After two days in the capital, the Southern islands were calling with their promise of picture perfect palm trees and wooden huts ten feet from the sea.
We researched the ways of getting to Phuket and quickly ruled out the flights as too expensive. This left us with two options: get an overnight 14 hour coach all the way through to Phuket, or get the 12 hour sleeper train to Surat Thani and then the short 2 hour bus ride. We had heard horror stories about the coach, and the thought of sitting upright for that long with rucksacks wedged in the aisles was daunting. Having never been on a sleeper train before we found ourselves falling for the romance and novelty!
Hua Lom Phong, Bangkok Train Station
Our hostel in Bangkok was really helpful and our train tickets were delivered to us within the hour. There was no availability in the cheapest beds in the fan carriages, so we chose two fold down upper bunks in an air conditioned carriage, priced at a reasonable 800 baht (£16) each. (These are cheaper than the wider bottom bunks with windows.) Catching our 6pm train was really straightforward, it was clearly listed and sign-posted in the station. Continue reading
Two One-Way Flights 