Taking the Night Train from Bangkok to Surat Thani

After we had spent about one week in Bangkok, we longed for the island life in the south of Thailand. The prospect of sunny beaches and the warm ocean of the golf of Thailand was very alluring and our first destination was the Island of Koh Phangan. In order to get to Koh Phangan we had to travel more than 650 kilometers down to the coastal town of Surat Thani. From there, we would be taking the Lompraya Ferry out to the islands. Phew! That was gonna be a loooong way to go.

Since we weren't really keen on sacrificing a whole travel day, we decided to take the Night train down to the South. Everybody like the idea to sleep on the train and wake up in the morning when we would be just about to be arriving in Surat Thani. After all we were 4 people travelling and all decisions were made democratically. 

At 8pm our train left Bangkok.

When we first got on the train, we accidentally sat down on the wrong seats. We hadn't really checked our tickets very thoroughly. Our actual seats were in First Class including air condition, however we sat down in Second Class which only had a fan. It was soooo hot and humid, I wondered whether I would be able to sleep at all. It really is extraordinarly hot in Thailand during may and june. When the passengers arrived who had actually booked the seats we were sitting on, we noticed our mistake^^. Believe me, I was soooo relieved once I was in the wonderfully cool AC air! 

So, First Class and AC! Sounds good? Well, First Class in Thailand is something entirely different than First Class in Europe. Naturely we were prepared for the cultural shock but it still kind of hit us. It does take more than five days to adjust to the ways of Southeast Asia. When we took the Night train for a second time at the end of our trip, we were much better acclimatized than the first time. We actually enjoyed the ride. 
First Class on the Night train isn't really any bigger than Second Class, but it has some advantages still. First of all, there is of course our beloved Air Condition. Second of all, in First Class your seat can be transformed into a small bed at night, while second class passengers have to sleep sitting up. I can't even sleep on a plane, I would not have been able to sleep on that train like that for sure.

Another First Class advantage is the "bathroom". Bathroom in quotation marks because it mainly consits of a very charming metal outhouse, two metal sinks and a very old mirror. But nonetheless it was nice to even have the possibility of brushing your teeth and freshen up a little bit.

Soon after the train had left Bangkok the conductor handed us a dinner menu. Dinner is not included in the price of the ticket but that doesn't really matter because it is as cheap as anywhere on the streets of Bangkok. And it was good too. 

When it was time to go to sleep, the conductor made our beds. Each bed had a thin mattress, bedsheets, a pillow and a thin blanket. I have to admit it was more comfortable than I thought. Depending on the Seat number you have, you get either the lower bed or the bunk bed above it. Everyone wants to get the lower bed because you have more room and of course you have the big window. But when we booked our tickets, we were already very late and all the lower beds had been booked, so we had to take the bunk beds. Every bed also has a curtain that you can shut during the night to have some privacy.

I listened to Music for a long time before I really fell asleep. The train ride isn't smooth at all, it's very bumpy but I think the rocking of the train actually helped me fall asleep in the end. 

As the conductor told us we would be arriving in Surat Thani the following morning at about 6am, we set our alarm clocks. When I woke up at about 5:30am I realized that I had a surprisingly good night. The conductor was nice enough to tell us exactly when we had to get off the train. We were still sleepy and every station we passed looked the same, so that was very helpful of him. The staff on the train are in general really nice.

Going by night train was a really good idea for us. We weren't half as worn out from travelling as we would have been if we had travelled during the day. I would definitely recommend it to any traveller who doesn't want to loose a whole vacation day travelling a long distance. Of course you can also cover long distances by plane but the experience of spending the night on a train in Thailand is quite unique and I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.