With domestic and international airfares having reduced in price over recent years train travel appears to have lost its appeal to many international travellers. However, the overnight train from Hualamphong Railway Station in central Bangkok to Hong Khai in North East Thailand is a unique way to enter Laos via the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge which spans 1174 metres across the Mekong River to Vientiane. Another option to enter Laos utilising an overnight train from Bangkok is via Ubon Ratchathani (also in North East Thailand) and then a short bus trip to Pakse in Southern Laos.
Hualamphong Railway Station, Bangkok
Situated on the eastern fringe of Bangkoks’ Chinatown is the unmistakeable architectural site of Hualamphong Railway Station, the originating point for all the long distance train travel throughout Thailand with the exception of travel to Kanchanaburi – Nam Tok which is serviced from Bangkok Noi Station in Thonburi. While Hualamphong Railway Station appears chaotic to the uninitiated traveller, State Railway of Thailand staff are on hand to guide travellers to their correct train and carriage. First Class carriages in Thailand offer a two bed compartment, one upper berth and one lower berth, air-conditioning and a wash basin. Two showers and two toilets service the carriage as well.
Night train to Laos
Both the train to Nong Khai and the train to Ubon Ratchathani depart Hualamphong Railway Station on the Northern line which eventually terminates at Chiang Mai. Not long after passing through the sacred city of Ayuthaya the North Eastern bound trains divert east through Saraburi until they reach Nakhon Ratchasima. Here the Nong Khai train heads north through Khon Kaen and Udon Thani and finally reaching Nong Khai on the banks of the Mekong River some ten and a half hours after departing Bangkok. At Nakon Ratchasima the Ubon Ratchathani train continues in an easterly direction. Upon reaching bon Ratchathani the popular choice of most travellers is the short bus trip across the Mekong River to Pakse, however there is alternate choice of entry to Laos via the market town of Mukdahan and then crossing the Mekong River to Savannakhet on the Laos side of the border.
Welcome to Laos
Laos is a country of immense natural beauty with a laid back atmosphere giving the traveller ample opportunity to explore its many charms. The local people are shy but very friendly. Land locked by its neighbours of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and China, Laos does not offer beach resorts of other South East Asian destinations although it does have a beach of sorts on Done Khone Island in the 4000 Islands. Like many of its neighbours Laos has suffered some tragic history and has the dubious honour of being the most bombed country in the world on a per capita of population basis, courtesy of American bombing sorties’ during the Vietnam War to eradicate the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Ironically while train travel can be a magnificent mode of transport top enter Laos there are no functional railways within Laos.
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