Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit is the longest city name in the world. It translates to “City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of […]
While testing WindowSeater, we came to know Hua Lumphong Station (Bangkok Station) really too well. After travelling around 7,000km by rail in Thailand, I built Window Seater the app, tested it many times, and spoke to about 200 travellers in Hua Lumphong station about it. So all up, I’ve probably spent days there. And I […]
Hua Lumphong Station is, for the time being, the beginning or end of most great Thai rail journeys. It serves over 60,000 passengers daily. It is a terminus for every line in State Railway of Thailand network, taking you north to Chiangmai, Northeast to Laos, East to Cambodia, West toward Myanmar, and South to Malaysia, including […]
I found it on Stuart’s bookshelf: John Berger’s ‘Ways of Seeing’. A strange find. A graphic designer, my brother was never academic or interested in essays. Yet there it was, and its contents promised serious thinking. Pages filled with talk of compositional unity. Black and white photos of paintings. Subjects staring at the viewer whilst […]
“The train arrived at [Ayutthaya]. I was content to satisfy my curiosity about this historic place by a view of the railway station (after all, if a man of science can reconstruct a prehistoric animal from its thigh bone why cannot a writer get as many emotions as he wants from a railway station?…)” —Somerset […]
IMPORTANT: This post was last updated 1 June 2018. Always check how to buy tickets before you travel. How to take the Death Railway (Thai-Burma Railway) Regular scheduled trains still run from Bangkok along the Thai-Burma Railway up to Nam Tok, via Kanchanaburi (home of the Bridge on the River Kwai), and Nakhon Pathom). It […]
Travelling north by train from Bangkok? Then we recommend the Northern Line Window Seater trip. Want a deeper dive in your time? Then read on for a tale of rice & revolt! The City of Bangkok is a heaving beast that is growing and spilling into the countryside. So if you’re taking the Northern Line […]
(Note – a version this post first appeared on our shiny Medium blog) A Greek youngster almost became the King of Siam. And some of the most cherished Thai desserts were invented by his wife. Believe me? A tale of power, love and sweet treats When taking the fascinating Bangkok <> Chiang Mai train, your […]
If you’ve just watched the trailer for the new Kenneth Branagh remake of the Murder on the Orient Express, or have enjoyed one of the many stories set on the train, and if you’re the sort of person who enjoys train journeys as much as we at Window Seater do, you might be thinking about what you’re going to wear […]
(Note – a version this post first appeared on our shiny Medium blog) If you hail from a place where you can sip chilled wine in an immaculately clean and comfortable train as it slices through countryside at an awesome clip without so much as a wobble, you might be challenged by the State Railways […]
