they could strip the bedding and turn the beds back into seats. The mattress was very thin and you could feel the seats below. It wasn’t a very comfortable night’s sleep.

Two Hours In Bangkok

…and the world’s your, cockle?

The Bangkok station toilets were filthy although you still pay the “attendant” 3 THB. There were no charging facilities either. Chumphon station was much better in both regards.

A new Bangkok station is opening in a few years and we saw it being constructed just outside the city. There are lots of new elevated (and maybe even electric) lines being built.

All Aboard The All Day Train

Our home for the day was a three car Diesel Multiple Unit (built by Daewoo in the 90s but with new CCTV cameras installed). It was a half hour late departing.

Some of the reclining seats were broken so they wouldn’t stay upright. There were a few power sockets dotted around for charging but only at the ends of the carriage.

Smoking is not allowed but this didn’t stop the staff in the cab from stinking out the car. Food and drink is provided and was not bad, although a bright yellow fish curry soup may not be the best choice for a bumpy ride.

Eco

Considering that the trains were all diesel and the buses used fossil fuels too, it’s hard to say if taking the train was better for the environment than flying. I suspect it is but you would have to do the sums to be sure.

There is lots of misleading info out there. For example, Sky Scanner have an Eco rating even though it’s relative to flights, which are all bad to start with. Also, GWR fudge their diesel fleet’s CO2 rating by using the national average, which is largely electric.

Spending all day in diesel vehicles can’t be good for your health. I suspect the air quality was not good as studies have shown the worst air can be inside.

Summary

Flying is clearly the quicker, easier, safer, healthier, cheaper (carry-on only) and more comfortable way to travel this route. However, it probably wouldn’t have been as interesting or as educational.