Sleeper Train

[truck]

Hello,

What is the difference between 1st and 2nd class beds on Thai trains? What are the beds like? Are there sheets? Pillow? How many people to a car / cabin? Is there music or movies? Is there smoking?

Thanks

[Goinghomesoon]

A 1st class sleeper Bangkok-Nong Khai is 2 to a room (one upper bunk, one lower) and each room has a small basin & water tap plus 2 bottles of drinking water. Some rooms have connecting doors that you can open if you have a group of 4 travelling together. The staff come around and make up your bed a couple of hours after you leave Bangkok. The beds fold down to make one long couch-style seat when you are not sleeping.

[sbk]

Second class sleeper is a bunk in the car, with bunks upper and lower along the length of each side of the car, closed off by curtains. Bathrooms on the end of the car. Sheets, blanket and pillow provided. There is second class fan and second class with air conditioning. Substantially cheaper than first I believe.

[Dave the Dude]

A 1st class sleeper Bangkok-Nong Khai is 2 to a room (one upper bunk, one lower) and each room has a small basin & water tap plus 2 bottles of drinking water. Some rooms have connecting doors that you can open if you have a group of 4 travelling together. The staff come around and make up your bed a couple of hours after you leave Bangkok. The beds fold down to make one long couch-style seat when you are not sleeping.

All good correct info plus...

They are all non smoking but people tend to congregate near to the toilets for a fag.

no movies or music(other than the wheels going round)

Beds comfortable and roomy. You get a sort of Towel/blanket and pillows when I traveled 1st class

You get staff walking around selling food&drinks frequently.

I thought it was a good way to travel and would do it again.

Good luck

Dave

[mickmac]

You may wish to go to this site:- http://www.seat61.com/ then click onto Thailand, it has photo's of the seats, rolling stock etc.

Cecco: looks like you posted in the wrong area!! That is unless Barack Obama has a Thai-railways brochure about his person.

[asanee]

actually th beds+sheets themselves are exactly the same in 1st and 2nd. !sat is more as twice the prifce of 2nd-and 2nd can also come as fan=no Air, cheaper. The main diff is that 1st is in 2-bed comaprtments (if youre single and if its full-youll have to share) and 2nd is shared anyway i-36 or 40 in the car along the aisles.

ONLY a very few trains have 1st-and thats always just 1 car out of 15/16 at the BKK=back end of the train. The NKhai train NOW dep at 20.00-and beds willbe made up anyway by then. not hours later.

[ovenman]

I've posted this previously but it bears repeating, there is not a lot of room for bags/luggage in the first class cabins and remember, it's likely you'll be sharing that cabin space with a fellow passenger if you are traveling solo.

[chrisyork]

Also note that air con cars have a diesel engine under the floor to power the A/C. For that reason I much prefer 2nd class fan with the added bonus that it's cheapest! Generally a very good class of people travel in sleepers and the attendents are very security concious, so minimal other people worries. The attendants on my line - BKK to NongKhai - distribute proper european breakfasts at only slightly ott prices in the morning which just puts the icing on the experience. For my money it's by far better than flying - all you achieve with a flight is wasting an afternoon getting to/around Suvarabhumi for the privilege of paying for an extra nights hotel!

Chris

[cecco]

You may wish to go to this site:- http://www.seat61.com/ then click onto Thailand, it has photo's of the seats, rolling stock etc.

Cecco: looks like you posted in the wrong area!! That is unless Barack Obama has a Thai-railways brochure about his person.

1. regarding posting in the wrong place (obama) .. i had been reading here.

2. it wouldn't let me post here.

3. I opened another thread.

4. I posted to another thread.

5. it posted here.

6. I didn't post here at all. It just went here.

7. Thanks for the information.

[freddy]

Travelling by train throughout Thailand is a wonderful way to go. My advice would be 2nd class A/C lower berth. Also try not to end up at either end of the carriage as the noise from the doors opening and closing will keep you awake. The seat numbers to avoid are nos> 1,2,3 and 4 and 37,38,39 and 40 (there being 40 seats/berths per carriage)

[Spaniel]

Travelling by train throughout Thailand is a wonderful way to go. My advice would be 2nd class A/C lower berth. Also try not to end up at either end of the carriage as the noise from the doors opening and closing will keep you awake. The seat numbers to avoid are nos> 1,2,3 and 4 and 37,38,39 and 40 (there being 40 seats/berths per carriage)

Good advice. Definitely go for the lower bunk.

[Ulysses G.]

I've posted this previously but it bears repeating, there is not a lot of room for bags/luggage in the first class cabins and remember, it's likely you'll be sharing that cabin space with a fellow passenger if you are traveling solo.

If you are traveling alone, second class sleeper is probably a better deal, but lower bunk for sure!

[angiud]

Forget to say with 1st class you can lock your cabin while you sleeping

[kean]

which class do you guys suggest for a family of 2 adults and 2 young kids (5yr & 2yr) on a night train (sleeper) from BKK to Ubon?

kids are free of charge or half price?

pls enlighten. thanks a lot.

[stephenslave]

hi

you have to choose travel by train it's nice. if you are single My advice would be 2nd class A/C lower berth.

[kean]

hi

you have to choose travel by train it's nice. if you are single My advice would be 2nd class A/C lower berth.

I am not traveling alone but with wife and two kids. Never tried a thai train thus suggestion is very much appreciated.

I am thinking of first class sleeper (adult+kid share a berth X 2) but wondering how much comfortability are we going to sacrify?

Understand that the rate is 1180THB/pax for 1st class sleeper. How about a 5yr old kid? half the price? and if no extra berth is free of charge right? I understand that 2 yr old is free of charge.

Edited November 19, 2008 by kean

[torrenova]

I've used the 1st class compartments to go from Bangkok to the south of Thailand and its ok but not the experience I wanted it to be. For starters the train leaves late, waiting for more and more people to turn up. Then you find out that the buffet car is near the front of the train and you are at the very rear. It is quite a hike there and back. You think you can enjoy the countryside but by the time you leave it is near dark and there is nothing to see. You get woken up at stations you don't want to get off at way too early in the morning. You feel dirty and though there is a shower is is not very good. The beds are not comfortable unless you are used to sleeping on the floor.

Basically, it is ancient old Japanese rolling stock and for the price, I'd rather fly. I think once or twice is enough to use ths backpacker level of transportation. If you need to save a night's accommodation fee then ok, but if you have the extra cash, use the plane.

[IMA_FARANG]

Second class sleeper is a bunk in the car, with bunks upper and lower along the length of each side of the car, closed off by curtains. Bathrooms on the end of the car. Sheets, blanket and pillow provided. There is second class fan and second class with air conditioning. Substantially cheaper than first I believe.

Yes, much cheaper. Depending on your travel compnions you can meet some very interesting people. I had a long (3 or 4 hour) conversation with a Buddhist monk from a Thai monestary just across the border in Malaysia, I met a backup singer who had once sung wth James Brown, I met a group of Aussie backpackers...one a girl who was offered 3 cattle and a dozen chickens to marry a local chief in Papua/New Guinea. (she was holding out for a better deal, she said).

If you take the air-condiined 2nd class try to get a lower bunk. On some trains the A/C blows in onto the top bunk. It will be cold.

P.S. The rear of the carriage used to be the place for a smoke or a small shot of Mekong and a beer, BYOB.

[Alwaysright]

Hello,

What is the difference between 1st and 2nd class beds on Thai trains? What are the beds like? Are there sheets? Pillow? How many people to a car / cabin? Is there music or movies? Is there smoking?

Thanks

I always by two first class tickets for myself.They are cheap and sometimes I get lucky.