Post by zorro1 on Nov 3, 2013 10:03:46 GMT 7
Hi guys Ive completed the first leg of what is a series of train travel across Thailand.
This is a quick review of the train and Hua Hin.
There are 3 types of train covering the 4-5hour trip and ranging from 2-$7 the latter being the sprinter train 1st class air con and I use the term 1st class very loosely , they are old but quite comfortable.
Incredibly Thai rail has scraped its booking website for good so now you need to buy them from the station or through an agent and pay commission. The upside is there are a lot more seats available now
I chose the 2nd class air con sleeper only because I wanted to test the length of the bunks for longer trips, being over 6 ft and I fit okay and they are very comfortable. You can buy cheap food, fruit, drinks and beer from locals who mount the train at each station or you can go the restaurant carriage which is a blast, literally as there are no windows. It was mainly filled with people drinking beer including a policeman in full uniform,..only in Thailand. The train continues to Surat Thani and costs about $20 for the berth arriving there at 8am.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkKxEJxef6A
This is an amazing site. just click on the map of Thailand and then on the route itself to see all the particulars www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#.UnWsjTZ806Y
In Hua hin I stumbled across this little gem "the bird guest house"
Its actually on the water on stilts on the beach with a stunning view and Im sure the Hi so"s in the Hilton up the road would be envious. All for 600bht or around $18/night!
Its just 5 mins walk from soi Bintabaht where all the night life is but a word of warning the ladies cater to the elderly farang that populate Hua hin ( thought I might see Banker
) and mutton dressed as lamb is the norm, however all the restaurants are in the general vicinity and there must be a hundred of them at least. I ate in the city at a large food court , Duck, rice and soup is just 50bht or around $1.70 LOL
There is plenty to see here including the Kings palace just google Hua Hin tours however i loved it for its relaxing sea side atmosphere.
The next leg will be to Langkawi, an island in Malaysia via sleeper carriage for my visa run. On average the sleeper carriage costs around $20 a night and so do the guest houses right across Thailand so in theory you would never pay more than $140 A week travelling across Thailand whether on the train or the destination, of course there is no electricity or Air con bills and food is silly cheap so its affordable for the DSp hobo.
This is a quick review of the train and Hua Hin.
There are 3 types of train covering the 4-5hour trip and ranging from 2-$7 the latter being the sprinter train 1st class air con and I use the term 1st class very loosely , they are old but quite comfortable.
Incredibly Thai rail has scraped its booking website for good so now you need to buy them from the station or through an agent and pay commission. The upside is there are a lot more seats available now
I chose the 2nd class air con sleeper only because I wanted to test the length of the bunks for longer trips, being over 6 ft and I fit okay and they are very comfortable. You can buy cheap food, fruit, drinks and beer from locals who mount the train at each station or you can go the restaurant carriage which is a blast, literally as there are no windows. It was mainly filled with people drinking beer including a policeman in full uniform,..only in Thailand. The train continues to Surat Thani and costs about $20 for the berth arriving there at 8am.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkKxEJxef6A
This is an amazing site. just click on the map of Thailand and then on the route itself to see all the particulars www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#.UnWsjTZ806Y
In Hua hin I stumbled across this little gem "the bird guest house"
Its actually on the water on stilts on the beach with a stunning view and Im sure the Hi so"s in the Hilton up the road would be envious. All for 600bht or around $18/night!
Its just 5 mins walk from soi Bintabaht where all the night life is but a word of warning the ladies cater to the elderly farang that populate Hua hin ( thought I might see Banker
) and mutton dressed as lamb is the norm, however all the restaurants are in the general vicinity and there must be a hundred of them at least. I ate in the city at a large food court , Duck, rice and soup is just 50bht or around $1.70 LOLThere is plenty to see here including the Kings palace just google Hua Hin tours however i loved it for its relaxing sea side atmosphere.
The next leg will be to Langkawi, an island in Malaysia via sleeper carriage for my visa run. On average the sleeper carriage costs around $20 a night and so do the guest houses right across Thailand so in theory you would never pay more than $140 A week travelling across Thailand whether on the train or the destination, of course there is no electricity or Air con bills and food is silly cheap so its affordable for the DSp hobo.
