The night train to Chiang Mai – Fascinating Thailand

Guest author John Borthwick takes a train journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on one of Thailand's most popular train routes.

Thailand, with its bridges, stupas, rice paddies, and cities, glides past the train window in the sunny morning rhythm. This view, accompanied by the sound of railway bells, is far superior to any journey by plane or bus.

It's been far too long since I took the 750 km overnight train to Chiang Mai, so I'm heading to Hualamphong Station in Bangkok with its impressive iron arched roof. Thailand's most popular train service, the Special Express 13, the classic overnight train to Chiang Mai, is already waiting and ready to depart at 7:40 pm. I've booked a sleeper berth in a four-berth, air-conditioned second-class compartment. My fellow passengers are a Thai man named Lek and a Swedish couple.

Two friends join the Swedes for a game of cards in their lower bunk, so I take a walk to look around. First class, I discover, consists mainly of two-berth compartments. The second-class carriages, former rolling stock of the Japanese railway, are clean and have a toilet at one end. In the corridors, I see many foreign faces—Westerners, Asians, backpackers, budget travelers, and families with children—all curious to experience a more authentic Thailand.

Before boarding, I asked at the station if the train had a dining car. No. Once on board, we were told, "No restaurant, but you can have dinner and breakfast served in your compartment." And sure enough, as we passed Ayutthaya, the catering staff came to take our food orders from a menu. Dinner arrived—I had ordered the vegetarian option (for 190 baht). It was filling, but a bit bland. "Like monks' food," Lek joked.

A little later he says, "You're not allowed to smoke or drink on Thai trains anymore. I think I'll go to the restaurant car for a coffee." "Which restaurant?!" I blurt out. "It's only two carriages down," he says. "There's always a dining car—you know how much we Thais love to eat." As they say: Fantastic Thailand. I sit down with him for a coffee.

Around 9 p.m., a conductor prepares each bed with a mattress, fresh sheets, a pillow, and a blanket. We rumble through Lopburi and Nakhon Sawan, but it's already dark, and the cities, temples, and jungle slip by unnoticed. The card game is over. I've shared my travel experiences with the Swedes, updated my journal, and the restaurant has closed. There's only one thing left to do. I stretch out on my bunk and remember some great train songs: City of New Orleans, Midnight Special, Love in Vain, Mystery Train…

I wake up to sunlight illuminating the plain, and Den Chai is already disappearing behind us. In Lampang, a large, stately rooster—a painted statue—peers into our window on the platform. And why not? The journey continues. Cassava plantations and teak forests glide by, while blue mountain ranges rise to the north. Breakfast—salty scrambled eggs—is over quickly, and soon we're near Chiang Mai. I hastily pack my things, say goodbye to the Swedes and Lek, and at 9:30 a.m., I step off special train number 13 into a new city.

I look back and see what kind of passengers our trusty steam train has carried. So many are foreigners that it could be nicknamed the Farang Express.