Part 2 of Midnight train to nowhere. How my train trip to Bangkok got punked.

I am a bit of a romantic when it comes to train travel.

If I could jump into any book or movie, I would love to ride the Hogwarts train featured in Harry Potter. No matter how many planes rides I have taken, the sound of the train horn pulling into the station still excites me. Through lots of blood, sweat and even death of many workers, the train led the way in unifying the various states ( at least superficially) as it led the way in people being able to travel long distances with ease.

Many things make train travel feel classy and comfortable. You have great views thanks to huge windows, ample leg room, a whole car devoted to dining or grabbing a drink, moving between cars as you maintain your balance, and better bathrooms than buses, etc.

My earliest visits out of Boston were to visit my father by Amtrak in D.C/Virginia. A week after graduating from college, Amtrak spent 3 days carrying me from the East coast to a new life in Los Angeles. I not only moved and started a new life by train but had the chance to travel beyond the East Coast for the first time and to go across the U.S - a country that I have come to realize is absolutely huge with states the size of many countries elsewhere.

So a cross country trip is a smorgasbord of geographical delights and diversity mixed with boring ass corn fields.

My very first international trip out of the country was by train - to the lovely and quaint Montreal, Canada. A three hour train trip from Paris to Amsterdam was a highlight of my first trip to Europe.

Although I lived in China for a year, one of my biggest regrets was not taking advantage of their high speed train system to finally see the Great Wall. Now, I finally had a chance to have another international train trip. I did my research and could not wait to board the shiny hunk of metal that would transport me from the capital of Laos into Bangkok on an overnight 12 hour journey.

Sadly, my excitement was replaced with trepidation as I hustled for the tuk tuk that was waiting to take me to the BUS station instead.

Another Black traveller boards the tuk tuk a few stops later and he even speaks! I note this because over a period of two years, I noticed how Black folk in Asia didn’t always speak to each other and some actively avoided one another — maybe things have changed in 2025. If I had a dollar for each unreturned smile, nod or greeting I would be retired. But that’s another story for another day.

Anyway, he is handsome, nice and is just starting his Asian excursion as I am trying to wind mine down. He was my seat mate for the first half of my bus journey before moving on to Chiang Mai. Yes world, black men and women travel - it did not end with the Moors LOL.

After disembarking from the tuk tuk at the bus station, we were greeted by a very nice and handsome smily man who checks everyone in. Seeing handsome men helps when you’re nervous about a trip. However, the handsome man checking us in was probably just a distraction from the actual V.I.P status of these buses .

Our passports are checked and he gives everyone seat numbers for the first bus which will take me to Nong Khai at the Thailand border. Once over the border I must wait a few hours and board a different bus to Bangkok. About 20 minutes later the first so called V.I.P bus arrives and we board for the 5 hour journey. The only thing that was V.I.P about this bus was NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although I questioned the travel agent in Laos about what made their associated buses V.I.P, I had actually heard about and saw photos of real V.I.P buses which can be very cool. Each seat is separate and very cushioned, has individual entertainment screens, wifi, and personal overhead light. Passengers get a light meal and snack box.

The bus I was on may have been considered V.I.P 30 years but certainly not when I rode it in 2019 (maybe they’ve been updated since). It was just a bus that had a decent level of cleanliness. Good thing I had water and found some M&M peanuts at the pitstop 2 hours later.

Ok, well the V.I.P bus from the border city to Bangkok will be a real V.I.P bus right? Hummmm…stay tuned for Part 3.