Transport in SE Asia

breadmonkey

Can anyone give me an idea of train/bus costs in SE Asis. eg How much would it cost Bangkok to Chiang Mai?

Also, what's the best way to get to Koh Phangan from Bangkok?

dermo88

Travel costs, especially public transport in South East Asia are extremely cheap by European, especially Irish standards.

You would not pay more than 1,100 Baht for a First Class one way ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. However, the trip takes the best part of a day, or night, so you are better off on the sleeping car train.

The best way to get to Koh Phangan by land is by Bus and Ferry. The train is 12km away from the Ferry terminal.

Jimmy81

You can fly from Bangkok to Koh Samui for about €60 each way with bangkok airways, then get a boat to Ko Pha Ngan, the boat takes about 1 hour. if you were to travel down to Suranthani (spell?) from Bangkok it would take you about 12 hours + the boat journey.

breadmonkey

Jimmy81 wrote:

You can fly from Bangkok to Koh Samui for about €60 each way with bangkok airways, then get a boat to Ko Pha Ngan, the boat takes about 1 hour. if you were to travel down to Suranthani (spell?) from Bangkok it would take you about 12 hours + the boat journey.

I don't think I can afford the luxury of a flight, so I'll most likely be sweating it out on the trains!

Ag marbh

breadmonkey wrote:

I don't think I can afford the luxury of a flight, so I'll most likely be sweating it out on the trains!

The train should cost 568 baht(12 euro) or around that. To get to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan or Koh Tao get the over night train to Surrathani and then a ferry over to the desired island.
There really is no need for air conditioning, the fan carriages do just fine but make sure you get a lower bunk as it's alot more comfortable and waking up early to see some of the countryside out of the window has been peaceful for me everytime. I personally find the over night really comfortable and tend to get a full nights sleep aboard them.

PS - Avoid buses at all costs when possible and especially when booking from Koh San road. Go directly to the Hualamphong station in Bangkok to book the train and save operator charges etc. Any taxi driver will know it very well.

Enjoy

Ag marbh

dermo88 wrote:

Travel costs, especially public transport in South East Asia are extremely cheap by European, especially Irish standards.

You would not pay more than 1,100 Baht for a First Class one way ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. However, the trip takes the best part of a day, or night, so you are better off on the sleeping car train.

The best way to get to Koh Phangan by land is by Bus and Ferry. The train is 12km away from the Ferry terminal.

Sorry but this is incorrect and bad advice.

Lisapeep

I was just about to start a thread about this! Is the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai safe enough? I think our flight arrives into Bangkok at 7.30pm and the last train that night is about 3 hours later - does this leave enough time to get from the airport to the train station or are they very far away from each other?

Do all of the trains on this route have first class carriages and is it possible to book train tickets in advance or is it better to pay when you get to the station?

Ag marbh

Lisapeep wrote:

I was just about to start a thread about this! Is the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai safe enough? I think our flight arrives into Bangkok at 7.30pm and the last train that night is about 3 hours later - does this leave enough time to get from the airport to the train station or are they very far away from each other?

Do all of the trains on this route have first class carriages and is it possible to book train tickets in advance or is it better to pay when you get to the station?

The train is alot safer than the bus and a hell of alot more comfortable. Luggage is known to dissapear on the buses and the driver's tend to be over worked which can make for dangerous driving which is something you don't need in a country that already has dangerous driving.
Technically you could make it from the airport to the train station in time but you have to take into account that the trains are often booked out for the over night journeys and I think it would be very wise to pre-book a nights accomodation somewhere and then get up and do it with a fresh head in the morning. If it's your first time visiting why would you not want to check Bangkok out for a few days anyway?

To answer your final question, yeah all over night trains contain first class carriages and as I mentioned in the above post theres really no need for air conditioning but try your best to get a bottom bunk. Booking the train early in the afternoon is usually safe enough although this may not always be the case and just arriving at the station would be way too risky without something booked.

Begs

I travelled from Bangkok to Chiang mai last August and I think it was about c.1200 baht (24 euro) for 1st class with a/c private compartment. From what I saw the other carriages were busy and noisy - for 10 euro it is up to you if you want the experience. Also bring your own food and plenty of water!! Here is the timetable and ticket price link.

http://www.chiangmai-thai.com/train_schedule.htm

I got a flight back down and it was only about 1500 baht!

Beware of 'friendly' locals (mainly in Bangkok) - they can make up the most believable of stories to get you into shops.

breadmonkey

Begs wrote:

I travelled from Bangkok to Chiang mai last August and I think it was about c.1200 baht (24 euro) for 1st class with a/c private compartment. From what I saw the other carriages were busy and noisy - for 10 euro it is up to you if you want the experience. Also bring your own food and plenty of water!! Here is the timetable and ticket price link.

http://www.chiangmai-thai.com/train_schedule.htm

I got a flight back down and it was only about 1500 baht!

Beware of 'friendly' locals (mainly in Bangkok) - they can make up the most believable of stories to get you into shops.

Thanks for the link I cant see info for 1st class. Am I just being silly here?

Ag marbh

This one will be more useful

http://www.chiangmai1.com/chiang_mai/schedules/train_bus.shtml

Begs

breadmonkey wrote:

Thanks for the link I cant see info for 1st class. Am I just being silly here?

I can't see any info for 1st class either - strange!

However, if look at the "Trains Ticket Sample", the price is actually shown in the right as 1,193 (baht) - I'm sure thats exactly what I paid.

Also, if you see on the ticket where it says "special express" - I think that this is the ONLY train that has 1st class on it, i.e. don't be planning to get the Sprinter or Rapid Train if you want 1st class - probably best to check this for def. though!!

Lisapeep

Hmm, one of the above links that you gave shows a train that departs Bangkok at 10pm and the other one does not show this departure time! Anyone know what's going on there?

PunyHuman

Try asking the man in seat 61

breadmonkey

PunyHuman wrote:

Try asking the man in seat 61

Very helpful, thank you.

Loco

you might want to get the train once for the experience, but you can book cheap airline tickets in advance if you want

www.nokair.com is one of the cheaper airlines over there, i booked a flight for 14euros 750baht from bangkok->chiangmai i remember, which is cheaper than some train tickets!

also shaves a few days of horrible travel off your holiday

adrian522

Ag marbh wrote:

Sorry but this is incorrect and bad advice.

What exactly is incorrector bad about it. It seems quite reasonable to me....

Ag marbh

adrian522 wrote:

What exactly is incorrector bad about it. It seems quite reasonable to me....

I should have specified the final part. Travelling by bus in Thailand is never the best option if a train is available.

MrSinn

Ag marbh wrote:

I should have specified the final part. Travelling by bus in Thailand is never the best option if a train is available.

Except the trains are slower than buses

Ag marbh

MrSinn wrote:

Except the trains are slower than buses

On which routes?

MrSinn

Ag marbh wrote:

On which routes?

Bangkok to surinami(spelling not too good)for one,not sure about other routes but when i was there a lot of backpackers were saying its cheaper and in most cases faster to travel by bus

Ag marbh

MrSinn wrote:

Bangkok to surinami(spelling not too good)for one,not sure about other routes but when i was there a lot of backpackers were saying its cheaper and in most cases faster to travel by bus

Surat Thani, I disagree and have experience doing both more than once. It's a bit cheaper but the few extra baht extra for the train is so worth it. A nice comfortable bed, toilet facility, food, drinks and a nights sleep as opposed to a crammed bus that is often not safe.

adrian522

Ag marbh wrote:

Surat Thani, I disagree and have experience doing both more than once. It's a bit cheaper but the few extra baht extra for the train is so worth it. A nice comfortable bed, toilet facility, food, drinks and a nights sleep as opposed to a crammed bus that is often not safe.

Surely depends on the route and how far you are travelling.

I prefer bus travel a lot of the time and I certainly never had any problems on Thailands buses, certainly a lot better than Indias.

I agreee for long overnight journeys its probably better to catch a train if it is possible.

gerire

I dont know how anybody for the extra 200 bhat (€4) wouldn't takt the comfort of sleeping overnight in a train. So what if the bus gets you there an hour earlier its 7am anyway.
Also the people you meet and stories that Ive gotten from the trains : Conductor disrupting 2 people in one of the sleepers getting cozy, (No i dont know how the fitted either)

dermo88

Back to the incorrect advice issue. Its a matter of preference. The trains are a little bit more expensive, more comfortable, and are safer. But I've depended on RSRT twice to make a flight connection, and its no joke when a locomotive fails 30 or 40 miles from destination (Sungae Kolok) in Yala Province. I've to cross into Malaysia, then get a taxi from Rantau Panjang to Khota Bharu, and I've a deadline of 3 hours 30 minutes to do this. In theory, it should be a case of Mai Pen Rai.

You find that "Mai Pen Rai", or no problem, means, quite literally.....no problem. Nothing can be done, no point in complaining, no panicking, no rushing, just wait. Theres another locomotve at Hat Yai making its way down, and we'll be on the move in 2 hours 30 minutes.....maybe 3 hours.

So all the passengers decamp, negotiate, haggle, bargain with the bus drivers at the station.

And I don't dare lose my temper or get upset. Its just not done there.

Luckily, I got there on time, and also had a chance to judge Thai buses, or mini-buses for that matter.

Theres only one word for it. Hair raising, and they are faster than trains for the wrong reasons.

Nalced_irl

breadmonkey wrote:

Can anyone give me an idea of train/bus costs in SE Asis. eg How much would it cost Bangkok to Chiang Mai?

Also, what's the best way to get to Koh Phangan from Bangkok?

I got a first class train ticket from Bangkok to Chang Mai for about €10. I would advise 1st class tho cos the normal ticket is basically a shelf on the side which is your bed and there is no air conditioning. The best way to get to the Islands is definately to fly. If you go through the United Tourist Centre (or soimething like that) at the top of Koh San Road and go down the path behind it, there is a small tourist office there that gave us a great deal.

spacetweek

I dunno what any of you are talking about. I wouldn't dream of using a train in a country like Thailand. The bus is ludicrously cheap - I paid 150B (€3) for Bangkok to Chiang Mai! It was a large coach, air conditioned and very comfortable.

Let's face it you're not going backpacking so you can be pampered are you.