Pattaya To Bkk's Central Railway Station

[triffid]

Is there a direct bus from pattaya to the bkk station (with trains to Chiang Mai)? Otherwize what is the best point in bangkok to change from bus to a cab? I need to arrive there well in time to catch the evening train.

What's a recommended agent in patttaya who will reserve/sell me a train ticket?

Any practical info would be much appreciated.

[ovenman]

If you are traveling on a weekday, you could always take the train from Pattaya (14:21) to Hualamphong (18:25) and then catch the Special Express at 19:35 to Chiang Mai.

Barring that, there is no direct bus from Pattaya to Hualamphong. The bus should terminate at the Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekkamai). You could take a cab from Ekkamai to Hualamphong. You could also hop on the BTS (skytrain) at Ekkamai, ride three stops, switch to the MRT (subway) and then ride the subway directly to Hualamphong.

No reason why you couldn't buy a train ticket to Chiang Mai at the Pattaya train station. For an additional fee, I'm sure that there are some travel agencies that can also handle a ticket purchase for you. In any event, don't put off procuring a ticket to Chiang Mai 'til the last minute as the sleepers tend to be fully booked.

[torrenova]

With overnight sleepers you seee nothing. Therefore, fly.

From Pattaya, get a cab to the train station if you are insistent on using the train. The train from Pattaya is rubbish.

[triffid]

I have the flexibility to travel on a wekday. But are train times reliable? The Hualomphong connexion is an hour, but still....I do things slowly, I'll have luggage and I like to have ample time. And I don't want to be forced to pass the night in Bangkok, lose that night's ticket, find the next night's train full, etc.

The Pattaya train journey being horrible - and a long 4 hours too - is daunting. Why is it so horrible? Is there a first class to mitigate this? Maybe the bus to Ekamai and a taxi from there is more practical after all.

Finally, I know that flying may be the simplest thing - especially with a direct bus to the airport - but I quite like travel by train and moreover there's the heavy luggage. (Why all this luggage? Well I'm returning after 2+ months in Europe.)

Does any one have experience and specifics on the conditions in the Pattaya train, and its punctality - or lack thereof?

[ovenman]

The Pattaya train journey being horrible - and a long 4 hours too - is daunting. Why is it so horrible? Is there a first class to mitigate this? Maybe the bus to Ekamai and a taxi from there is more practical after all.

The train is a basic third-class Thai passenger train. It's a 31 baht from Pattaya to Hualamphong. I wouldn't want to ride that train all the way to Chiang Mai, but I can suck it up for the journey from Pattaya to Bangkok.

The trains are usually relatively on time but sometimes they're not. There is not as much traffic on the eastern line as on some of the others, not as much potential for delays. A one hour connection time is a gamble that I would take.

As far as the four hour scheduled journey goes, last time I ventured to Pattaya, I used the Bell Bus from Suvarnabhumi. The journey took three plus hours due to road construction and heavy traffic. The trip would not have been any faster by taxi. Whatever you choose to do can be a bit of a crapshoot.