Vientiane – Matthew Woodward

The Laos – China Railway

Matthew Woodward — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 11:06:22 +0000

The story starts with a harsh economic fact. Laos now has an almost high speed railway, but as a result owes China over 10 billion US dollars in debt, not that far from its 13 billion dollar GDP. Walking around Vientiane almost wherever I see a Lao flag I see a Chinese one not far away.

Practically you might have heard that the biggest challenge on the Lao China Railway (LCR) is getting a ticket. Matters have improved since opening, but tickets only go on sale 3 days before travel. There are three solutions. (1) get an agent to buy your ticket (2) use the LCR app if you have a Lao or Thai mobile number or (3) buy at the station on arrival from Thailand. I went for the app in the end and it was surprisingly simple once set up with all my details. At 06.30 I was first in and purchased a rare business class ticket, something not offered by the agents and that would be sold out long before I reached a station ticket counter once in Laos.
So three days later and I’m off to the station for my train, the C92 to Luang Prabang, departing at 09.45. The snag is that the new LCR station is a half hour drive out of town and a taxi costs 300000 Kip (£11). You can see it from a couple of miles away. In the Chinese tradition, it dominates the landscape as an international power play.

As long as you don’t have any prohibited items in your luggage it doesn’t take long to get into the station. I’ve had to sacrifice my aerosols, so I’m unshaven but hopefully not too smelly. Inside the huge airy building I find a VIP lounge with a few big white leather chairs and not much else. Everything is clean and well ordered. Twenty minutes before departure a lady arrives to escort business class passengers past the crowds and right onto the platform, a real bonus.

The train is long and business class is coach 8, the final carriage at the rear. A guardess in Lao national dress stands by the final door. When I try to take a photograph of the back end of the train she crosses her arms in front of her body in a sort of pre strike karate move and won’t let me pass. Chinese train management don’t understand rail enthusiasts and assume only a dangerous person would wish to pass the end of the train on the platform. I’ve seen this before in Manchuria. Keen to avoid a fight of Double Dragon proportions (I’m sure I would lose), I board the carriage and find my seat, 1A. If Richard Burton were on board, he’d be sat right here.

The configuration is 1-2 on this train. In the latest version it 1-1, but I’m more than happy with the comfort and space on offer here. I settle in and enjoy a cup of coffee made by my martial arts friend. It only comes in a very Asian – ‘3 in 1’.
The scenery becomes more interesting as we head north and pass between mountain ranges. I can now see this must be a mammoth journey in a mini van. A day to cover the ground by road, but by rail it’s just 2 hours.

The final 30 minutes of the journey is mainly in tunnels as we pass through the mountains. A man in a purple shirt with a purple hat joins the crew in the vestibule at the front of the carriage. I imagine he might be the train manager, or security. He’s armed with a small calibre pistol in a brown holster, probably to take down any smokers or passengers with illegal deodorants.
Our arrival at Luang Prabang is predictably on time, and I realise that the exit is at our end of the platform, putting me in pole position to bag a minivan into town. The only problem is I’m not allowed to leave the station without my ticket and my app doesn’t seem to work at first. But eventually I’m through, down in a lift and negotiating with a driver. It’s 300000 Kip for the van, divided by the number of passengers. I share the journey with a couple of lovely world savvy Americans.
This trip has been effortless once the ticket had been purchased. As for Luang Prabang, it’s paradise. Even the insects are chilled out.

The Slow Train to Laos

Matthew Woodward — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 05:17:49 +0000

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 system works though. You form an orderly queue at a zone number and about 20 minutes before departure an announcement is made and the newly installed e-gates are opened. Monks first, then everyone else, a rag tag army, behind. It’s an escalator up to the platform – or a lift if you have as much luggage as I do.

Ready to depart on platform 2 is Special Express 25, one of the modern Chinese built trains, and the good news is that I have managed to book a first class cabin all to myself using the SRT app. You can now do this 180 days prior to departure for long distance trains, although I heard a rumour that it might get shortened again. Carriage 13 (the single first class sleeper) by protocol is at the rear of the train leaving Bangkok. The departure time is after 20.00, so my guard has already made up the beds. He’s a grand wizard at this – the sheet is drum tight and creaseless.

The overnight journey up to the border at Nong Khai is effortless, and I enjoy a Penang curry served in my room from the restaurant carriage. Sleep didn’t come too easily, but that was about jet lag rather than comfort. The pads they put on the beds are excellent – far better than on an airline in business class.

Arrival the following morning is on time at 6.28 am. I know this as it gave me just 2 minutes to disembark and get out my phone & credit card ready for the opening of the LCR railway ticket release for 3 days time. This is like trying to get a ticket for Glastonbury, but for trains. With my Thai telephone number all set up on the app it took me just a minute to book and pay – and I’m rewarded with seat 1A in the business class carriage. I am now the Richard Burton of Chinese trains – his seat on Concorde if you ever heard the stories.

The snag here at Nong Khai is that I’m going to change to the train running behind me, Express 133. This one goes all the way from Bangkok to Vientiane (Khamsavath), but that’s a bit of a con, as you still have to get off to do the Thai exit border formalities, and it’s not nearly as comfy as my train. Rail wisdom says get here earlier and change. But it’s 90 minutes late despite just following the route of my on time train. No worries. I wait with the soi dogs and a scattering of backpackers until I’m invited by the security man to proceed to immigration.

Eventually we get underway. Only 5 carriages of train 133 cross the border, pulled by a spotless but old local GE locomotive. A brief ticket inspection as we cross the mighty Mekong and we pull into Khamsavath station in about 30 minutes, where visa paperwork is handed out like confetti. It’s not hugely organised, but as a Western farang I get to wait in shorter queue. All goes well until the $20 bills I present are deemed not crisp enough. I find some more, also rejected, and with one more throw of the dice find two bills that finally pass the ‘just printed’ test. From here it’s just a bumpy 30 minute tuk tuk ride into Vientiane and the civility of a nice hotel room in a charming city.

This is a straightforward trip and a great way to connect two amazing SE Asian cities. I totally recommend it. Do take train 25 to the border until train 133 is upgraded – or maybe they will extend train 25 to run all the way to Vientiane one day..

My next leg is onward to Luang Prabang on the Laos China Railway in a few days time.