Train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai is the 5th biggest city in Thailand. The city is remarkable greener and calmer than Bangkok and is one of the important culture and art center in Thailand. The city was once very difficult to access so this isolation created a very unique and interesting culture which can be seen in the city even today.

You can take a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (700 km distance) or take a bus but the most popular ways to travel between Bangkok and Chiang Mai is by train. You can buy your train tickets in Hua Lamphong train station ( beware of scammers who will try to direct you to some bogus ticket offices).

Getting from Chiang Mai train station to city center takes less than 10 minutes ride. There are at least 6 trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai from 08:30 AM till 10:00 PM in the night. The journey takes 1w to 15 hours and a first class sleeper on the train costs 1,700 Thai Baht. The train is a very popular way to travel between Chiang Mai and Bangkok so if you are planning to take the train, book in advance.

There are 1st class sleepers, air-conditioned 2nd class sleepers, non-air conditioned 2nd class sleepers, 2nd class seats and 3rd class seats options on Chiang Mai - Bangkok trains. 1st class sleepers have 2 berths and your ticket will buy one bed so you will travel with strangers. You can have sole occupancy of a 2-berth sleeper for an extra 500 baht (£10 or $16). The most popular class is air-conditioned 2nd class sleeper.

The best would be getting a night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in a first class sleeper and spend the night on the road. This will save you hotel money and effectively it will be less tiring and time consuming than taking flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Even if you want to see the Thailand country side, night train like this is still a very good option. The last one third of the train ride will be in the daylight and you will have a chance to watch the sunrise from the Chiang Mai train in the morning. The scenery in this section is in the mountains and is particularly good.

Chiang Mai train offers a fantastic view of Northern Thailand's hills.

We recommend you to take 9/10 trains because the night travel will be very convenient and the new Chinese-built high-quality sleepers on trains at these hours are excellent. These new trains feature seat- mounted screens for watching TV and movies during your journey and aircraft -type toilets, not the old kind that drop straight onto the tracks. If you cannot find a ticket on this ultra popular trains, 13/14 is the second-best sleeper train using the next most modern cars. This train still passes the best scenery near Chiang Mai in daylight.

First class sleeping compartment in new Thailand trains. These trains serve the Bangkok - Chiang Mai services at 9 & 10. Photo - Bangkok Post

Cheap flights to Hong Kong from Chiang Mai by AirAsia

Budget airline AirAsia has announced its flights to Chiang Mai from Hong Kong which will start operating on7 January 2014. Daily flights between Chiang Mai and Hong Kong will be served by 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft. AirAsia flights will depart from Chiang Mai at 06:00 and arrive in Hong Kong at 09:45. The return service will then leave Hong Kong at 10:35, arriving Chiang Mai at 12:05.

“AirAsia is extremely excited to introduce its new route from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong,” said Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of Thai AirAsia.

“Hong Kong has always been a popular all-year destination for Thai people with its cosmopolitan vibe, dynamic attractions, famous temples, shopping malls, and excellent transportation infrastructure. With no visa requirement for Thai citizens, Hong Kong is an accessible and favourite destination for many.”

AirAsia is already flying to Hong Kong from Bangkok and Phuket.

To celebrate the launch of this new route, promotional fares start from 1290 THB per way are available until 17 November 2013 for travel between 7 January 2014 and 5 August 2014.

For those who are seeking excellent package deals, AirAsiaGo is offering a 3-day,2-night package deal with 2 nights of accommodation in Hong Kong plus a round trip ticket from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong starting from 3950 THB per person, based on twin sharing.

Hotels in Thailand winning 2012 Agoda.com Gold Circle Awards

Agoda.com is (or should be) the first online booking site to come to mind  when you are looking for an Asian hotel online. Since 2009 Agoda.com gived its hotel partners (hotels listed in Agoda) Gold Circle Awards based on several criteria such as number of positive customer reviews, their utilization of Agoda.com’s custom-built Yield Control System (YCS), aggregate scores for customer reviews, top-performing properties, competitive pricing, and for showing an understanding of the complex business dynamics that define the industry.

Commenting on this year’s awards, Mr. Errol Cooke, Director of Hotels – Global at Agoda.com said, “We are delighted to recognize our hotel partners for the 2012 Agoda.com Gold Circle Awards. Now in their fifth year, the awards are recognized as a mark of excellence in online distribution. This year, we have awarded hotels across the globe for their commitment to online revenue management and consistently offering great value at a fair price to Agoda.com customers.”

This year in 2012, 494 hotels have won the prestigious award. So if you choose one of these hotels for your stay, they can almost be assured that your stay will be relaxing, comfortable, and up to the standards that Agoda.com customers have come to expect.

Thailand, the tourism hub of the South East Asia, had 56 winners, almost 12% of all the winners around the world!

Here are some of the best hotels to stay in Thailand. 

Thailand

Hua Hin/Cha-am 

Cher Resort
Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa 

Hin Num Sai Suay Hua Hin 

Dusit Thani Hua Hin

Tanawit Hotel & Spa

Koh Chang (Trad) 

KC Grande Resort & Spa

Kacha Resort & Spa, Koh Chang

The Dewa Koh Chang

Koh Samet 

Vongdeuan Resort

Le Vimarn Cottages & Spa

Kanchanaburi

Sabai @ Kan Resort

Khao Lak 

Khaolak Laguna Resort

Ramada Resort Khaolak

La Flora Resort & Spa Khao Lak

Phuket 

The Kee Resort & Spa

The Racha

Indigo Pearl Hotel

Banyan Tree Resort

Rayaburi Hotel Patong

Sugar Palm Grand Hillside

Baan Laimai Beach Resort

Koh Samui 

Ark Bar Beach Resort

Hansar Samui 

Nora Resorts & Hotels

Montien House 

Al's Group Hotels & Resort

Krabi 

Railay Bay Resort & Spa

Railay Great View Resort and Spa

Aonang Nagapura Resort and Spa

Ao Nang Buri Group

Haleeva Sunshine Hotel

Koh Phi Phi 

Phi Phi The Beach Resort

Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort And Spa

Tohko Beach Resort

Koh Lanta 

Pimalai Resort and Spa

Lanta Sand Resort & Spa

Long Beach Chalet

Koh Phangan 

Haadyao Bayview Resort & Spa

Dakanda Villa Beach Resort

Chantaramas Resort & Spa

Koh Tao 

Sensi Paradise Beach Resort

Dusit Buncha Resort

Koh Lipe

Mountain Resort

Hat Yai

V.L. Hatyai Hotel

Khao Yai

Muthi Maya Hotel

Khon Kaen

The Glacier Hotel

Pattaya

Baywalk Residence

April Suites Pattaya

LK The Empress

At Mind Serviced Residence

Furama Jomtien Beach Hotel

Bangkok 

lebua at State Tower

Grande Centre Point Sukhumvit - Terminal 21

Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort and Spa

Grand Millennium Sukhumvit

Hansar Bangkok Hotel

Ramada Encore Bangkok Hotel

Best Western Plus @ 20 Sukhumvit

Novotel Bangkok On Siam Square Hotel

Jasmine Resort Hotel

Pai

Pai Island Resort

Chiang Rai 

Wiang Inn Hotel

Chiang Mai 

Chiang Mai Plaza Hotel

Rati Lanna Riverside Spa Resort

The Chedi Chiang Mai Hotel

The Twenty Lodge

Chiangmai Boutique House

Here is the complete list of award winning 494 Agoda partner hotels around the world.

Thailand Public Holidays 2013 Calendar

Thailand is the holiday hub of South East Asia. Many visitors from around the world goes to this land of smiles which offers a wide range of holiday experience for holiday goers. "The Land Of Smiles" has also many public holidays. Knowing them help you to plan your visit since during some of these holidays Thais will travel around and make everything, from plane tickets to hotel rooms, very expensive. Many of these holidays follow lunar calendar so their exact date will shift on the western calendar every year.

Below are the public holidays in Thailand and their dates in 2013.

New Year (Wan Khuen Pi Mai)
January 1st 2013
This almost global public holiday, observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar is a public holiday in Thailand.

Makha Bucha/Magha Puja
February 2nd 2013
Makha Bucha or Magha Puja is an important Buddhist festival celebrated in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month. This date usually falls in February of the modern western calendar. Makha Bucha Day is for the veneration of Buddha and his teachings on the full moon day of the third lunar month. On this day, Buddhists tend to go to the temple to perform merit-making activities.

In 2013, Makha Bucha falls on Sunday. In Thailand, if holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday they might be postponed to the following weekdays so expect a 3 days long weekend this year.

King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke the Great Day (Wan Chakri)
April 6th 2013
Thais commemorate the establishment of the Chakri Dynasty and the founding of Bangkok by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke in 1782. Officially known as King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke the Great Day and Chakri Dynasty Memorial Day.

In 2013, Wan Chakri is falls on Saturday so April 8th 2013 will be a 1 day holiday.

Thai New Year (Songkran)
April 13 - 16 2013
 Prime holiday of the year, The Songkran Festival, is a major holiday period when many Thais return home for family reunions during this period. Although a nationwide holiday, the most famous Songkran Festival celebrations are in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six days and even longer. The Festivaa is also a party for foreigners and one of the best times to to visit Thailand for immersion in its culture.

Labor Day (Wan Raeng Ngan Haeng Chat)
May 1st 2013
Labor Day is known as Wan Raeng Ngan Haeng Chat in Thailand and is a public holiday.

Coronation Day (Wan Chattra Mongkhon)
May 5th - 6th 2013
This holiday commemorates the coronation of the reigning King of Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1950.

Royal Ploughing Ceremony Day (Changing Dates)
May 11th 2013

Royal Ploughing Ceremony is an ancient royal rite held in Cambodia and Thailand to mark the traditional beginning of the rice-growing season.  Also observed as farmers day, each year's date is astrologically determined and announced by the Bureau of the Royal House Hold.

05/24/2013   Vesakh, Visakha Bucha
May 5th 2013
Also observed as National Tree Day, Vesak is a holy day which is traditionally observed not only in Thailand but  by Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, India, Nepal and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Sometimes informally called "Buddha's Birthday", it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha.

Vesak Day in Thailand

Mid Year Day (Wan Yut Klang Pi Thanakhan)
July 1st 2013

Asanha Bucha, Asalha Puja, 1st Day of Lent
July 22nd 2013
Also known as Dhamma Day,  Asanha Bucha is one of Theravada Buddhism’s most important festivals. This festive, commemorating the Buddha's first discourse (Buddha’s first sermon in which he set out to his five former associates the doctrine that had come to him following his enlightenment), the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, falls on full moon of 8th Thai lunar month. In 2013, the public holiday will be on July 22nd.

Vassa, Khao Phansa
July 23rd 2013
Buddhist observance marking the beginning of Vassa, also known as Buddhist Lent, is celebrated on the First waning moon, 8th Thai lunar month, which is July 23rd in 2013.

HM the Queen's Birthday, Mother's Day (Wan Chaloem Phra Chonmaphansa Somdet Phranang Chao Phra Boromma Rachininat)
August 12th 2013 
This day is to commemorate the birthday of Queen Sirikit in 1932. It is also observed as National Mother's Day.

Chulalongkorn Day (Wan Piyamaharat)
October 10th 2013
This day commemorates the passing of King Chulalongkorn, one of the greatest kings of Siam, in 1910. Chulalongkorn managed to save Siam from being colonized and his reforms were dedicated to Siam’s insurance of survival in the midst of Western colonialism. For this reason Chulalongkorn earned the epithet Phra Piya Maharat (พระปิยมหาราช – The Great Beloved King).

Loi Krathong
November 18th 2013   
Loi Krathong is probably the most beautiful and romantic festival in Thailand. Lotus-shaped receptacles (kratong) are decorated with flowers, candles and incense sticks and then floated (loi) in fresh water sources like rivers, lakes and ponds. At this day, people also release sky lanterns known in Thai as khom loi in large quantities to the sky.

HM the King's Birthday, Father's Day (Wan Chaloem Phra Chonmaphansa Phrabat Somdet Phra Chao Yuhua)
December 05th 2013
This day commemorates the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1927. It is also observed as National Day and National Father's Day.

Constitution Day (Wan Rattha Thammanun)

December 12th 2013
Commemorates the promulgation of the first permanent constitution in 1932

New Year's Eve (Wan Sin Pi)
December 31st 2013

Loi Kratong Festival

Loi Krathong is Thailand's most beautiful and romantic festival celebrated on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. This usually falls in November in Western calendar (Loy Krathong 2012 will be on November 28th 2012). The festival has its roots in an ancient practice of paying respect to the spirit of the waters. During the festival, Thais honor and thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha, for her help in providing the most basic of all human necessities.

Loi (or Loy) literally means "float" in Thai. Krathong is the lotus-shaped receptacle which is the central piece of the Loy Kratong ceremony. They are made off bread, wood from banana tree or simply styrofoam. During the ceremony, Thais will float decorated flowers, candles, incense sticks, a low value coin and elaborately-folded banana leaves. Many Thais believe that floating krathong will create a good luck and Thais will cut their fingernails and hair and add them to the krathong to symbolically let go of the bad parts of oneself.

Where is the best place to visit during Loi Krathong?

Loy Krathong is celebrated in all regions of Thailand. But the most celebrations can be seen in northern city of Chiang Mai, the ancient capital of the former Lanna kingdom. Loy Kratong coincides with the Lanna (northern Thai) festival known as "Yi Peng" a multitude of Lanna-style sky lanterns known in Thai as khom loi (literally  "floating lanterns") are launched into the air where they resemble large flocks of giant fluorescent jellyfish gracefully floating by through the sky. In Chiang Mai, Loi Krathong and Yi Peng are celebrated at the same time resulting in lights floating on the waters, lights hanging from trees/buildings or standing on walls, and lights floating by in the sky.

A man praying before floating a krathong.

Thousands of sky lanternss in Chiang Mai

When will be Loi Kratong Festival in the following years?
In 2012, Loy Kratong Festival will be celebrated on November 28th 2012. In 2013, the festival will fall on November 18th 2013. In 2014, the festival will be celebrated on November 7th 2014.

See also agoda.com lights up Thailand with fabulous Loy Kratong deals.

Thailand hotel deals during Loy Kratong

Loy Kratong or Loi Krathong is Thailand’s most romantic and beautiful festival celebrated annually on the night of the 12th full moon. During the festival, people honor and thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha, for her help in providing the most basic of all human necessities. Since Thailand was, and still is, a largely agricultural society, a healthy supply of water has long been central to the country’s prosperity and development. On the night of Loy Kratong, rivers, ponds, lakes and canals across the country are thronged with people making their offerings, just as they have done for centuries.

Kratong (the lotus-shaped receptacle which can float on the water) is the central piece of the Loy Kratong ceremony. Kratong is usually made from a cross-section of a banana tree or wood. Modern krathongs are more often made of bread or styrofoam. A krathong is decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense sticks and a low value coin is sometimes included as an offering to the river spirits. The person releasing the kratong to the river light the candle and incense, say a prayer, make a wish, and float – or loy – the kratong on the water.

Another aspect of the Loy Kratong festival is  releasing floating lanterns, called khom loy, into the sky. This is more common in Chiang Mai than Bangkok, and you’re likely to see thousands upon thousands of the lanterns rising slowly into the night in the northern Thai city.

 People releasing  khom loy, floating lanterns, during Loy Kratong
- Source : Thai Nice on You

During this Loi Krathong festival, which falls on November 28th, Asia’s leading hotel booking site agoda.com is helping travelers to find great deals. To get the most out of this beautiful Thai holiday, make sure to check out agoda.com’s hotel deals below.

If you book at least 3 days in advance at 5-Star Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort and Spa, you can get 15% off the value of your booking.

If you book at least 7 days in advance at 5-Star Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, you can get 10% off the value of your booking.

You can get 11% off the value of your booking at 2.5 Star J & J Guesthouse in Sukhothai City until November 30, 2012.

You can get 10% off the value of your booking at 4 Star Chiang Mai Plaza Hotel until November 30, 2012.

You can get 20% off the value of your booking at Ayodhara Village in Ayutthaya until November 30, 2012.

See details here : agoda.com lights up Thailand with fabulous Loy Kratong deals