Better Thai railways could create better ties

Reporter's log | Zhao Shengnan

Should Thailand immediately upgrade its railway? Every Thai I asked gave an absolute "Yes".

It's not difficult to understand such a desire.

Put the words - "Thailand" and "train" - in popular Chinese micro-blogging platforms, and you'll get an abundance of interesting but sometimes scary accounts from Chinese traveling in the Southeast Asian country - a favorite Chinese travel destination.

You'll also find news headlines with the words "flooded" and "derailed".

Rungrawan Hu, managing director of the Bangkok-based Newspace International Trading Co Ltd, said she "almost broke her waist" after 20 hours on the train.

"The trains here are like trains 100 years ago," she says.

"Only foreigners who long for a wild experience would take a train here, and locals view it as a last resort," she said.

"It's too old and slow. It stops more Chinese from visiting some parts of the country."

Prapha Treamsasithorn, director of sales of NCC Management & Development Co Ltd in Thailand, said she would only fly to the northern city of Chiang Mai, a tourism site that is especially popular among Chinese since last year's domestic box office hit Lost in Thailand.

"It now takes more than 10 hours to travel from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by train," she said.

"It's about an hour by plane."

High-speed trains like China's "should be and must be introduced to Thailand; it saves time," she said. She called her trip on China's Qinghai-Tibet Railway two months ago "rapid and interesting".

And some people are not willing or able to fly in the country.

Beijing resident Zhao Juan had to hop the train from Bangkok to Surat Thani, Thailand's largest southern province, when she visited during the weeklong China's National Day holiday starting Oct 1.

"Flight tickets are too expensive," the 26-year-old says.

"And the 10-hour bus trip isn't good for sleeping. So I chose the train, even though it took 12 hours."

Zhao spent $24 for a spacious bunk in an air-conditioned carriage. She said she enjoyed the journey and found the attendants to be friendly.

"The bulk is a seat in the daytime and coverts into a bed at night. Converting them is exhausting work. The staffers' faces were drenched with sweat."

But the train arrived at the destination hours late. So Zhao had to cancel several itinerary items.

"The ride was special, but nobody wouldn't want the high speed of bullet trains like China's," she said. "Holidaymakers cherish their precious time."

(China Daily 10/13/2013 page3)