Bangkok to Chiang Mai on an overnight train

Saturday evening it was sadly time to leave Bangkok. We headed to the train station for an overnight train to Chiang Mai.

There were photos of the royal family.

A special seating area for monks

Which they took advantage of

Not being monks, we piled up our stuff and sat on the floor.

Then it was time to get on our train.

I've been on a lot of trains  (thanks, Phila-Nipponica!) and I've been on some overnight trains,  but this was different.

A woman came around and took orders (to pay for) dinner and breakfast and then the food was later delivered.

The biggest difference was that unlike the overnight trains I have taken in the past, this did not have cabins. Usually there is an aisle down one side of the train and compartments with doors that 2 or 4 people share. This was wide-open, with two sets of seats on each side of the central aisle.

Each bench was for a single person and when the beds were down, there was a curtain for each one.

It was a long, 14 or so hour ride with what seemed like a thousand stops. I didn't get a lot of sleep, and then we were in Chiang Mai.