Part THREE Tuk Tuk & Hualumphong Station

Making My Way to the Hualumphong Railway Station..(Part III)

After spending one night in Bangkok, doing the usual shopping, decided that it was time to proceed to the next leg of my travel. I had initially intended to have dinner with my sister, Daisy and my travelmate, Christine, before heading for the last night train to Chiangmai, which was scheduled to depart at 10.30pm.

The “happy” receptionist at my guesthouse kindly assisted me to call the railway station to check on the availability of the tickets. As the 10.30pm train was fully booked, I had to catch the 7.30pm train if I wanted to leave from Chiang Mai that evening. While waiting for her to make the call, I chanced upon many happy Thai men and their western partners, going in and out of the apartment.

I left my friend, Christine, who was completely knocked out by her flu medication, in the gay-infested Silom hotel room with a short note, called my sister to cancel our dinner appointment and made my way to the Hualumphong train station.

Taking the Tuk-Tuk

It’s a great way to feel the pulse of Bangkok in a tuk-tuk, but your guard has to be constantly up. The tuk-tuk drivers are often not trustworthy, though super-friendly.

The Hualumpong Station was only three stops from Silom and costs a mere 17 bahts.
Blur as ever, I walked towards the wrong direction to the Silom Station, and had to seek help from a nearby seller along the pavement. She couldn’t speak a word of English and asked a nearby tuk tuk driver for assistance. The driver then got another driver to start the bargaining business with me. As I was running short of time, I decided to take the tuk-tuk instead of finding my way to the train station. “100 bahts” was the starting price, offered by the tuk tuk driver. I halved it to 50 bahts to the Hualumphong train station.

After 15 minutes of driving around the roads, the English-illiterate driver stopped the tuk-tuk at Silom station, smiled, at said “Silom Station.” Expecting him to send me to the Hualampong station, I was flabbergasted. “No, this is Silom Station, I was just across the street on the other side of the road.” With a wide grin, he pointed at the signboard at the station, and said, “Silom Station, with a wider grin and added, Hualumpong Station, far, far.” I was not willing to part with my 50 bahts to the dishonest driver. I grabbed my big haversack and my small day-pack in a swift move, put 10 bahts near the driver’s steering wheel, and said, “ok, 10 bahts,” and ran down the escalator, fleeing away from my predator like a frightened rabbit, for fear that he would give chase.

I bought my 17-baht ticket at the Silom train station and went to the platform to await my train. I was greeted by long queues of Thai people and foreign travellers who are patiently waiting for their tickets at the Hualumpong Railway Station. There are several classes that one can choose from, depending on your budget. The Overnight sleeper compartments are clean, comfortable and you’ll get to save on one-night accommodation. The overnight sleeper train with air-conditioning (2nd class) costs 771 bahts for the upper deck of the sleeper bed, you’ll need to pay a little more if you choose the lower deck to be further from the corridor lights. It takes about 12 hours to go by train from Bangkok to Chiangmai. You can have a good night’s sleep and by morning, wah la, you are already in Chiangmai.

Most Singaporeans often flock to Bangkok to do their shopping and indulge in the 199-baht purchases at Siam Square and Mah Boon Kong. I've been to Bangkok about six times but I’ve never ventured beyond the shopping districts. This time I’m determined to see more of Northern Thailand than the shopping malls. I’m going back to the nature.