The Whole of Us

I did NOT expect the girls to be afraid of the night train. If I’m being honest I imagined the complete opposite. I thought they would be thrilled at the prospect of sleeping on a real life, moving train! To be fair they were excited at first but as bedtime approached I could feel their apprehension and nervousness (skip ahead for my Top Tips on surviving the night train).

When I booked the night train I was oh so proud of myself. Not only was this going to be a ‘super fun’ experience but hello I was going to save some precious dollars on accomodation and time would fly because we’d *hopefully* all be sleeping. What I didn’t expect was for the girls to get anxious about sleeping on the train.

As most parents will know, sleep is a precious commodity so any time its threatened there is a level of anxiety that comes with it. So what did we do?

We didn’t ignore it. We got curious. We asked questions around what they were feeling. You know what they were worried about? Falling off the bunk bed and accidentally waking someone up. They were nervous about all of the unknown and how they would cope with strangers sleeping all around them. Fair enough!

As we’ve discovered time and time again preparation with kids is key. We talked through what they might expect, reassuring them that we, as a team, would all be together. There are a lot of unexpected, uncertain and unknown parts to travel, a lot of questions we just don’t have answers for, but by naming the fear a level of safety is created. A sense of ‘togetherness’ is found when one person vocalises their concern and we all meet it with compassion and empathy.

After talking through it all and creating space for their thoughts and emotions we were ready. Look it wasn’t the best sleep of our life but what an adventure! Would I recommend the night train with kids? Absolutely! We tried something new and not only survived it but had fun. We laughed at the chaos of the Thai vendors walking and shouting up and down the aisle at every stop and fondly remember all cramming into one bed to watch the sunrise out the window in the morning.

Top tips when travelling with kids:

➡️ Shower at the station before boarding. If there is no shower then use baby wipes and freshen up so that you can change into ‘bedtime’ clothes. The Surat Thani train station had a ‘shower’ which was mostly a trickle of water onto mud floors. Very basic but it was enough to get clean.

➡️ Bring snacks and breakfast for the morning. On our train they had a snack cart but it will cost more and their weren’t many options.

➡️ Wear warm socks and clothes as the train can get cold. We were given a blanket and pillow.

➡️ Take ear plugs and an eye mask. The kids were fine without ear plugs but did use an eye mask, at least to get to sleep.

➡️ Stick to your usual bedtime routine. On board there was a toilet and sink so after reading a story we brushed teeth, went to the bathroom and jumped into bed.

Practical Notes

We booked a minibus transfer from our jungle safari in Khao Sok National Park to Surat Thani train station before boarding the night train to Bangkok. The train was clean, easy and comfortable taking just over 10 hours. When we boarded the train our beds were already made up with fresh sheets, quilts and a pillow.

I booked tickets for the second class air conditioned carriage through 12Go. The carriage was made up of a long row of double bunk beds with curtains for privacy. The girls slept on the top bunks, Tom and I below. The bottom bunks are darker and bigger making them better for a ‘good’ night sleep. The clickety-clack of the train made ear plugs essential, at least for me, and we all used eye masks to block out the florescent lighting that stayed on overnight.

In the morning the train attendants come and transform the beds back into seats, allowing you to either purchase breakfast or enjoy your own.

Have you taken the night train with kids before? What helped you survive the night?