Day Eleven
Cathay Pacific First Class ~ 777-300 ~ Hong Kong, CH to Bangkok, TH ~ 210p – 410p
Thailand Railways First Class ~ Bangkok, TH to Vientiane, LA ~ 800p – 645a

Rather than sleep in, shower, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and catch the 10:00am bus to HKIA, I instead caught the 8:00am bus with the plan being to shower and eat breakfast in whatever First Class lounge was most convenient to either the gate or my mood at the time.

It was a little after 9:15 by the time I’d cleared the security and immigration formalities. The proximity of The Wing and my desire to get lounging ASAP made the decision a simple one. Ten minutes later I was Winging it in one of Cathay’s excellent shower rooms. Well-travelled readers who’ve visited Cathay’s facilities here in Hong Kong will recall the giant sunflower showerheads that deliver a full on deluge bordering on a tropical monsoon downpour – but with adjustable temperature control. Ah… now that’s a proper shower!

Later, I repaired to the Haven Restaurant where a delicious collection of breakfast hors d’oeuvres was followed by a plate of Eggs Benedict – all of it washed down with some surprisingly good coffee. I like my coffee rich, earthy and strong. Think dark roast Sumatran or Sulawesi. The coffee I was served in the Haven was dark and reasonably rich – which is saying a lot by airline lounge standards.



Breakfast Hors D’Oeuvres


Eggs Benedict at The Haven


Now I’m certainly amongst the first to acknowledge that lounging is an integral and cherished part of the First Class travel experience. That said, it’s generally not so cherished that I always feel a need to check out all the lounges available to me via a lounge hop. I used to. Years ago, my level of excitement for both the lounge experience and reporting upon it (Oh Boy! Wait’ll the Trip Report Forum regulars hear about this!) might have compelled me to go check out some of Cathay’s other fine lounges at HKG. These days, after having logged over 1.2 million miles in International First Class alone – not to mention having reported on it all via over seventy trip reports totaling over 1.2 million words in print – it no longer seems so important. The result being that once I’d settled in after breakfast with a spacious table and decent Wi-Fi connection, I was good to go until boarding was finally posted at gate 25.

Waiting at the gate was B-KQW, a three year old 777-367 – one of the newest 777s in Cathay’s fleet and the 50th individual 777 I’d flown to date. Looking around the gate lounge at my fellow passengers, I got the distinct sense that few if any of them appreciated B-KQW in the same sense that I had. 777-300 or Convair 880 – whatever - as long as it gets us there safely.



777-300 B-KQW awaits boarding at gate 25


Despite this being a 1060 mile regional flight, the initial pre-flight service mirrored that of a much longer international flight with the exception of amenity kits and pajamas. Champagne (Taittinger) was poured and menus were presented. The menu indicated a Refreshment but by most any other airline’s standard, this was a full-on luncheon service.


REFRESHMENT
Hong Kong to Bangkok


STARTER
Parma ham, baked tomato, feta cheese and Portobello mushroom

MAIN COURSES

Braised Chicken and Abalone
Served with broccoli, carrot and steamed jasmine rice

Braised Lamb Shoulder
Red capsicum, green peas, roasted fennel and parsnip puree

Afternoon Tea Set
Scone, clotted cream and strawberry preserves, assorted savories and sweets


BREAD BASKET
Assorted bread and butter


* * * _  _ * * *


DESSERT
White Chocolate mousse and rose jelly
Banana toffee parfait

Freshly brewed coffee and a selection of teas


Flight time to Bangkok was projected at two hours and twenty some odd minutes. As always, it was a cloudy day in Hong Kong. Just once I’d like to be here on a clear, sunny day. At least the clouds were fairly high, so as we climbed away from Lantau Island I got some nice views of the coastal communities which from previous experience had always been shrouded in low clouds and rain.



Climbing away from Hong Kong


Service began just nineteen minutes after takeoff. Well alrighty then – let’s check out that menu again. Lamb! I’ve always liked lamb and even though it rarely ever tastes as good in the air as it does on the ground, I was willing to give it a try once again. For dessert I requested the Afternoon Tea Set, operating on the assumption that it was mainly a scone with clotted cream – something I hadn’t enjoyed since my last westbound trans-Atlantic flight on BA back in 2008. When informed that the tea set also included a plate of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, I said why not serve them to me first, followed by the starter and then the main.

That was a good call. The hors d’oeuvres plate included a miniature hot chicken pie, a shrimp puff and my old favorite – a salmon and caper swirl atop a toast round. I accompanied this with a glass of Seghesio Family Vineyards Defiant Red Blend 2015, which I found a bit too defiant for my tastes. With the Parma Ham starter, I switched to the Ch teau Branaire-Ducru Saint Julien 2006. Ah… much nicer.



The hors d’oeuvres plate


The Parma Ham starter


Alright then – bring on the lamb! I was presented an artfully arranged plate with a colorful variety of food – yellow parsnips, green peas, red pepper, white onion and a nicely sized portion of dark, delicious lamb. A jar of mint jelly was presented and served followed by another pour of wine. The lamb still didn’t taste like the leg of lamb roasts I remember so fondly from childhood visits to my grandparents’ house, but it was near fall off the bone tender and overall a very nice meal.



Lamb Luncheon at 38000’


Dessert Collection



Thunderheads began to gather about an hour out of Bangkok. Eventually they made for a scenic though occasionally tumultuous descent into Bangkok.



Thunderheads on descent into Bangkok


Our pilots navigated the descent through those ominous looking clouds like the pros they were and shortly thereafter executed a textbook smooth landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. I was doubly thankful for the fact that we parked at a gate along the main terminal building rather than out on one of the concourses. The result was a much shorter walk of just 400 yards or so to Immigration as opposed to probably twice that or more had we parked out on the concourses. Cathay had provided us with Fast Track type passes to expedite the immigration process – something I sincerely appreciated while at the same time wondering why it hadn’t been available at Cathay’s home airport in Hong Kong.


* * * _  _ * * *


Per the recommendation on the train travel website Seat61.com, I booked my regional train reservations through a travel agency called 12go.asia.com. They were excellent in every respect. As part of my train reservation to Laos I was also able to book private transportation from Suvarnabhumi direct to Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Station. I’m sure I could have caught a cab for 400 or so Baht less, but hey – I’m traveling First Class here – so why not go whole hog.

Emerging from Customs, I stopped to exchange $150.00 USD and then made my way down the length of level 2 to door 4 where I found my name posted amidst a collection of large hand lettered signs. As I paused to ponder how next to proceed, a lady approached and verified my identity. I then followed her outside the terminal where she waved down a black SUV type vehicle. The interior was comfortable and blissfully air-conditioned – much nicer than a ride in an average taxi. I couldn’t help but reflect back on my last taxi ride in Bangkok – 31 years ago in an open-air tuk-tuk. It was nothing if not exciting. Back to the present - we made good time through the city traffic and the driver dropped me off at 12go.asia.com’s office, located directly across the boulevard from Hua Lamphong Station.

Inside the office I was joined by a half dozen or so backpackers of European and American origin. Aside from the office staff, I was the only one not wearing shorts and a t-shirt. The staff – all two of them - was friendly and capable. They quickly located my ticket and explained the boarding procedure. They also recommended eating beforehand as the food in the diner – in their words - “sucked”. By the time I exited the office it was approaching 6:30pm. Train time was 8:00pm.

Although I could clearly see the monolithic Hua Lamphong station perched across the road, getting there involved making my way across the large busy boulevard, which was actually more like a convergence point of four or five different roads. There were five different crosswalks to be navigated and only one of them involved a stoplight, set back about 100 feet from where I crossed. The temperature outside was typical for Bangkok – about 85°F with commensurate humidity, so you can only imagine my surprise and delight upon entering the station to find that it was in fact air-conditioned, if only mildly so.



Hua Lamphong Station


The station “Waiting Room”


The entire central hall of the station was a giant waiting room. At one end was a large departures board with train departures listed in alternating Thai and English lettering. I took a moment to locate my train. Ah… there it is: Train 25, the 8:00pm Express to Nong Khai departing from Track 3. Boarding was indicated to commence at 7:30pm. Right. Let’s go have a look at the station then.

Ringing the outside of the main floor were two rows of seats. Most all of them were occupied. Some of the seats had signs indicating they were reserved for monks. The monks weren’t hard to miss with their orange robes. The open floor area in the middle of the station was occupied by all manner of humanity; most of them seated in small groups picnic style on the floor. I was reminded of Grateful Dead concerts I’d attended 40 years ago at smaller auditoriums like Winterland or The Kaiser in Oakland. At one end of the floor was a table with an ornate religious display. People would regularly stop by it to pay their respects as well as drop off donations in one of two collection boxes.

I took a walk around the perimeter of the station floor. Although there was a fairly large food court off to one side, it didn’t look particularly clean. A Dunkin’ Donuts stand was also available, but its only offerings were coffee and donuts. I decided to have a look a bit later at a couple of eateries I’d spotted outside the station on my way in.


* * * _  _ * * *


When I first visited Thailand back in 1987, train travel was generally regarded as a transportation means of last resort. The cars were old, the tracks poor and the overall operation inconsistent. I’m happy to report however that times have indeed changed for the better, and considerably so at that.

In the summer of 2016 the State Railway of Thailand unveiled 39 brand new freshly delivered train cars. These were the first of 115 new cars ordered from the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation and China CNR Corporation. The new modern cars feature seat- mounted screens for watching TV and movies and a USB port for battery recharging. Also appreciated are the modern airplane-style vacuum toilets, a significant upgrade over the old style ones that deposited waste directly on to the tracks below.

Nine of the 115 carriages ordered are dedicated First Class sleeper cars, complete with air-conditioned two-berth cabins that include in-cabin TV screens with seven channels of programming plus a GPS screen that displays location and speed as well as up-to-date arrival information for all down-line stations. Passengers in all classes can also order food and beverages via a communications system right at their seats. That latter benefit was not available on either of the two Thai trains that I rode, though on my trip from Chiang Mai down to Bangkok an employee from the dining car came through the First Class cabins taking meal orders to be delivered later directly to your room.

Having been informed by the locals that the onboard food was not that good, I headed across a small side street to a bright and clean looking noodle shop where I purchased that old Thai classic – a plate of Pad Thai to go. Returning to the station, I had only a brief wait until boarding was announced for train 25 at precisely 7:30pm. Before heading out to the train, I stopped by a local kiosk and bought two exquisitely chilled bottles of mineral water for 12 Bhat each (about 43 cents in US dollars).



The Nong Khai Express awaits


A uniformed car attendant along with a man dressed in a military type uniform met me at the entrance to my car. My tickets – which included a separate portion indicating I’d paid extra to have the compartment to myself – were thoroughly scrutinized by both men, after which I was assisted on to the train. That meant they were kind enough to pass my little 22” suitcase up the steep and narrow entranceway once I’d reached the vestibule platform. Then the car attendant led me to my compartment.

As he hit the button to open the pneumatically operated door leading into the hallway, I was greeted by a deliciously chilled blast of refrigerated air. Ahh… Any of you who’ve been to Southeast Asia know how hot and humid it can get – especially noticeable to a guy like me who’s always lived in a cool dry environment. With that air-conditioning alone, this train ride was off to a great start.

Inside my compartment, everything was exactly as it had looked in all of the photos and videos I’d scanned in the weeks leading up to this trip. Each compartment featured hideous fuschia colored seats and pale faux wood paneling. Also included were a sink, a mirrored medicine cabinet and two wall mounted 14” flat screen TVs featuring eight channels – only two of which actually worked. Thankfully, one of those was the GPS channel – akin to a sky map on an airplane. The other was a Thai language documentary of some sort.



First Class Compartment


First Class Compartment


It was 8 O’clock on the dot when I felt the first mild lurch as the lead locomotive powered up and eased us out of the station. I was dining on my Pad Thai (good, but not as good as the Thai House in Fairbanks) and paused to watch as the lights of Bangkok passed by with ever increasing speed.

On that note, it should be stated that this was not a fast train. I would guestimate that we averaged about 40-50 mph throughout most of the trip. Me – I’m fine with that as I’m really not in a hurry. Indeed, one of the things I like best about train travel is the slower pace of it. Relax. Enjoy the journey.

Once, I purchased a ticket aboard Amtrak’s Acela – so far as know the fastest train in North America. I didn’t go very far – just from Boston to Providence – but there was a small portion of that short sector where we did indeed reach 150 mph. It was announced over the train’s PA system. Now I know 150 mph is a sedate stroll compared to the top speeds attained by some trains in Europe and Asia, but the one thing I remember about it all is that I wasn’t particularly impressed. Nearby trees flashed by but otherwise the ride was about the same as any other train traveling at half that speed.

Mind you, I understand the attraction of fast trains. They’re great for those of us who just want to get there faster and could care less about the enroute scenery. These days so many people are wired into their MP3s or I-pads that they probably wouldn’t complain if the windows were painted over. As for me, it’s not like I spend my entire trip looking wistfully out the window. Indeed, much of the time as with tonight’s train ride, I’m content to stretch out with a good book and just enjoy the sensation and indeed the privilege of being able to actually lie down as opposed to merely recline my seat.

Speaking of lying down, we were about 30 minutes out of Bangkok when the car porter stopped by to make up my bed. It was a pretty simple procedure. First, he lifted the bottom couch seat and pulled it fully out from the wall. Next he retrieved a set of folded up cushions (much like you’d see with summer patio furniture) that were stored in a nook above the doorway. These were unfolded and placed atop the bottom seat bench. Then he took a sheet and deftly wrapped and tucked it around one end of the “mattress”, pulled it down to the other end and repeated the wrap and tuck procedure. Blankets were available but I declined in favor of my own. Two pillows were included with the bedding. Lying down atop all this, I found the cushions not particularly soft but certainly better than lying atop the bare seat bottom.

When I think of the most comfortable railroad beds I’ve ever slept in, they were all on older 1950s era trains. Back in 1984 I spent two nights in a roomette aboard the Mexican National Railways “Frontera” between Mexico City and Ciudad Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, Texas. Those old post-war cars were supremely comfortable with real mattresses and wide, full length beds. ViaRail up in Canada still operates many 1950s era cars. The widest beds on the train can be found on the lower berths. Those beds, in combination with ViaRail’s wonderfully soft and warm duvets, make for a wonderful sleep. Honorable mention goes out to an ancient post WW1 sleeper I rode between Santiago and Puerto Montt, Chile back in the early 90s. What a great old car!

I considered taking a walk up to the dining car just to have a look but it was approaching 9:00pm and I’d had a long day, starting from my hotel in Hong Kong and continuing on through to the airport, the flight down to Bangkok and the trip out to Hua Lamphong Station. Now here I was comfortably stretched out while reading John Grisham’s latest effort... why not just roll with it? I read for another hour before turning off the lights and sleeping comfortably until about 5:30am.


Day Twelve
Thailand Railways First Class ~ Bangkok, TH to Nong Khai, TH ~ Arrival at 645a
Thailand Railways Economy Class ~ Nong Khai to Thanaleng, TH ~ 7:30am to 7:50am
Local Mini-Van ~ Thanaleng to Vientiane, Laos ~ 8:15am to 9:00am


When I woke up at about 5:30am, the TV monitor indicated it was 28°C inside, 29° outside. That’s too hot – at least for me. Back home I turn my Toyo stove down to 61°F at night. Ah… perfect! In any event, I suspect that the temperature may have been adjusted during the night to better reflect temperatures that the locals are comfortable sleeping in.

Out my window, the lush green countryside of the Thai/Laotian frontier rolled by under a rising sun. I took a couple of pictures.



Good Morning, Thailand


Sunrise in the jungle


The GPS channel on my TV indicated that we’d be arriving into Nong Khai about 10 minutes late, at about 7:00am. I wasn’t concerned. I’d just grab a taxi to my hotel and go from there. I’d even gone to Google translation services to print out my request to take me to my hotel in the local lingo.

When I purchased these tickets from the 12go.asia website, I did so by indicating I wanted to travel from Bangkok to Vientiane. The train I booked is one of the options – the First Class one – that came up. As for Nong Khai, I assumed it was either the station name in Vientiane or it was the name of a Vientiane suburb. I was wrong.

The first indication of my error came upon our arrival at Nong Khai. There wasn’t much to the place – just a small station out in a rural setting. I’d read that the population of Vientiane was a little over 200,000 and nothing about the area surrounding Nong Khai suggested a population approaching even a tiny fraction of that. There were vast expanses of jungle and savannah cut by a single road accented with a few small buildings and a shack or two.

I climbed down from my sleeper and made my way on to the platform of the open air station. A few passengers – maybe a dozen people – appeared to have reached their destination with either private cars awaiting them or one of the few taxis parked outside the station. A large wooden sign seemed to show that we were still in Thailand, with an arrow indicating that the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was down the tracks thataway. 



Approaching the Laotian border


Quite a few people were lining up at a ticket window and purchasing tickets to God knows where, so I figured I’d better investigate. It was abundantly clear that our present location was not where I wanted to be. At the window I indicated I was going to Vientiane and pointed down the tracks in the direction of the arrow on the sign. The agent nodded vigorously and, in broken but thankfully understandable English, indicated I should board the rusty old railcar heading to Thanaleng, up on the Mekong River which serves as the border between Thailand and Laos. The ticket price was 300 Thai Baht or about $9.00 USD.

There was no question as to which train to board. My inbound from Bangkok had already moved on – presumably to reposition itself for the return trip to Bangkok. Across a couple of tracks sat an old, dirty and battered looking two car consist – a self-contained motorized railcar that looked as if it dated back to the bad old days of the Vietnam war. Or before.



My train awaits…


I trundled myself and my bag across the rough tracks and made my way up the steep stairway into the car. A conductor at the doorway was kind enough to pass my bag up to me. Inside, I joined maybe a dozen passengers scattered about on straight backed pale blue padded seating. They cars smelled old. They didn’t smell bad, necessarily, but the smell reminded me of the old school busses I used to ride when I was a kid. A prominently posted sign warned against sitting in the stairway or up on the roof. I selected a seat to myself and settled in for the ride – wherever we were going.



Local railcar ambience…


Mind where you sit…


At 7:30am we were off. The railcar sounded like a car, shifting into higher gears as our speed increased. It didn’t increase too much though – maybe 25-30 mph max. Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River. On the other side lay Laos.



Crossing the Mekong River…


The railcar continued across the bridge, stopping at a long and low building that served as Immigration and Customs for Laos. Everybody who’d gotten off ahead of me was filling out forms at the standing tables nearby. A man handed me a form and I set to filling it out. The form was for a Laotian visa which can be issued on the spot for 1500 Baht or about $50.00 USD. My passport was inspected, a large sticker attached and stamped and just like that I was good to go. Where to, though?

A man at the end of the building waved me down and directed me to a minivan parked just outside the facility. He spoke good English and told me he would take me into Vientiane. Right on. There were only four of us onboard – myself, a girl from Germany and a couple from Denmark, if I recall. I took a seat in the front and settled in for the ride. Compared to some minivans I’ve ridden in places like Namibia or Ecuador where they tend to pack in one or two people beyond recommended capacity, this ride was positively spacious and comfortable. It was a nice sunny day and I enjoyed the 30 minute drive through Vientiane’s frumpy suburbs and on into the much cleaner and pleasant downtown area.

I had expected to be dropped off at a central station of some kind but was pleasantly surprised when, after hearing the driver tell the German girl he could take her to the airport for an additional 200 Baht, he then agreed to take me directly to my hotel for the same amount.

I was staying at the interestingly named S Park Design Hotel. I found the property on Hotels.com and was able to book a king bed suite for just $68.00 USD. It was a bit too early to check-in when I arrived but management was kind enough to allow me to take advantage of the complimentary breakfast in the dining room while I waited. It was a pretty nice spread, too. Besides the usual continental breakfast items, there were eggs and omelets cooked to order as well as a variety of local dishes including a tasty chicken curry. I remember the coffee being especially delicious with this wonderful chocolaty aftertaste. After breakfast, I used one of the empty tables to put in a bit of work on this trip report until hotel management informed me that my room was ready.



My suite at the S Park Design Hotel


I knew that my time in Laos would be limited, but that was alright. I was happy to have just a taste of the country for now with the very real possibility of coming back here for 7-10 days in next year or two. I had read that Vientiane was a wonderful place in the days of French colonial rule and I wanted to check out the old town area with its French colonial villas and administration buildings. I spent my first afternoon doing exactly that. The next day I caught a taxi out to the famous Pha That Luang, generally regarded as the most important national monument in Laos. Like most wats or temples in Southeast Asia, it is an architecturally remarkable structure with its beautiful grounds and stunning gold spire. I grabbed my camera to take some pictures only to discover that – oh no! – I’d forgotten to remove my film card from my laptop! Oh well. My memories remain vivid and will no doubt fuel a return visit.

The only downside to my visit was that it was the last day of the Laotian Lunar Holiday and just down the street from my hotel was a nightclub that pumped out annoyingly loud music until late into the evening. We’re talking pulsing bass and screechy pop voices for the most part. It reverberated through the hotel and, as my room up on the sixth floor and faced the street the club was on, it was particularly bad there. I actually talked to management about relocating into a smaller room on the opposite side of the building. They sent someone up to show me a couple of possibilities. There was no escaping that pulsing bass though, and so I stayed where I was. Thankfully the music stopped about 11:00pm.