The Travelling Feet

After arriving in the Suvarnabhumi Airport, we went to the Transport Centre to look for the bus going to Bangkok as this is the cheapest way to travel to Bangkok from the Suvarnabhumi Airport. There are different modes of transportation in Bangkok but since my friends and I are cheapskates, we all agreed to go to the Hua Lamphong Station, Bangkok’s Train Station, the cheapest way possible since we were not in a hurry. And being cheap meant riding Bangkok’s public bus from the airport.

Den beaming on this bus ride while I check my phone’s signal

Booking for an 8-day trip to explore Thailand prompted us not to waste our time and simply hop on to the next country for passport stamping purposes since it was doable too without emptying our pockets. Since Siem Reap, Cambodia was the nearest country I could think of, I convinced Ed we should cross the border and check out the temples of Angkor. Even at the last minute, especially after arriving 5 minutes late on our connecting flight to Bangkok, Ed was still hesitant to go to Siem Reap but I insisted. I knew he had no idea what he’d be missing if he’d let that chance pass by had he really decided to be left behind in Bangkok. Good thing Den and I was able to convince him as I wouldn’t have to worry finding a sack and rope just to drag him with us to Siem Reap.

So after almost 2 hours of travelling via Bangkok’s public bus, we arrived at the Hua Lamphong Station. It was still too early and we saw people sleeping on the floor outside the train station as they await for the place to open. I even saw someone who looked like he just came back from skiing in Switzerland with the type of jacket he was wearing.

Since the whole place was still closed, we decided to check out the place and took photos here and there…

Den wanting to take home this soldier

We ate breakfast at a stall beside the Bangkok train station entrance. Afterwhich, we looked for an open grocery store to buy food for the 6-hour train ride ahead. We found an open 7Eleven across the train station and bought our “supplies” which basically consisted of water and bread. I was also tempted to buy this magazine which featured some ski holiday deals as my aunt was asking me to check out more info about it online.

At around 5am-ish, the doors to the train station opened. The schedule of the Bangkok to Aranyaprathet trip was still at 5:55 am and we still had to wait for the ticket booths to open.

Hualamphong station, Bangkok’s train station

during rush hour, that wide space gets filled with people

The people who were sleeping outside the train station woke up and slowly went inside and resumed their sleeping positions on the benches. There was still time to kill so Den and I roamed around the place while Ed comfortably found a good spot among those benches and started to doze off. I couldn’t blame him since we’ve been travelling non-stop for the last…wait, let me count…24 hours!

What’s nice about the Bangkok Train Station is that they have a lot of ticketing counters as the train station gets packed during rush hour.

our train ride going to Aranyaprathet

trains being cleaned before the trip

What I found interesting was how each train was being cleaned before it travels to the different provinces of Thailand. On this instance, our train just arrived from I don’t know where and when we thought we could already get inside to secure our seats, they told us we have to wait for a couple more minutes before they clean the train inside out. Nice noh? So while waiting, Den got busy with the photo below…

Den with a travelling monk

One thing I learned from my previous trip was that females are not allowed to sit beside a monk or touch them. I completely forgot about this discussions we had in our class back in high school. My friend reminded me about this from a previous trip so when I saw that the monk was in danger of Den’s presence I had to signal Den and tell her not to get too near or touch the monk. Notice how the monk turned his back on Den and looked as if he was trying to elude Den?

train ride to Aranyaprathet is at platform 6

You can travel to almost all of the provinces of Thailand by train. Simply head to the Hua Lamphong Railway Station, otherwise known as the Bangkok Train Station and check the schedules on their board or you can ask at their information counter. You can also visit this site for useful information on time tables and price charts as I found that very useful too.

When the ticket counters opened, we purchased our tickets and paid 48 baht each (1 Peso = 1.5 baht). The first time I learned from online searches that a 3rd class train fare from Bangkok to Siem Reap via Aranyaprathet will only cost me 48 baht per way, I didn’t hesitate to take the train since I never rode one before. That’s approximately 72 pesos for a train fare that travels for almost 6 hours! Taking the bus will cost you around 300-400 baht and travel time is somewhere around 5 hours. I guess I need not explain and tell you what mode of transportation I’ll use every time I travel from Bangkok to Cambodia

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This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – You are now reading this
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Modes of Transportation in Bangkok
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport

Continuation from The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011

Travel Companions: Ed and Den, Debbie (colleagues at work and close friends) and Mel (Debbie’s close friend)

After the purchase of our plane fares for our trip to Bangkok last January 2011, I immediately started looking for cheap places to stay both in Bangkok and Siem Reap. I never got worried about the budget since I know that travelling to these places won’t cost us much. Although I would have preferred showing up both in Bangkok and Siem Reap without any hotel/guesthouse reservations, I also found it important to look for one and book for our accommodations since I have no clue if January is a peak season for travelers in these places.

scavenged for useful information from my previous trip on this shoebox

When I began searching for accommodations online, it dawned on me that it was no easy thing to do. I got drained from all those searching especially on the accommodations in Bangkok. There are a lot of things to consider in both places. In Siem Reap, the things I had to consider were the guesthouse’ proximity to the Old Market, the safety of our belongings, the cleanliness of the place and so on. For Bangkok, my choice of a guesthouse would be somewhere near Khao San Road – the backpacker’s mecca in Bangkok. So I had to consider safety, cleanliness, level of noise from Khao San and the security of our belongings.

I can no longer recall how many times I visited the Khao San Road website, where majority of all the guesthouses within Khao San are listed. In Siem Reap, I kept googling for cheap guest houses and also found the guesthouse where we last stayed. This was one of my choices. But after reading a bad review that involved security, I know I had to look for a different one. Then I stumbled upon Ron and Monette’s FlipTravels blog and immediately booked at the guesthouse where they stayed in Siem Reap since it was just a walking distance to the market.

As for the accommodations in Bangkok, since there are a lot of cheap hostels listed online without any contact information, I decided that it would be best to just look for one when we arrive in the city. I told my friends of this plan and they all agreed to the idea. Also because they had no clue what to expect in Bangkok, they allowed me to take care of the accommodations.

When my friend Debbie asked me how much would be our budget for our trip, an hour after, I sent them an email containing the estimated costs we will incur on the trip.

Cebu to Bangkok budget – Php 9,500.25

Cebu to Bangkok and Siem Reap budget – Php 16,166.625

Debbie and her friend Mel were only going to Bangkok so I had to separate their travel expenses and created a separate budget for my trip to Siem Reap and Bangkok.

There was also a point where I already got irritated since I felt that I was doing all the research and they were doing nothing. They were asking questions like “Will there be hot water in the place where we’ll stay in Bangkok so that we can just bring noodles?”. “Uh, Bangkok is not like Hong Kong and I don’t have an idea since we agreed we’ll look for a place when we get there.” Then they’d ask me if how much it will cost us to go to this province to see some elephants. One was even hesitant in pushing through the trip to Siem Reap and would rather stay in Bangkok since they were concerned of the expenses no matter how many times I stressed that it is cheaper to stay in Siem Reap than in Bangkok. I couldn’t finalize the reservations on the guest house because of the fickle minds. *sigh* Sometimes, things like this irritate me. Situations like this are normally bound to happen when you will plan your own trip but don’t let this hinder you from pursuing your plans of travelling. This phase will just pass

I guess it was also my fault not to delegate the task to them and kept telling them they have nothing to worry about the trip. I guess they were also confident enough to let me handle all the planning since they know I’ve been to the place before. Anyway, I simply stopped searching since I got tired from all of it and I got busy with work too.

So everything was set two weeks before our scheduled trip. It was decided that we’ll go to Siem Reap then meet up with Debbie and Mel in Bangkok and look for a place there. With no itineraries listed, all of us were excited that we’ll all travel to a foreign land together!

Then all of a sudden, I received a call from Ed. It’s about our friend Den who decided to join us on the trip at the last minute. She was supposed to leave for China but since her trip got postponed, she decided to do a detour to Bangkok and Siem Reap. So I immediately contacted the guesthouse that I made reservations and inquired about their Triple Room. I didn’t get any reply at all. And then all of a sudden, I found Chyng Reyes’ blog since I was looking for info about her experience with an Aspara show, which I planned to see too. I read in her blog about how big her room was at Bou Savy Guesthouse and how satisfied she was with their service. I immediately googled Bou Savy Guesthouse and found that they have package tours. I checked one of the packages and after computing how much we’d spent in Siem Reap with and without that package, I sent them an email to inquire about minor concerns I had. After getting a prompt response from them, I booked for their $72 – 2 DAYS 03 NIGHTS PACKAGE good for 3 persons. I no longer revised the budget since our expenses will be cheaper with three heads to divide the costs of transportation and food

Also, thanks to Praline’s kindness, she allowed me to borrow her digital camera since all I got is a camera phone which could die any minute on me. Since we were to leave ahead of Debbie and Mel, Ed and I had our money exchanged in dollars too. The plan was to have our dollars exchanged to Baht in Bangkok. I still don’t know if it was the better choice since my brain cells are already tired computing.

Budget, check. Siem Reap guesthouse, check. Camera, check. Backpack, check. Laptop, check.

I was all set. I didn’t sleep the night before the trip since I was working and 2 hours before I had to leave my house for the airport, I took a nap.

To be continued…

————————-

This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – You are reading this now
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Modes of Transportation in Bangkok
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport

Last year, I vowed to myself that I should stop travelling to international destinations in the next coming months as I need to save up considering the fact that I just “retired” from my 5-year job in a BPO company. But when opportunity presented last October, the vows were completely forgotten and I gave in to the travel itch.

This was all Cebu Pacific Air’s fault!

Kidding aside, I’m really grateful for the promo fares that Cebu Pacific offer its passengers. If not for them, I wouldn’t be able to travel to both local and international destinations with those exhorbitant fares other airline companies charge.

My friend wanted to go to Bangkok to shop for clothing to sell back home and when I told them of the promo fare I saw online for Clark to Bangkok, she said they’d avail of the promo. She also convinced me and pleaded me to join them too and I was sold *sigh*. I told a travel buddy of mine about the trip and he agreed to join us too. The plan was for all of us to fly to Bangkok together. But after my buddy made me realize that I’m no longer restricted to the normal 2-days off work schedule since I now own my work time, what used to be a 4-day trip became a week-long trip instead. Fireworks were popping up my mind as I immediately formulated a plan to do a side trip to Siem Reap. (light bulb!)

So when I announced to my parents that I will be travelling to Bangkok last January 2011 my mom immediately blurted out “Na naman? Anong gagawin mo dun?” (Again? What are you going to do there?)

(Being Bicolanos, our parents required us to speak Tagalog inside the house so that we won’t forget that dialect. That’s why my other Cebuano friends find my way of speaking the Cebuano dialect weird. That’s because it’s a mixture of Bisaya, Tagalog and Bicolano.)

My reply was simple. “Mo-laag!” (will roam)

And when I also told them I’ll go back to Cambodia, my dad blurted out “Di ba delikado doon?” (Is it not dangerous to go there?). I guess he was referring to the landmines and the war and conflict that he had heard from years before.

I immediately reassured them that there’s nothing to be afraid of when going to Cambodia. Especially that I’m still around and nothing bad has happened to me when I last went there. I used Cambodia and not specifically Siem Reap since I know he doesn’t know where that one is

Parents. They’re always like that. Over-protective. But after explaining, they consented since they really can’t do anything to stop me from travelling. hehehe

exposed pictures of our balloon ride in Siem Reap in 2008, one of the reasons why I had to go back

Actually, this was my 3rd travel to Bangkok and my 2nd to Siem Reap. My first trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap happened last 2008. I love Siem Reap so much that I promised to go back to that quaint “not-so-little” town one day. And I never imagined that that one day would be this year. I was so excited. Finally I can take photos again of how wonderful that place is.

For my next blog posts, I’ll be documenting our detailed trip to Siem Reap and Bangkok, including the cheap places we stayed, the great food trips we devoured, the beautiful places we’ve seen and the exact money we spent for the entire trip. To give you an idea, I spent a total of Php 8,750.25 (~$197) for my trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap last January 18-25, 2011. That’s Php 4,296.00 (~$97) in Bangkok and Php 4,454.25 (~$100) in Siem Reap. This only includes food, transportation, accomodation and sight seeing in Bangkok and Siem Reap, not including the plane fares and bus fares from Cebu-Manila-Clark-Bangkok-Clark-Cebu and the travel tax and terminal fees in the Philippines

So do visit thetravellingfeet regularly as I’ll give you a blow-by-blow account of my 1st trip for the year 2011.

————————-

This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – You are reading this now
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Modes of Transportation in Bangkok
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport

Bangkok, Thailand offers different modes of transportation for tourists and locals. So if you are planning to visit Bangkok soon, don’t fret for you won’t have problems visiting different places in Bangkok with all those transportation vehicles available.

You can certainly reach Thailand by plane, train, bus or boat. And when you arrive in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, you’ll be amazed at the assorted transportation available for you to choose from.

Bangkok has different modes of transportation: bus, taxi, tuk-tuk, motorcycle, MRT, BTS, boat and train when going to nearby towns. Except for the boat and motorcycle (which only allows 1 passenger), I’m happy to say I’ve tried all of the rest!

Boat

For those of you who wanted to go to a certain area and skip the city traffic, you can also try riding the River Express Boat. This is also a good choice of transportation if you want to feel the breeze coming from the Chao Phraya River.

During rush hour, the ferry boat gets crowded too. However, the fare is really very cheap compared to the other modes of transportation.

If you want to save time and money in transferring from one tourist destination to the next, you can take the River Express Boat. Since there are great tourist attractions you’ll pass by, you can simply ride one from the 1st pier and enjoy sight seeing as you ply the Chao Phraya River on to the last pier. Along the way, you will be able to see Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), the Grand Palace, Wat Po and many more.

Phra Arthit Pier

It only takes a couple of minutes for the boat to unload and load passengers so you need to be very quick or you might be left behind. I saw a foreign couple running towards the pier to catch the ferry boat that just docked but they weren’t lucky. I think it took less than 5 minutes for the boat to dock in the pier before it started its engine and headed for its next stop.

BTS Sky Train

Bangkok is included in the Top 10 Worst Cities for Traffic around the world. So a ride to your destination via the BTS Sky Train may be the ideal choice if you don’t want to get stuck in traffic down below.

photo credit: Franz Golhen

The great thing about riding the BTS Sky Train is that you will get a good view of the city from up above. Most of the shopping malls in Bangkok are accessible via the BTS so if you want to save money for transportation when you visit Bangkok, it is best to get hotels, hostels or guest houses near BTS Stations.

Bus

Aside from Bangkok’s tuk-tuk, our version of tricycles, buses are the most common mode of transportation in this country. If our country has jeepneys, Bangkok and Thailand in general have buses and tuk tuks. What’s great about these buses is that they are numbered and have designated bus stops. If you want to know your way around Bangkok with these buses, those free maps you’ll get in the airport, hotels, guest houses and from travelling agencies won’t do you any good since bus numbers and their corresponding routes are not printed on those maps. It’s best to ask a local what bus number to take when going to a certain destination or simply google the info. LOL. The asking part will be another challenge as some Thais may not be able to speak English well and won’t understand you too.

photo courtesy of Ilya Plekhanov

The good side about these buses are they are very cheap. It may cost you approximately 15 baht to reach a certain destination whereas a tuk-tuk driver may charge you 70-100 baht. And when you get lucky, you can find red buses with blue stickers (which a friend told me) that may take you to your next destination for free! Yep, Bangkok have free bus rides. I even got lucky to ride one of them. On my way home from the Chatuchack Market, I rode the MRT and on my way out, I had to ask the MRT security officer where to exit and what bus number to ride. I had to wait for around 20 minutes (waiting for your bus is one of the downside though if you are in a hurry) for my bus number and when I hopped in the bus, asked the conductor if I’m on the right one and asked how much the fare was, I was happy to hear that very beautiful word – “FREE”.

On our way to the Mo Chit Bus Station from the Airport’s Transport Center, there was a confusion with the bus we rode and we end up being dropped off at the bus station instead of the bus terminal. This wasn’t bad at all since we get to save on our expenses. I budgeted 85 per head for the Airport to Train Station fare yet we only spent 43 baht. Not bad at all!

Hopped on to this bus which charged us 24.50 for three heads from the Mo Chit Bus Station to the Hua Lamphong Railway Station.

If you want to save on your transportation expenses when visiting Bangkok, I would highly recommend taking the bus. Just ask what bus number to get on. And if you are travelling in shorter routes, hailing a taxi cab is also suggested. Case in point. From Soi Rambuttri to Siam Paragon (4.5km ), we only paid 47 baht for the taxi whereas a tuk tuk ride would have cost us 80-100 baht.

Motorcycle Taxi

Motorcycle taxis are the same as the “habal-habal” here except that they only carry 1 passenger per trip.

photo credit: motorcycle.com

This is by far the fastest way to travel within Bangkok especially when traffic reaches its peak during rush hour. The only downside to riding this one is that you will inhale all the pollution, you get exposed to the sun’s rays if you are OC about that and you may have issues with your safety. I’ve never ridden one since I never knew their existence until my friend mentioned he rode one in going back to where we stayed. I think he paid 100 baht for the trip. A little bit expensive but will surely get you through the congested streets.

MRT

If there’s a Sky Train, there’s also a subway train in Bangkok and that is the MRT. Those who go gaga over shopping may find the MRT convenient since this line connects to the weekend Chatuchak Market. From the Kamphaeng Phet Station (2nd station) to Hua Lamphong Train Station (last/18th station), I only paid 40 baht. From there, I just waited for a bus to take me back to where I was staying in bangkok. Not really bad considering the traffic I had to endure.

waiting for the MRT to arrive

I wonder how the BTS and MRT looks on a normal work week rush hour.

Instead of cards, you will be given this little black chip which you have to insert in the counter on your way out.

I find the BTS and MRT facility clean. The only problem with the trains (regular, BTS & MRT) are that their lines only cater to 3/4 of  the city. I say this based on the free maps we’ve been following. When checking out the map of Bangkok, the left side is your gateway to temples and other tourist attraction whereas the shopping malls are located in the center and the other right half side of the map is where you’ll see the train railways.

Taxi

A common mode of transportation almost anywhere, a taxi in Bangkok may cost you cheaper than riding a tuktuk when going on short trips. During moderate to low traffic, taxi drivers charge by the meter. But when the traffic gets heavy (especially at night), fares will soar high since they’ll be charging you on a per trip basis.

photo credit: crankyyankees.com

When this happens, you can either haggle with them or get off and take the next taxi and see how the next driver will charge you. Also, you may have to pay for toll fees too. This could happen on trips going back and forth the Suvarnabhumi Airport and other areas.

Train

Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Railway Station is situated in the heart of the city. It provides commuters cheap fares to nearby train stops and towns within Bangkok and the province of Thailand.

passengers gets cozy on this 6-hr train ride to Aranyaprathet

Tuk Tuk

Perhaps one of the most distinct transportation that screams Thailand is this vehicle. Although there are also tuk tuks available in Cambodia, the design of the two is different.

Till now, I still don’t know the basic rate when hiring a tuk tuk. Sometimes, tuk tuk drivers charge 70-100 baht for a trip to the shopping malls if you are coming from Khao San Road. Also, I hailed a tuk tuk once since my feet were too tired to walk 3 blocks from where I stayed and the 1st tuk tuk driver wanted to charge me 100 baht. No way! The second one asked for 60 baht and I haggled for 30. Despite grumbling and scratching his head, he agreed. So your haggling skills will definitely be put to use in situations like these. Otherwise, it’s best to just walk or ride a taxi, which I find cheaper plus the fact that it’s air conditioned too.

no farting allowed??? LOL

If you are in a hurry to reach a certain destination while carrying loads of shopping goods, hiring a tuk tuk is the best choice especially during rush hour since the streets will be packed with vehicles. You just have to brace yourself and hold on tight to your seats as some tuk tuk drivers can drive madly and you might be thrown off your seat. Just remember that before riding a tuk tuk, discuss with the driver the cost of the trip.

And if you’re up for more adventure, you can also help this baby elephant find its parents and maybe get a free ride too. Who knows? LOL

————————-

This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport

After our arrival in Bangkok, we had a bit of trouble finding our way to the Hua Lamphong Railway Station and we were grateful that we still made it in time for the 5:55am train schedule that would take us to Aranyaprathet, where Thailand’s border is situated. We planned to cross the border going to Siem Reap in Cambodia and since we do not want to spend around 300-400 baht for a bus ride going to this place, we decided to ride the train instead where we only had to pay 48 baht each. This was my first train ride experience.

I never knew what to expect on this ride. I couldn’t picture something like those we see in India since this was Thailand but I wasn’t being complacent too. Once we boarded the train, we walked to the farthest end of the train where we found cushioned seats and settled our stuff. Across our seat were two Caucasian couples (i think) who were also on their way to Siem Reap. I think I was expecting the train to be filthy and smelly but I was wrong. Although this was not a luxury train, I can manage riding this one since it doesn’t stink at all.

While waiting for the train to leave, we managed to take a couple of photos and bought food from peddlers selling sticky rice, beef/pork, water, juice, hotdogs and all other stuff.

sleepy heads

me, after a quick nap; Donnie, wide awake and ready to kill

The guy in the yellow shirt was with this girl in a white tank top below. We were teasing Donnie with that guy over there.

posing after the nap

a guy on the other seat was sleeping while the train went choo-choo

another signature pose from Donnie and Leah

the seductress look

Donnie and his hotdog

This hotdog on a stick really tasted weird. But since it was a waste of money to throw it away, Donnie just consumed all of it while constantly complaining how yucky and weird it tasted.

trees

more trees – going dead

dry land

a single tree

a hut

The train ride was a scenic 6-hour trip. The farther we travelled out of Bangkok, the lesser we saw houses. Instead of seeing greeneries everywhere, all we can see were those dry looking trees and the brown earth. The road going to Siem Reap is even worse (not in the bad kind of way). Instead of brown soil, you’ll see red earth soil + “malnourished” cows.

a lone tree

It took us 6 hours to reach Aranyaprathet since we had to stop at every train station we passed by to pick up passengers.

railway

We never really got the chance to see those passengers embarking and disembarking from the train since we were seated on the farthest end of the train. Those passengers never bothered going to that side so our side of the train wasn’t really crowded. We only realized this on our way back to Bangkok since we sat on the train box where people tend to load and unload so it was kinda chaotic on our way back.

The train is also equipped with its own bathroom so in case nature calls, you don’t have to wait for the next train stop. And since you are travelling out of Bangkok, you’ll get the chance to get some fresh countryside air.

If you are planning to go to Siem Reap via Bangkok and if you are not in a hurry, I would suggest you take the train so that you can see Thailand’s country side. Riding the train is also ideal especially if you are on a tight budget.

————————-

This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Modes of Transportation in Bangkok
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport