D1 : Singapore - Bangkok - NongKhai
D2 : NongKhai - Vientiane
D3 : Vientiane - Luang Prabang
D4 - 5 : Luang Prabang
D6 : Luang Prabang - Kunming
D7-10 : Kunming, China
Day 1: Singapore - Bangkok - Nongkhai
A very early morning 😴 flight to Bangkok, and then an evening train to start the long-awaited train trip from Thailand to China. (Thanks HT for the ride to the airport, and to do another rail trip again 😘)
We booked a room for the day after considering the hassle of otherwise lugging our luggage around, to have a nice shower, and probably a short rest before taking the overnight train. We lunched at MBK, shopped at BigC and Central and then back to the hotel before making our way to the train station.
Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal
The station is accessible from the BangSue subway and is the largest railway station in South East Asia with 26 platforms.
We wandered around to check on the facilities before having dinner at the food court. We then queued at the departure gate for boarding the train.
Train 25 Krung Thep Aphiwat to NongKhai
The first (out of three) of the rail ride was by train no. 25 from Bangkok to Vientiane covering a distance of 209km. The ride is about 10 hours and 20minutes long, departing at 8:25pm and arriving 6:45am at Nong Khai (the Thai border town with Laos). It has both first and second class carriages.
<<We could have taken the direct train no 133 from Bangkok to Vientiane. However it has no first class cabin. Comfort is important 😊>>
The cabin is compact and clean with a small table, two bunk beds (upper and lower), and a compact wash basin. A colour monitor at the end of each bed provides train information and tiolet availability (!). The cafe lady dropped by to take dinner order. The train departed punctually, and the journey began.<< YaY!!! 😍 >>
Day 2
Train 133 Nong Khai - Vientiane
I was awakened by the the cabin's cold air-con but had a decent sleep.
<<HT at the upper bunk was nearer to the aircon 😬 ⛄. She remembered that I took the upper bunk for the Besar Panjang to Bangkok (non Aircon) 😇>>
The train arrived at NongKhai in the early morning. We bought the ticket(train133) to cross the border to Vientiane, instead of by tuktuk/taxi or bus. <<It had to be by train since it is a rail journey 😝>>
Crossing the Nong Thai - Lao border
After Rapid 133 pulled into the station, we queued to clear the Thai custom, and boarded the train.
It crossed the Mekong river by the First Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge and into Laos. <<Hello Vientiane, Laos 😊>>.
Vientiane
We reached Khamsavath Station after about half an hour, We cleared immigration, changed kipps at the foreign currency exchange counter and bought the bus tickets to the central bus station.
We took the tuktuk from the Central Bus Station to the hotel.
Walking Vientiane
we visited the Arc de Triomphe, the morning market and Wat Sisaket.
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| Patuxay - Arc de Triomphe |
We also passed passed by That Dam Stupa (stipa in bell shape), and other temples/Wats.
We strolled along Rue Setthathilath Road and were amazed by the sheer number of power cables that zig-zagged atop the poles.
We had dinner at Kualao Restaurant followed by a stroll to the Mekong River. We were shocked by high water level with several structures and trees half submerged in the river. Then, it suddenly started raining very heavily and we hurriedly returned to the hotel.
** Highlights **
Laos food is tasty and generally reasonably priced. During lunch at Shop Chai Due, the service staff recommended fried cricket. I was a bit hesitant but was glad that we ordered it, the dish was tasty and crunchy.
Day 3 Vientiane - Luang Prabang
Early in the morning, we walked to the Mekong River for a final look of the flood before checking out of the hotel, taking a taxi to the Laos-China Train station. <<A different station from the Thailand - Laos rail>>
The Vientiane to Luang Prabang train is part of the the Laos-China rail. The 400+km railway, with 198-km tunnels and 62 km of bridges run from Vientiane to Boten at the border with Yunnan, China. It then connects into the extensive China Rail system at Mohan station.
We arrived at the huge Laos-China station to board the train for the ~two hours journey to Luang Prabang.
The train was new with a wash basin, toilet and luggage storage facilities. There was a snack kiosk, and also a mobile trolley selling snack and drinks too.
The train pulled out of the station and moved north toward Vang Vieng in central Laos. The scenery become more mountainous with spectacular Karst formations. The train conductor came to the cabin to check the validity of our tickets.
With mostly the mountain ranges as a backdrop, the train passed by stretches of farmland, crossed rivers and tunnels. It was indeed picturesque.
We arrived at Vang Vieng after about an hour. There was a flurry of passengers alighting and boarding at Vang Vieng.
The train then set off again. The conductor did another round of checking the tickets. The sky had become more cloudy and the landscape's mood seemed to turn darker as well <<No rain please 😯>>
After another hour, we arrived in Luang Prabang.
Day 3 - 6 Luang Prabang <<Three days in Luang Prabang, and then Luang Prabang to Kunming to complete the journey 😊>>
Day 6 Luang Prabang - Kunming
We arrived early, and changed our e-printed tickets to the physical tickets at the ticket counter.
C88 train Luang Prabang - Kunming South
C88 started from Vientiane at 8:08am and would arrive at Kunming South train at 6:34pm. We boarded the train at the scheduled time. It moved north and crossed the wide span of the Mekong River and tunnelled through mountains.
The landscape was a large expanse of farmland and forest, dotted with houses and lined with trails and roads.
After about 1 1/2 hours, the train arrived at Boten, the Laos border town with China. We alighted from the train with our luggage.
The train stopped for about 50 minutes in this station for custom clearance of both countries.
The clearance of the customs was fairly smooth and the train left at about 2:15pm.
<<"Hello China" 😊>>
We ordered our two lunch boxes for our lunch. The train stopped at Xishuangbanna, Puer and YuXi station before the final destination of Kunming South Station. At every station, some passengers would rush off the train to smoke their cigarette, before hopping onto the train just before the train pulled out from the station.
The scenery changed gradually from a countryside view to an urban one as the train drew nearer to Kunming.
Arrival at Kunming, China
The train pulled into Kunming South station at about 6:35pm. Although the train journey was about 10 hours, I had enjoyed the ride.
We had completed our Thailand - Laos - China train ride covering a distance of 1354km. 😀😙
Lodging:
Ibis Bangkok Siam $78
Ibis Vientiane Nam Phu$72
Train booking apps:
Thailand - www.railway.co.th / SRT D-ticket
Laos - LCR Ticket
Thoughts
I was excited when I first read about the Laos-China railway. It also rekindled my forgotten travel plan to take a train from Singapore to China. <<Ever overriden by other travels, the ride had been relegated to an almost forgotten status 😐😕>>
It was rainy season in Lao, and I am glad the trip turned out well without the worst of the floods and rain. <<We had been a little reckless and frivolous in our decision 😒😐😗>>
How the trip started...
While chatting over dinner, the Malaysia-Thailand rail trip surfaced in my mind.
me: "Am thinking of doing the Laos-China rail to China. What do you think?"
jk:"Hmmm... interesting. I don't mind going."
<<=> don't mind AND not love to? And probably I need to do most of the planning?>>
Texted HT
<<Me: "Going to Guangzhou in September, want to take the train to China through Laos?">>
<<HT: "Yes>> 😊