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

If you want to save big time on getting out of the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand, your best bet would be to ride their public bus transportation system.

Taxi

If you hail a metered taxi, it could cost you a whooping 500 baht for the trip to Bangkok from the Suvarnabhumi Airport. Sometimes, taxi drivers will charge you a flat rate (pakyaw) which will cover the toll fees that you will pass. But metered or not, the ~500 baht fare is just too expensive if you are travelling alone, unless you have someone else to split the fare. Travel time: ~2 hours and depends on the traffic

Airport Rail Link

Then there’s also the Bangkok Airport Rail Link which will cut the travel time as well as the costs of getting in Bangkok. From Suvarbabhumi Airport, you may have to pay ~150 baht to reach the Phaya Thai station in 30 minutes.There are plenty of signs in the airport so you won’t definitely get lost when finding the Airport Link station. From there, you can ride a taxi to get to where you want to go or simply take the BTS train. I haven’t really tried this mode of transportation but this one looks really promising as this is definitely cheaper compared to hailing taxi cabs. Travel time: ~1 hour

Public Bus

However, for someone like me who travels on a tight budget, I believe that the cheapest way to travel to Bangkok from the Suvarbabhumi Airport is via a public bus. So how do you find one within the airport? Simple…

You just have to ride one of those Bangkok Airport Shuttle Bus. The shuttle bus is FREE. When you exit the doors of the arrival section of the airport, cross the street (still within the airport grounds, ok?) and look for the bus stop signs and wait for the free shuttle buses.

riding the free airport shuttle bus with our backpacks

There’s enough room on any Airport Shuttle Bus for your luggages too, if you are carrying one instead of backpacks. But since this is a free bus, tendency is you may stand up when there are too many passengers waiting for the shuttle bus. You can either wait for the next bus to arrive or be alert and quickly hop on the bus before the other passengers =)

These buses will take you to the Transport Centre.

the Transport Center

bus numbers vs their corresponding routes

Once you are in the Transport Center, look for the huge board with different bus numbers and their corresponding routes. You can use them as reference to what bus number you will ride. Travel time: ~2 hours depending on the traffic

Public Bus Number 550 on its way to Bangkok

public bus within Bangkok

On my recent trip to Bangkok, we rode bus number 550 to reach the Mo Chit Bus station. The plan was to get to the Mo Chit Bus Terminal and ride a taxi to Hua Lamphong station (which was what we did the last time we were there).  But due to language barriers, we end up getting dropped at the Mo Chit Bus station. From there, we rode another bus going to the Hua Lamphong Station. The cost of the whole trip?

34.00 baht/head - Transport Center to Mochit Bus Station (airconditioned)
8.17 baht/head – Mo Chit bus station to Hua Lamphong Station (we paid 24 for 3 heads) (non-airconditioned)
————
42.17 baht/head - Total fare – Suvarnabhumi Airport to Hua Lamphong Railway Station

We were on our way to Siem Reap which explains the need to go to Hua Lamphong train station. But I bet we could have saved more on the bus fare had I known the exact bus station to get off to reach Hua Lamphong Station. After being dropped off at the Mo Chit bus station, we asked some locals if it is cheaper to ride a taxi or a bus and they recommended the bus and pointed us to what bus number to ride. We could have paid a few extra bahts if we hopped on an airconditioned one but this is still the cheapest by far. (TIP: Never hesitate to ask for help)

*esp if travelling alone
**especially when carrying huge luggages

Hailing for taxi cabs is more convenient due to their door-to-door drop off points but you may also end up getting scammed by some taxi drivers. Airport Links could be difficult if you have huge luggages and you will have to walk to reach the bus/train stations. Public buses could also be difficult if you have huge luggages with you and you may have to ask what bus number to ride and wait for the buses to arrive.

So there you go. Even if taxis are the most convenient mode of transportation going to Bangkok, I’d still prefer riding a public bus. The amount of money I will save on a taxi or the airport link will definitely be useful for food trips and shopping in Bangkok!

If you want to know how to get around Bangkok, you can check out the differenttransportation they have within the city on this link:

http://thetravellingfeet.com/modes-of-transportation-in-bangkok/

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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 – 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

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

This is a continuation of this article: My First Trip To Bangkok

Finally! After 3 hours of being up in the air, we finally landed at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok!

Donnie, beaming with happiness

Yup, that’s me with Leah, back when I was still thinner

Donnie, enjoying the pose on the walkalator

The Suvarnabhumim Airport was really huge. I no longer remember how many walkalators we had to ride to get to the immigration section.

Everytime we looked up as we were riding the walkalators, we could see these type of ads lurking on the ceiling of the airport.

Their Baggage Claim area was also huge. I just failed to notice if they have a German translation agency.  One thing I noticed, was that after we got our baggage, no one checked the airline bag tags to ensure people got their respective baggages. This was kinda weird for me since I was used to having my baggage checked if it corresponds to the tags given by our local airline carrier here. If someone were to steal a luggage here in Bangkok, it would really be easy since the airport officers doesn’t check the tags.

Although we researched on how to go to Cambodia from Bangkok, I guess we failed to research the best way to get to the railway station from the airport. Since we saw an airport bus and learned that it was free, we immediately hopped in it without thinking twice on where it’s headed. We thought that we could easily find our way to the train station after we were dropped off at a terminal outside the airport. But this turned out to be one of the most stressful events we had to endure that night. (I was just exaggerating about the stressful part. We were not stressed. We were just amused at how the events turned out.)

Since there were no taxis passing by this area at this hour, we asked a couple of locals on what bus we need to ride to go to the Hua Lamphong Railway Station. We need to be there before 5:55am since the 1st train that leaves Bangkok for Aranyaprathet leaves at that time.

Up until that point, we had no idea that we are in for some major language issues. The Thais are basically not that good in speaking in English. As a matter of fact, the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country whose 2nd language is English. The rest of these countries are not yet that adept at speaking in English which was why it took us a long time to communicate to the people we were asking on where we need to go.

At first, we asked 2 guards on duty at the terminal if they can tell us what to bus to ride. We were already explaining ourselves to them in broken English hoping that they would understand. They just nodded every time we speak and they kept smiling but in reality, they had no idea what we were saying.

We were saying “how to go to Hua Lomphong Station going to Aranyaprathet”, “where is the train station”, “train station”. Those were phrases and words we kept repeating. No one seemed to understand us. Not even the lady at the ticketing counter inside the terminal. Not even the staff of 7-eleven. We were already signaling “train station” “choo choo chooo” “train station”. We were like kids trying to mimic how a train normally sounds in the hopes of those 2 guards recognizing what a train is but to no avail.

notice the guy wearing pink behind Donnie? That guy’s sleeping soundly

We just waited on these benches while we figure out how to get out of this place and managed to take a couple of pictures.

notice that guy behind me? That’s the same guy on the picture on top, still sleeping

While we wait for a miracle to happen, we just found our own amusement through that sleeping guy. We kept on taking our pictures to keep our sanity while at the same time disturbing the guy from his sleep. We were really bad tourists

We surely can’t afford to miss that 6am train going to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. If we miss that, we either spend a fortune riding the airconditioned bus or end up riding the next trip at 12 nn. That meant sleeping at the border once we arrive there.

Leah, trying to wake up the sleeping guy by talking/singing loudly but she wasn’t successful

In this photo, if we only had DSLRs here, we could have captured the guy’s dripping saliva as he slept peacefully in his seat

The thing is, we were all cheapskates. So instead of taking a bus that would bring us to Aranyaprathet in less than 4 hours at around 300-400 baht each, we preferred to go on a 6-hr train ride going to Aranyaprathet which will only cost us 48 Thai baht each.

After a long time, the personnel at the train station figured out where we need to go so they told us to wait for a certain bus that would take us to the Mochit Bus Terminal. When that bus arrived, we boarded immediately. It was a double decker bus. The first level was used to store all the luggages. We climbed the stairs to the second level and found us seats in front of the driver. Everyone was asleep. there were 3 vacant seats and 1 was a vacant seat next to a monk. Leah instructed Donnie to sit beside the monk. I learned that night that monks were not supposed to sit beside a woman. Or that women are not allowed to sit beside a monk.

The bus ride was really comfortable. We were dropped off at the Mochit Bus Terminal and was instructed to ride a taxi going to the Railway Train station. There we saw colorful Toyota Vioseseses and rode a pink Vios. I think we arrived at around 5am in the train station. After buying our tickets for our train ride, we grabbed something to eat at one of the stalls outside the station. That’s our first encounter of an authentic Thai dish and it wasn’t bad at all. By 5:55 am, we boarded the train leaving for Aranyaprathet and enjoyed our 1st train ride in Thailand.

For now, we bid goodbye to Bangkok as we headed for Aranyaphratet and crossed the Thai-Cambodia border at Poipet. After 3 days, we’ll be back in Bangkok. Although Donnie is inkling to roam the streets of Bangkok, he hads to wait for we had to visit the temples of Angkor when we got to Siem Reap.

P.S. During this time, I had no idea about blogging yet. So I was never that obsessed at taking pictures of every detail of the trip. Had I known I’d be working on my own websites in the future, I would have taken countless pictures of our trip! And I only had a borrowed camera with me. I was worried the battery would die soon too.

————————-

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
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