When you talk to people about the historic Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok, most will raise an eyebrow, smile knowingly and say how wonderful it all once was. They refer of course to when Bangkok Station was the main rail terminal for the city more than 100 years before the modern Krung Thep Aphiwat Station was opened. Progress has come at a price to those who miss the old fashioned grandeur, but all is not lost. In fact there is a new chapter in the history of Bangkok and its railways, and it’s a rather good one. There is only […]
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The new line from Boten on the Chinese border down to Vientiane may be fast, if not full high speed, but for the next few years the line coming up from Bangkok in the south will remain much slower – and that’s got to be a good thing, I love slow travel by train. Time to relax and watch the world go by. My journey to Vientiane starts at Bangkok’s now one year old Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal Station. If you haven’t tried it yet it’s like an airport terminal but without any lounges or retail therapy whatsoever. The […]
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Distance so far: 16 504 km (at Bangkok). Weather: 31 degrees, part sunny. 13.30 Bangkok Central Station is “old school” and pretty small, so despite a resident army of a few thousand protestors waiting to mobilise in the concourse, it was easy to get through. I was expecting to see an Army presence here but it’s clearly not a target, as the protestors have vowed not to close the railways. No security, no ticket checks and straight onto the platforms. Then behold, there at Platform 5 – the “International Express” (aka “Special Express”) was already there and waiting, more than […]
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Having arrived at Hua Lamphong railway station on Sunday night it began to dawn on me that I had got into the centre of town in the “eye of the storm”. Less than 12 hours later Bangkok was due to be totally shut down as the opposition party do their best to oust the care taking Prime Minister. This is politics Thai style, and I only hope it remains peaceful, both for the people and for my own personal well being. There is talk of further action if Suthep does not resign by Wednesday and the General in charge of […]
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