Thailand – Laos: Day 6 – Part 1 – Goodbye Hua Hin and Trip to Maeklong Railway Market

Continued from Thailand – Laos: Day 5 – Part 5 – Chatsila Night Market in Hua Hin. For pre-travel, please refer here.

Travel Date: 2 January 2017
Day: 6
Location: Hua Hin heading to Maeklong (Samut Songkhram)

That morning, we woke up before 4:00 am. The most frightening and thrilling is the moment of waking up late and rushing for quick packing of stuff and inserting it into a backpack.

During our stay in Thailand, fortunately, we have never faced such a situation, only in Bangkok.

I deliberately walked a little farther forward because I wanted to ask Tatie to take a picture of my persistence in stepping into the Hua Hin Railway Station. The time is 5.10 am.

Ok, we have arrived at the station. It is not very far, about 500 meters. I repeatedly wore the same clothes but always washed them every night. Don’t even think that I repeatedly wear unwashed clothes! Thanks to Tatie who always brushed it off at night.

The feeling was quite thrilling because of worrying if the 3rd class tickets ran out. Understand that the ticket is cheap. But when we were here, the counter had not yet opened. Only at 6.00 am.

As always, this waiting chapter is a tiring one. So, we walked around the station. It looks like someone is at the counter. Then I forced myself to ask. If it’s wrong, why be ashamed, right? Use the universal excuse for tourists which is, “ohh … I’m sorry, I’m a tourist and I don’t know about this”.

Apparently, you can buy early before 6.00 am. And at 5.50 am, we managed to purchase the tickets.

The one-way trip from Hua Hin to Ratchaburi is at 6.17 am 3rd class and is expected to arrive at 8.28 am. The price for adults is THB24 while for children, it’s THB12. Cheap? Yes, very cheap for a trip that takes almost 2 hours.

There is another half hour before the train arrives, but that is if the train arrived right on time.

Aqif is still in sleepy mode.

Finished with the ticket purchase, we entered the railway track section. Every time I was on the side of the railway track, I would usually start getting serious because I didn’t know which platform and which rail the train would stop. After all here, there are more than 4 railway tracks. If you hope for the written display on the head of the train, it’s impossible to read clearly because of the yellow light bulbs that are not bright, like in the 80s.

There are not many passengers waiting. I thought that this morning there might be a lot of people. Bags need to be taken care of properly if you are here.

In the other corner. At the end of the station, there is an old building that has been turned into a historical site. Refer to the picture below. Do not assume that the passengers waiting here want to return to the village. It’s the same in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) where many people work in Kuala Lumpur but live in Seremban and commute.

The condition of the station on the outside we were waiting for earlier. In fact, if you don’t buy a ticket or not boarding a train, you can just enter the railway track sections to wave to friends or relatives who will be boarding the train.

The tradition of bell usage has been used for generations, although nowadays there are electronic systems. In my opinion, let this tradition be maintained. Later, the feeling of being at the station and boarding the train will arise.

A location signboard as a ‘checkpoint’ if you come here. The number below might be the station number.

From what I see at every train station in Thailand, most of the station officers are quite committed and dedicated. It’s as if they respect the job as an officer. Probably because the government is indebted to the train transportation system which has greatly driven the progress and economy of the country.

While here, I saw a picture of a woman. Somewhat wondering who it is. Then I went to the counter and asked. He said she was the daughter of the late King Bhumipol who had passed away recently.

At every Thai train station, there must be an old train head like this.

Ok, this is the old station building. However, the station we were waiting for was also an old building.

Map of Hua Hin city on a large scale.

Food vendors have started preparing breakfast for sale on the train. If I’m not mistaken, it’s rice porridge.

Do you want to visit Hua Hin city just by ‘touch and go’, that is, arrive in the morning and return in the evening? It can be done. There is a Left Luggage office here. But for information, you will not be satisfied if only spend just one day in Hua Hin!

Haa .. the train just arrived at around 6.20 am. Passengers took their respective seats. This is the first time we boarded a 3rd class train. There are no reserved seats, it depends on where you want to sit.

The atmosphere on the train. The time now is 7.01 am. I’m not sure which direction most of these passengers are from. Imagine if from Hat Yai? It’s 12 hours of travel !!!

According to information from a friend, he said the fare from Hat Yai to Bangkok is only THB240. About MYR30. But can you sit like this for 12-14 hours?

Among the types of passengers.

She was the champion that morning. Wrapped from head to toe.

At 7.12 am, the train just arrived at Cha-am. Feeling disappointed to see the Cha-am signboard. If had more money to spend, we would definitely stop here.

The sun began to shine on the land of Thailand. I like to see the yellowish color of the hills. It’s like the Grand Canyon, right?

It looks beautiful because the crops on this farm look well-managed.

At 7.58 am, the train just arrived at Phetchaburi station. This is one of the main and popular stations just like Hua Hin and Cha-am.

The aunt who sells snacks has arrived.

Aqif says hiiiiiii !!!

Video while traveling between Hua Hin and Pak Tho Railway Station.

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Ok here are a few stories and tips about traveling to Maeklong and which stations are suitable to stop.

Our initial plan, after leaving Hua Hin to head to Maeklong, we planned to stop at Ratchaburi station. Supposedly because it is the main station of the district and discussed much more online. So, we bought a train ticket from Hua Hin to Ratchaburi.

Sitting for a long time on the train made me start re-examining the map on Google Maps. This is what I found if we came from the south:

1. (Refer to map below) Stopping at Ratchaburi train station, the travel distance when taking a public bus to Maeklong is 33.1km (49 minutes).

2. (Refer to map below) Stopping at Pak Tho train station, the travel distance when taking a public bus to the same destination is 25.9km (23 minutes).

It took me quite a while to decide, whether to stop at Pak Tho or continue to Ratchaburi? Then it just occurred to us that we would stop at a station that had not yet reached the Ratchaburi station, meaning train laws for passengers were allowed. Secondly, the train station here is not like the LRT/MRT station which has an auto gate and requires you to enter a token or ticket. Finally, I chose to stop at Pak Tho.

Arriving at Pak Tho, we looked around in amazement. Where is the location to take the public bus to Maeklong? Coupled with stress as the clock was approaching 9.00 am. And according to the schedule, the train that will arrive at Maeklong (from Thon Buri, Bangkok) for the morning session is at 9.45 am. If you miss it, you have to wait until 1.45 pm.

I asked the railway guard there. He said there was a medium-sized bus station right behind the train station. We went in by following a walking trail about 100 meters between people’s houses. It’s true that behind there is a bus station but it’s quiet and there’s nobody around here! In my mind, “eh, is this the right place?” I looked inside the station office but there was nobody inside. There was also a nice dog and quite large here but often came to sniff us, a backpack and a plastic bag that had food. No matter what, I had to take out some food and gave it to him. Maybe part of the sustenance we have is also his sustenance.

Bus station behind Pak Tho Railway Station, GPS: 13.374309, 99.844146

Coincidentally, there was a man who just arrived here and brought a duffel bag. And I started asking questions. It turns out that 80% of all generations in Thailand do not know how to speak English. Had to use pictures from Google as an example. Luckily he knew and said that we had to wait for a while here because the bus that needed to be boarded had not arrived.

Suddenly a bus arrived, I asked him again … is this the bus? He said no … maybe I panicked for a while or couldn’t wait to catch the train schedule at Maeklong Railway Station … hehe.

Still waiting. Even though half an hour had passed, the bus still did not show up.

I wandered to the front of the main road. There was a woman who is a tomboy (sitting on the far right in the picture above). He was waiting for the bus there. Luckily he is good at speaking English. That’s the way on how I validate any information. I’m not waiting for one piece of information but trying to get a second piece of information to synchronize. If not sync, it means there is an error in the information provided by one of them.

I guess that Pak Tho’s area is very rare for tourists to come, so maybe they are excited or happy when outsiders come. Like a foreign tourist who got lost in the town of Rengit (Johor) or Sungkai (Perak).

Ok, the bus arrived. The driver is old and very nice. We sat at the very front. The conductor is also nice and likes to joke with Aqif. The public bus fare is only THB20 for adults and children do not have to pay. I also showed a picture of Maeklong Market and the driver knew it very well.

The driver dropped us off very close to the Maeklong market about 100 meters away. Maybe he deliberately went out of his usual route to help us.

In my hands, plastic bags of food and beverage items were getting heavier. There are two 1.5L mineral bottles. So when I wanted to get off the bus, I handed a bottle that had not been opened to the bus driver as a sign of gratitude.

The interior decoration of the bus is so beautiful. Full of colors. If I enable HDR for this image, the color will be brighter.

This kind of pictorial atmosphere with the driver with the decoration of the front of the bus that looks strange is my interest.

From Pak Tho, we went through a town called Plaipong.

I managed to snap a picture of the morning atmosphere of the workers here who were drying something I didn’t know what it was.

When we arrived at a long bridge with a wide river, it is a sign that we almost reach the Maeklong market.

The atmosphere is more or less the same as at the Muar and Klang bridges in Johor, Malaysia.

Travel video from Pak Tho bus station to Maeklong Railway Market.

For your reference, the journey from Pak Tho bus station to Maeklong takes about 35-40 minutes. Luckily when we arrived there, the train has been rescheduled and arrived at 11.34 am. Just a little tired from having to wait 1.5 hours in the market full of crowds.

Continued in the next entry ….. Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 6 – Part 2 – Maeklong Railway Station in Samut Songkhram.