Hello from Hua Lamphong Railway Station in Bangkok.
We're catching an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
Here we are! First class, baby!
[laughs]
Which one do you want, up or down?
-Up. -No, I want up. [laughs]
Now, if you're a tall person, you're probably wondering
how big these beds are.
And let me show you, because both Gordon and I are tall.
Filmed before the pandemic
Wow, it's amazing how empty it is.
It doesn't even look like Bangkok.
-Nobody lives here. -Uh-huh.
[music]
PA: Hua Lamphong Station [in Thai and English]
Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.
Thank you for choosing the MRT
Wow, look at this station.
-Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony
at the site near Hua Lamphong Railway Station.
-Ah, yeah, the Foundation stone for this station here.
Oh, the new king here at that time.
We're already at the station.
Actually, you don't even walk outside.
I just came here to show you the facade.
Everything is interconnected.
[music]
We're catching an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
I can't believe you wanted to come by Grab, baby.
It is so easy!
[laughs]
Hua Lamphong is Bangkok's main railway station,
and it is so easy to get here via MRT.
You just take Exit 2.
Everything is interconnected. You don't even walk outdoors.
We bought our tickets online,
so we don't even need to go to the ticket booth.
[music]
-This might be it right here
-The train? -Yeah.
We got here one hour before departure,
and our train is already there.
-There's two of them there. -Ah.
-This one, yeah. -Yes.
-Khob khun ka [thank you in Thai]. -Khob khun ka [thank you in Thai].
-22-21.
-Ooh, it's nice.
Oh, that's what we booked.
Here we are! First class, baby!
[laughs]
Whoo-hoo!
Ah, look at this.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We can put our bags underneath the seats
and have even more space.
Cool.
We already have blankets, sheets.
Ooh, it is still warm.
We just got some soaps.
We even have our own sink.
Very nice.
There are different types of trains and cabins you can choose.
We chose what we saw more people recommending online
which is the Special Express, departing at 6:10 PM
This is a winner for two reasons:
it's the fastest overnight train, and the train is brand new.
Look at this.
Gordon did a good research for trains, right?
Good job, baby.
[laughs]
-That one. [laughs]
-Still, it's a 13-hour trip.
Right now, it's arranged in seats here.
This is the second bed that will come down.
These cushions might be used for the bed as well.
There's one plug here, but it's actually all the way up there.
Look at how high it is.
When this bed comes down,
it'll be easier to use for whoever is up here
It's about 700 kilometers,
430 miles between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
It’s actually faster if you drive. It would be eight hours.
And, of course, much faster if you fly, just an hour.
Get ready for this, it's exactly the same price
if you travel here first class compared to buying a plane ticket.
So why on earth would anybody get this train?
I'll tell you.
Well, it's a combination of the experience and other savings you can have.
First class ticket is expensive,
but if you get a second class sleeper with air-conditioning,
it's half the price.
It's actually better if you're traveling alone.
And it gets even cheaper if, instead, you go without air-conditioning
or third class,
but that I wouldn't recommend.
It's really, really hot in Thailand all the time, even at night.
But, of course, if you're backpacking or on a budget,
you can find a third class ticket for ฿120.
It's like less than $4.
You just cannot book these online, though.
For us, we're paying the same thing as flying,
but we're saving the cost of a hotel room,
as this is our room tonight.
This door here connects you to the next cabin.
But as we're not traveling in group,
keep it locked.
Now, what's here?
Wow, very nice.
Two glasses here. Nice.
Oh.
Hey.
Gordon is doing some more pictures outside.
[music]
So, here, you can choose channels.
Oh, and here, it even indicates if the toilets are busy or not,
including the shower.
What's on Channel 1?
GPS?
Oh, how cool.
-Just like a plane -Yeah, we can know where we are.
-Breakfast for later.
-Ah. -Not for now, for later.
-Okay. Khob khun ka [thank you in Thai]. -Thank you.
Here's the menu, but it's not free. You got to pay.
And you have to choose before 9:00 PM
That's when they close.
Breakfast: ฿170 and ฿190.
Here are more options. Spaghetti, ฿120.
So, it's not very expensive,
Same price, or cheaper
than you'd find at restaurants actually.
It's expensive compared to street food.
-No beer
-No, no beer. Actually, alcohol is forbidden here.
You cannot even bring your own.
-Really? -Yep.
-How would they even know?
-Well, here they wouldn't, but that's the law.
When you buy your tickets with an agency,
they may charge a fee, generally around ฿200.
But we bought our tickets directly in the official website.
There was no fee.
We just paid the regular price.
And it is so easy, everything is in English.
There is a map of the entire train.
You see exactly where you're going to seat.
You choose your cabin, but do that in advance,
because they sell out.
We bought tickets as soon as we arrived here in Thailand.
And everything was sold out for the next 45 days.
Luckily, we're spending a lot of time here,
so we could rearrange things.
But if you're not staying all this time, make plans as soon as you can.
Buy as soon as you can.
Khob khun ka [thank you in Thai]
-Okay. -And that comes with all this?
-Yeah, coffee? Tea?
-Coffee.
-And one smoothie.
-No beer? -No alcohol, sir.
-No alcohol, sorry.
-That's okay.
-Thank you, sir. -Thank you.
-Khob khun ka [thank you in Thai]. -Thank you.
-You tried, huh? -I tried.
Oh, it just started.
Here we go.
[music]
All bathrooms are empty except the shower.
It's being used, so...
Oh, no, this one just closed now.
Someone just finished showering.
So, let me try to show you what is it like.
Here are the bathrooms. There are three bathrooms.
This is for men only,
and there is a shower here.
[music]
The bathroom is very tiny, like an airplane bathroom,
but it is very clean, and smelling good.
Here it is, the shower.
There is soap, shampoo.
This is the very last train, the very last one.
[laughs]
Only this here is the first class.
That's why it sells out so fast.
We have from 1 to 24, two per cabin.
The next car is already second class.
That is Gordon working.
Doing a lot of work, getting a lot done here?
-I am. -[laughs]
So here is the second class. Their beds are all ready.
And they have these curtains for privacy.
You can lock your cabin here.
And if someone knocks, you can see who's here.
[laughs]
These are towels, sheets, and blankets
Here are the pillows.
[music]
-Khob khun ka. [thank you in Thai]
-See you tomorrow. -See you!
Which one do you want, up or down?
-Up. -No, I want up.
[laughs]
Actually, you know, there are different prices here.
Upper berth is more expensive.
I think it's ฿1653 that we paid.
฿200 more expensive than the lower berth.
Now, if you're a tall person,
you're probably wondering how big these beds are.
And let me show you, because both Gordon and I are tall.
From head to toes.
From one side to the other here,
there's also good space.
[music]
Good night.
[music]
Khun Tan station here
-Don't start the day without coffee.
-Christmas! -[laughs]
You ordered french fries for breakfast, baby?
[laughs]
Are you that hungry?
Ah.
And here is me with my strawberry smoothie.
Good morning.
- It's a golf course... -Yeah
[PA] Good morning ladies and gentlemen
Next station, Lamphun
We're almost there.
We're in Lamphun, only three more stops until Chiang Mai.
How was life up there?
Because he took the upper bed.
[laughs]
♪ Sweet dreams are made of this ♪
♪ Who am I to disagree? ♪
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It was pretty comfortable to sleep.
You sleep like in an airplane, you know, you wake up all the time,
but I could have some rest.
[music]
A smoothie and One sandwich and one smoothie?
-Yeah. -And one coffee.
-And one coffee.
฿270.
-Thank you. -Khob khun ka [thank you in Thai].
Nothing on the train is free, not even for first class.
Actually, the internet is free
Let me tell you about the internet here.
Internet here, it's hard to connect. It doesn't connect all the time.
I was able to connect once at night before going to bed.
It's not very fast, but it does the job for social media, for example.
It's also kind of slow, so you cannot really count on it.
Khob khun ka, khob khun ka. [thank you in Thai]
Hello, Chiang Mai!
-It's a cute little station, huh? -Yes.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-A lot of foreign backpackers.
-Yeah.
-We're here. -Okay.
-We need to get here.
-Okay. And this is the Walled City? -Yes.
-Let's go.
[music]
Sawasdee ka! [hello in Thai]
[music]
Khob khun ka. [thank you in Thai]
There is Gordon already working.
[laughs]
It's not even 8:00 in the morning yet,
of course, it's too early for check-in.
But people here at our hotel, they were really nice.
They allowed us to stay at the restaurant
having free coffee and doing some work.
So, for the next video, guess what you can expect?
A tour of Chiang Mai!
[music]
-3 minutos [3 minutes in Portuguese]
-Look at you, speaking multiple languages
-Yeah
-[laughs]
That is the weirdest toilet I've ever been.
It's men and women together, there are monks there.
Monks cannot have close contact with women,
but everybody seems to get along there inside.
That's a smart way of doing.
[laughs]
Actually, there's another plug down here.
Yes, I only realized close to Chiang Mai...
I hope you enjoyed this train ride.
If you have any questions, let me know. And see you in the next vlog.