OKAY This is it. Final Thailand blog post. I wanted to make this a separate post in case anyone out in the internet world was looking for advice on travel transportation in Thailand. And of course in case you faithful readers just wanted more of my lovely prose.
Prior to arriving in Thailand, Amber and I had already booked a domestic flight from nearby Koh Tao to Bangkok so that we could maximize out time on the island and simply arrive in the same airport we'd be leaving to Korea on. The rest of the bookings we did our first day in Bangkok. We needed transport from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Chiang mai to Bangkok (we dropped Adri off and spent the day around the train station. Didn't get a blog post cause no much happened). And finally Bangkok to Koh Tao. We wanted to book a sleeper overnight train for our journeys, but this was all booked up between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. So we ended up booking first an overnight bus to Chiang Mai, then an overnight sitting train back to Bangkok, and finally the sleeper train and a ferry to Koh Tao.
1. Overnight bus with a/c. Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
We took an overnight coach bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. All advice we had read online suggested to avoid buses, so we were very apprehensive when we learned the trains were all booked up. Our apprehension grew when the people who came to take us to the bus were school children. Luckily, our worries were all for nothing. The bus was barely half full, so we had plenty of room to spread around. Each seat reclined almost all the way down. The bus even played 2 movies for us: the new Spiderman and Enemy of the State. They even provided us blankets because it got quite chilly in the a/c. The bathroom was a throne seat, but nothing special. However, there was a restroom break so that we didn't really need to worry.
Travel time: 7:30pm - 5:15am (half an hour earlier than expected) just under 10 hours
Rating: 4/5 Cheap, easy, comfortable. The only flaw was upon arrival we were rushed and it was quite disorienting finding my stuff in the dark bus at 5am.
2. Overnight sitting train with fans. Chiang Mai to Bangkok
For our way back to Bangkok, there were still no sleeper train seats available, but there were sitting seats. We were unsure whether to pick a sitting seat on the train, or the bus. The travel agent recommended the train for it's view, and again all online literature we had found suggested the train over the bus. We decided to go for a sitting seat. We figured the view would be nice, and while they had fans instead of a/c, how hot could it be during the night?
We'd made a huge mistake.
I can assure you the sitting train was the closest thing to torture I have ever experienced. The seats were hard leather with what felt like metal poles running through the centers (aka right under our tail bones). They were small and the train was full, unlike the bus, so there were no double seats for most of the journey. They barely leaned back. My seat was especially fun because the seat cushion was broken and would slide out from under me.As we jostled along the ancient tracks, every bump reverberated through our spines. The train tracks were also LOUD. Banging and clicking and banging and somehow making the sounds of toenails being clipped. The air quickly began to go stale, despite open windows, and for some reason everyone with control over the fans (every 1/4 people) decided to turn the fans off. The air went from stale, to stagnant, to suffocating. Our bodies were covered in moist air slime. The lights were left on glaringly bright all night. In the slight chance I somehow managed to drift into any kind of sleep, the train would stop every single hour. The sudden extra lack of air circulation and change in momentum never failed to jerk me awake.
None of this even compares to the horror that was the "bathroom." Let's just leave it at that.
When the train got closer to Bangkok the hourly stops stopped. They were replaced by stops every 10 minutes. By this point it was later morning and the sun was beaming in and cooking our sad, broken bodies.
Travel time: 6 30pm - 10 30am. I don't even remember what the scheduled times were. The train took us 14 hours. Note this is 4 hours longer than the bus. How? WHy?!!?
Rating: do NOT do this to yourself.
3. Overnight sleeper train with a/c.
After pretty much almost dying on the sitting train, I was dreading this second train ride with all my being. Imagine my intense relief when it was amazing. We had ended up showering in the train station so we were no longer covered in heat slime. The sleeper train had very cozy sleeping compartments, with blankets, a/c, and a curtain to block out the lights. The moment my head hit the pillow I was out. It was like sleeping on a cloud compared to the previous night. The bathroom was even equipped with a throne toilet, toilet paper AND soap. I felt like royalty.
Travel time: 7 30pm - 5am. We were about half an hour late, but it worked out fine because the ferry to Koh Tao was only at 6am. Apparently though, the following ferry is in the afternoon, so it's a risky transfer since the train can be much later.
Rating: 4/5 - only lost a point due to the possibility of lateness.
4. Ferries
The ferries were big ol' boats. They moved over water. Sea sick people were all gross and sea sick. I enjoyed the ride. Our ferry to Koh Tao was early in the morning and had almost no waves, but our ferry back was so turbulent even I felt a little bit uncomfortable (I don't really get sea sick). Of course it could have been due to the people all around me vomiting into bags more than the actual waves. I love boats though so still had a good time.
Rating: Bring seasickness pills if you are prone.
5. Domestic flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok with Air Bangkok
This was one of the most magical flights of my life. The airport was amazingly swanky. It felt like a resort. It was gorgeous, had amazing shopping, and was mostly outdoors.Orchids were overflowing everywhere, and the landscaping was stunning. There was free WiFi and, get this, FREE FOOD at the terminal. When we got onto the plane were given even more food. It was worth every penny.
Rating: 10/5
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