Phuket to BKK by bus & train

[AngloTeuton]

Last week I had to take a trip to the City of Angels and since time was not of essence and I love choo-choos I decided to use the train from Surat Thani.

To get there I had to take a bus from Phuket Town terminal. I left home at about 1430 and was on the next bus to Surat at 15oo. The road via Kao Lak and Kao Sud was very scenic and the local college/office girls were good company. Quite a few tourists were on the bus, which dropped us all off in front of Surat RR stn.

At Surat there were long delays but at last the train arrived, all the way from Buttersworth, MY, and Singapore. The coaches and locomotive looked quite ratty (much worse than the first time I used the TH trains in 1997), but the inside was clean. The A/C worked TOO well, so I was glad I brought long pants, a jacket and hat. I slept very well on clean sheets, a pillow and under a cotton blanket in an upper berth. When day broke the steward took the bedding away and opened the seats.

We arrived 2 hrs late at 10oo but just in time for my business appointment within walking distance from the stn. In the afternoon I went shopping for computer stuff at Panthip plaza, a 7-floor shopping center for just IT! BKK looked cleaner and less congested than I remember her. -- I took city bus 113 from the front door of Panthip to the central RR stn for THB 8 in about 15 min. Love those antique stainless steel busses with teak floors on Benz truck chassis and their very agressive and skilled drivers. Who needs a rip-off taxi.

The return trip from the impressive and clean (cleaner than Don Muang AP) Hualumpung central RR stn was on time and was just as smooth as the ride in (the welded tracks feel better maintained than the ones in USA, top speed just as slow though, maybe 100 km/h). But the first etap of the bus trip from Surat was a disaster. The bus from Phantip Bus Co was oversold and people were already standing in the aile when it arrived. The agent promised many ppl would get off within 30 min. But even more people were picked up from the roadside! They pushed us all towards the back of the bus where the on-board toilet was overflowing and was w/o chemicals. As I got sick and sicker, I demanded to get off the bus at the next stop and 20 min later I was in a seat of a half-empty, clean vehicle with friendly crew.

We arrived at Phuket town on time at about 14oo, so the entire adventure took about 48 hrs. I avoided the taxi/tuk-tuk/MC mafia by conspiring with 2 Canadians to walk a few feet and find a freelance limousine (a local MC shop owner moonlighting with his brand new Honda Accord to make the payments) for THB 150 to Chalong with a 10 min stop at a gold shop.

Total cost: door-door THB 2100 RT in buses and 2nd class sleepers, plus 200 wasted on Phantip Bus Co ("No money back when buy ticket from agent, sucker!" or words to that effect). Flying would have cost ~triple that and maybe had saved 24 hrs, but with lots of scenery and fun missed.

Facit: Maybe TH government should have used the billions wasted on the new "sinking" S'bumi BKK airport to upgrade their train system. A 250 km/h TGV/ICE train Singapore to BKK would be nice, maybe even a 450 km/h-MagLev train like they have in Shanghai already.

Some railway enthusiasts with too much money pay >EUR /$3000 for the SIN-BKK trip on the Orient Express.

Me and many like minded ppl would not mind paying the same as airfare for a decent, fast sleeper train (after all I'd save the night's accomodation costs). There were several hundred ferang and Asian tourists on those trains and they did NOT look like Cheap Charlies.

See: STATE RAILWAY OF THAILAND
BKK interactive street map: Stadtplan, Landkarte und Routenplaner online: hot-maps

[Talbotman]

I DONT mean any offence to you as i dont know you but the burning question in my head is WHY ! WHY! were you short of money? because personally i would not even consider such a horrendous journey and i have done a few bus trips in my time in los but none over 4 hours, but i saw enough to put me off for life OVERCROWDED /uncomfortable /slow if i had to make this journey i would have stopped off at huahin for a couple of days to break up the journey BUT I CAN NEVER SEE THE NEED TO EVEN CONSIDER IT !

[Nanook]

Hi T., as the guy said. He loves trains and time wasn't a factor here. Maybe he just wanted to have a nice adventure under his belt.
Of course your remarks make sense, but I believe Angloteuton just wanted to give it a shot and maybe he is cured now.

[AngloTeuton]

Originally Posted by Nanook

Hi T., as the guy said. He loves trains and time wasn't a factor here. Maybe he just wanted to have a nice adventure under his belt.
Of course your remarks make sense, but I believe Angloteuton just wanted to give it a shot and maybe he is cured now.

Why NOT?! And who's calling me sick? You guys work for airlines' PR depts?

That one little misadventure with 30 min on an oversold bus was my own stupid mistake. I should not have bought my bus ticket in advance and I should have not gotten on that crowded bus in Surat. Always just show up and inspect the bus. Sniff it too. Then pay the bus crew in person.

I always prefer a surface trip to air. Ships & trains vs planes. Not because I scared of flying: I used to fly gliders in my past life.

In Europe I always ride the trains even though now they cost more than the budget airlines. They go downtown to downtown while Ryan Air and other cheapo airlines dump you 150 km from Frankfurt at Hahn-Hunsrueck when you thought you're flying to FRA ;-(), for instance.

On a train I can walk up and down the wide ailes, eat a real fresh-cooked meal in the diner, take pictures of the scenery. Any train seat in 2nd class or better is wider and has more legroom that a 1st class airplane seat. Many recline to a perfectly flat position. Sleepers are usually available for a small extra charge.

What's so great about planes? Obviousdly you don't follow the recent developments in air travel: usually they're more crowded than the cheapest bus, most of the time they want you strapped into your seat like some cretin in a mental hospital. Incredible lines at airport counters/check-in/customs/immi, even if you show up >2 hrs ahead of departure as required. Airports are nothing better than protective custody camps now and planes the paddy wagons in between. Rude officials check and double-triple check people trapped inside.

Airline food is not much better than prison food too. And don't forget: planes attract hijackers. Air marshals only shoot unruly/drunk passengers dead. They haven't cought a terrorist yet. Passengers did.

Airlines now enforce very strict luggage weight limits, so they can rip you off on overweight charges. I had to throw 5 kg of stuff away I bought in Germany on my last trip to avoid a EUR 575 fine Gulf Air wanted to collect from me. Nok, Air Asia, 1,2,3, Go, Tiger ect have luggage limits as low as 15 kg! Even "real" airlines now lowered theirs to 20 ;-(

I flew HKT-BKK-HKT or 3 different airlines over the last year, none was a fun trip and each took >7 hrs door-door. I fly cross-ocean by plane several times a year and it's always a bad trip. No matter if in economy or biz/1st class. Sometimes delays can be >10 hrs. Read about the inhumane, abusive conditions the airlines put people under in USA during the recent snow storms. Ppl said they were 'held hostage' on parked planes for 9-10 hrs w/o food and water, with toilets overflowing. I had only endure 30 min on that bad bus.

And: why does Michael Palin does his great surface trips? Not because he's a Cheap Charley. Same here.

[Nanook]

Originally Posted by AngloTeuton

Why NOT?! And who's calling me sick? You guys work for airlines' PR depts?

Take it easy Buddy, I only mentioned to Talbotman, that you liked the adventure of taking the train etc. You explained that clearly.
I mentioned cured, because you seem to have a bad bus ride, but the train appeared to be OK, if I understood it well.

I don't like to travel on busses. But trains and planes are OK for me.

[jimholio]

Not all busrides sucks.

I went with a 24 seater VIP bus from BKK to Phuket, it sure was more comfortable then economy class on any plane in the world. However it did take about 9 hours longer then it would take by plane.

[A-JAY-Q]

I agree that taking the bus can be ok and a lot cheaper. However, obviously time is the main factor and whether you can sleep on buses or not.

Unfortunately I am one that struggles to get a good night sleep on these and trains (and planes actually). However, a quick visit to the pharmacy for some sleeping helpers "you want the purple one sir?" and the overnight bus is a very viable option (and significantly cheaper). The ones I have taken recently only do 2 stops which go down well for going to the loo and stretching (if awake of course). Which reminds me - when booking ask for the front seat at the top (if non-smoker) - no-one in front of you which is a bonus.

However, I would advise against doing the bus that goes to Surat Thani and then BKK (the train trip from surat thani I have not done) - I booked for me and thai gf (she was charged 200bht more can you believe as it was a "farang" tour) and then they wouldn't let her on the bus at Surat Thani!! Had to stay in that s***hole of a place for a night while they sorted it out. Anyway, although only 550bht don't do it. Book the government bus from Phuket bus station - I think I paid about 500 odd baht for 2nd class (sold out of the 24 seater/32 seater VIP buses which have even more space). VIP costs about 950 baht for the 24 seater.

I would also recommend taking a train trip during the day if you are one to appreciate the scenery and are up for getting about a bit. I was on the last carriage which you could walk to the end of (no door) and stand out the back taking it all in.

I actually hate the whole process of queing/checking in/waiting some more/getting on the plane/waiting etc etc (and the security is over the top but that is me speaking from the UK where the government is doing its best to ingrain good old fear into the nation with these new measures....)

Hope this info is useful.

[AngloTeuton]

Originally Posted by A-JAY-Q

.... I would also recommend taking a train trip during the day if you are one to appreciate the scenery and are up for getting about a bit. I was on the last carriage which you could walk to the end of (no door) and stand out the back taking it all in.

Good info and confirms my advice: don't pay for the trip until you inspect the bus. And buy the train ticket at the RR station, not some agent. Only the RR company knows if seats/bunks/comparments are available. The computer system does not provide that info: STATE RAILWAY OF THAILAND

Try calling the RR company ahead of time to get a situation report. I find this actually better than the stupid seat reservation system done by maiinstream Airlines. Was a big fan of Laker Skytrain and Peoples' Express in the past who operated on standly only (for USD 99 each way JFK-LON-JFK!). When they started to include travel agents in the process it was they first step to their demise. People Express actually had the flight attendants sell the tickets on-board, after take-off like a tram conductor, instead of perfumes and knick-knacks.

[RobRoy]

Originally Posted by AngloTeuton

Good info and confirms my advice: don't pay for the trip until you inspect the bus. And buy the train ticket at the RR station, not some agent. Only the RR company knows if seats/bunks/comparments are available. The computer system does not provide that info: STATE RAILWAY OF THAILAND

Try calling the RR company ahead of time to get a situation report. I find this actually better than the stupid seat reservation system done by maiinstream Airlines. Was a big fan of Laker Skytrain and Peoples' Express in the past who operated on standly only (for USD 99 each way JFK-LON-JFK!). When they started to include travel agents in the process it was they first step to their demise. People Express actually had the flight attendants sell the tickets on-board, after take-off like a tram conductor, instead of perfumes and knick-knacks.

I once did Bangkok to Padang Besar by train for a visa run with a few pals. I was short of cash at the time, otherwise I'd have bought a flight. It was a loooong trip trip but I can sleep anywhere and it was fun with the Thais and their "sanuk".