Steaming to Ayuthaya

Everybody loves an old steam engine train, and Thailand offers steam enthusiasts 4 opportunites each year to ride a steamer from Bangkok to Ayuthaya, with plenty of time for wonderful photos. The Bangkok Post has the details.

Taking the day off to travel from Bangkok to Ayutthaya by steam train makes for an impressive journey, packed with smiles and just a little chaos. The steam train operates only on special holidays (see below right), and for a few days a year the old engines are dusted off for the run between the present capital and the ancient capital.

The coming of the train - whooshing and whistling happily as it puffs up big bursts of steam - excites everyone on the platform. Only a few minutes before leaving on the day I made the trip, on Chulalongkorn Day, Oct 23, no one wanted to take a seat before snapping off a dozen or so photos of family and friends standing at the front of the train. Passengers of other trains did a double take when they saw the roaring antique engines belching out clouds of smoke and vapour over the station. Some children managed to get an invitation to climb up into the engineer's seat, with their parents close behind.

This trip used two steam locomotives, a Pacific 824 and 850, produced in Japan. The Pacific 824 has been in use since 1949, and the Pacific 850 since 1951. The two engines easily pulled the nine fully packed carriages.

At the last minute passengers rushed aboard and found that not only did the engines come from a bygone age, but so did the carriages. None of the old-fashioned wooden seats have numbers, so most passengers were in for an adventure just finding their seats. A Japanese family seated next to me found their window wouldn't open, and soon after a child nearby fell when his seat collapsed.

However, such problems are suddenly forgotten when the train makes its grand and noisy exit from the station, huffing, puffing and whistling along the tracks as it slowly picks up speed. Everyone is excited again, particularly the children. Passengers crane their necks out the windows to get a view of the black engines in motion.

As the train rolled down the track towards Ayutthaya, I noticed everyone was smiling. We felt like VIPs, with people along the way waving happily at us and many cars following alongside on the road, taking pictures.

Everyone was particularly excited when the train approached a bend, offering a glimpse of the locomotives.

Two hours after leaving Bangkok we arrived in Ayutthaya. Some passengers left at Bang Pa-in to visit the famous summer palace. Most stayed aboard to Ayutthaya Station to explore the ancient capital, which is now an historic park. Other attractions include the Royal Elephant Kraal, with its elephant show and rides.

The Million Toy Museum is a big hit with children, and adults often find it fascinating and perhaps nostalgic. Some toys are nearly 100 years old, and there are a variety of cooking utensils from a bygone era as well.

Hua Raw market, at the north eastern tip of Ayutthaya's old town, is a shopper's paradise with various local delicacies, particularly fish. And the souvenir most passengers would not miss is roti sai mai, sugar straw rolled with pastry, the famous Ayutthaya sweet.

In the evening, all the passengers arrived early at the railway station to see the trip's main attraction - the warm-up for the return journey back to Bangkok. The platform was once again full of steam, whistles and smiles.

The train moved slowly on the way back through the vast green rice fields, taking much longer than a car. But in this case, that's a good thing.