We travelled through Thailand rather quickly, stopping in Songkhla in the South, then Bangkok, before making our way North to Laos. We also made a 4-day trip to Cambodia from Bangkok and back to visit the magnificent temples of Angkor.
This post describes how to travel by train from the South to North of Thailand, as well as how to get from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia.
Visas
As we were spending less than 30 days in Thailand, we didn’t need a visa.
For Cambodia, we got a visa on arrival while crossing the border. It cost USD 30 per person, which had to be paid in spotless USD notes. You also have to bring a passport photo. It was a smooth process going across the border and back.
Travel
Travelling from the Thaï border to Songkhla by public transport
Once we got to the Thaï side of the Thaï-Malaysian border train station at Padang Besar, we hopped on an incredibly charming train, all wood and pastel orange, windows wide open. We bought the ticket directly at the station at the border crossing and it cost 8 ringgits per person, or 50 Thai baht. It was a 40 minute ride to the city of Hat Yai.
From there we hailed a Grab ride to the Hat Yai bus station and hopped in a minivan to Songhkla. We found the schedule on Rome2Rio, just went to the station and paid directly with the bus driver. It cost 30 Thai Baht per person. We showed the driver where our hotel was and he left us as close as possible to it on the main road.
Travelling from Hat Yai to Bangkok by train
Back from quiet Songkhla, we boarded the SRT RP170 overnight train from Hat Yai to Bangkok, leaving at 6:20pm and arriving the next morning at 10:50am (a 16-hour train ride). We booked using the Baolau website and it cost 753 Thai Baht per person (plus a service fee) for Second Class Berths. Subsequent trains we booked directly with the Thai railways website, it’s a bit clunky, but no problems using foreign cards.
It was a very comfortable ride in second class: the berths are initially tucked away so you can sit and enjoy the scenery outside during day time. With bedtime approaching, attendants come to pull down and make the beds – 2 bunks on each side of the aisle. Each berth is provided with linen, a blanket and a pillow and has a curtain for privacy.
It is a short night as hawkers go up and down the coaches loudly trying to sell food until late and up early in the morning. Earplugs and sleeping pills are of great help!
Travelling from Bangkok to Cambodia (Siem Reap) by train
We took the train number 275 from the Bangkok Phaya Thai train station to Ban Klong Luk Border, next to the Cambodian border town of Poi Pet. The train starts at 5:55 from Bangkok Train Station, but we hopped on at the next stop, Phaya Thai, where the train stops at the level of the road on the West side of the level crossing. We checked the schedule with Google Maps and just bought tickets on the train, it cost 49 thaï baht per person. It’s a simple but comfortable train. With windows wide open, we enjoyed watching many colourful bird species chirping in the meadows and wetlands by the train tracks.
The train terminates at the border, and it was well sign posted and simple to cross the border, going through Cambodian immigration into the Cambodian town of Poi Pet. There was a bus, but we would have had to wait for hours, so we took a car to Siem Reap for USD 30 in total. We had read information on Seat 61 about a free shuttle to a passenger bus terminal then a public bus, but the shuttle was nowhere to be seen and we were told the public bus no longer existed. Indeed when we passed the passenger terminal it was in an advanced state of decay. It took 3 hours to reach Siem Reap by car. So instead we followed and bargained with someone who approached us as soon as we’d crossed the border and organised a taxi for us.
On the way back, our guesthouse organised bus tickets for us, so we went back to Poi Pet in a minivan and paid USD 12 per person. Then back on the train to Bangkok, again checking times with Google Maps and buying tickets at the station.
We certainly recommend at least 4 days to visit the incredible Angkor Wat and surrounds. We rented a scooter and bought a detailed guide book to the temples, which gave us complete freedom to discover at our own pace. We explored Ta Prom, the tomb raider temple, with not another soul around, just as darkness fell, magical and eerie!
Travelling from Bangkok to the Laos border by train
We took train 75 from the Krung Thep Aphiwat Bangkok train station to the thaï town of Nong Khai, bordering Laos. We bought tickets on the State Railway of Thailand website. It cost 494 thai baht per person for 2nd class seats, much cheaper than the sleeper trains. Beware 3rd class seats aren’t reserved and you might find yourself standing. It was a comfortable 9 hour train ride, albeit with arrival delayed by almost two hours. We recommend taking some food on board as there was no restaurant car and limited options from hawkers on board.
Upon arriving at Nong Khai station in the dark, we walked -5 minutes to the Nong Khai Border Checkpoint on the main road leading to the bridge over the Mekong. After Thai immigration you’ll see a ticket counter for the shuttle bus that takes you across the Friendship Bridge to Laos immigration. Tickets were 30 baht before 16:00 and 35 baht from 16:00 until the border closure and last bus at 20:00.
For the Laos side, you need USD40 per person and a passport photo. More on that in our Laos post!
For more details on our travels in Thailand and Cambodia, our observations and reflections, head over to our Journal Page.
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