It's hardly been a perfect night's sleep as we both sleep late trying to catch up. We chose KIO Hotel for its convenience and after no issues were experienced on a previous visit. With shops nearby and just 10 minutes to the stadium it should be perfect with everything as it should be, except the question mark against comfort. I never thought I would be mentioning pillows, but sleeping on a giant's pillow is only good for heads-up. However, today there is plenty of time to kill, but it will be another long day.
It's gone 10:00 am before we leave the hotel and we might as well head straight for the train station. At Nakhon Ratchasima Railway Station, I know the drill. I stay long enough to view two local trains, one arriving from Udon Thani and the other one departing for Ubon Ratchathani. It has to be remembered that the Northeastern Line still has long sections of single track so it's quite normal for trains to cross at stations creating a pairing. The next pair of trains on a Rapid service will not arrive here for more than an hour and I'm not prepared to wait. Instead, we had out on the Mittraphap Road heading for Bangkok.
As I predicted, this short little tour is dominated by railway and football stadiums, two pet loves of mine and today is no exception as we head for yet another train station. The land to the west of this province is dominated by the Lumtakong Dam and reservoir that transport links by road and rail have to negotiate passing either side; the motorway to the south and the railway to the north. While I've travelled by road on this route on many occasions, in recent times I've never used the railway. I now head for Khlong Phai Railway Station at the eastern end of the dam. Here I'm trying to gather as much photographic evidence as I can, relating to the construction of the high speed rail line which will align with the northern shore of the reservoir. However, the route will differ from the existing line with the creation of a tunnel just as at Muek Lek. At the present time, this tunnel is still under construction. Unfortunately, I cannot proceed further to view construction progress on HST line, but there is another reason for coming to Khlong Phai well, two actually as we can take lunch here. At the same time I'm keeping an eye on the Google map app to check the progress of an arriving train. Yes, it's a Rapid service that I could have seen if I'd have waited in Nakhon Ratchasima. I return to the platform where the 136 is expected in 10 minutes. By now I've learnt to read the routine of station staff who will always appear on the platform in uniform even for a passing train to wave flags. I'm quite surprised however when this flag waving happens well before the 136 it is expected. I'm currently looking to the east but suddenly realise there is the train coming in the opposite direction and it's obviously not the 136. Instead, a TPL train with cement wagons heads through the station. It's a win-win as I can capture two birds with one stone as the line is now clear for the 136. It's now a case of figuring out what else I can do this afternoon and although it involves a detour I'd like to visit yet another station on the northern shore of the Lumtakong reservoir. To get there we must first reach its western end near Pak Chong.
Chanthuk Railway Station is the nearest one can get to view construction from the west and you can get close to the massive concrete pillars, the alignment of which can be seen from space. At this station no services are expected, but for such a small community it's amazing to see, but here too, a new station with its new platforms has been provided. It makes me wonder what the experience will be when the tunnel is complete. Well, that's it for trains for today as we head back through Pak Chong picking up some local pastries on the way. It's now just a question of completing our journey back to Bangkok, but we don't get far before another stop.
The area to the west of Nakhon Ratchasima province is ringed by hills but the Korat plane is fertile, ideal for farming including rearing cattle. We now find ourselves at Sawan Farm which is one of the farms in the area producing cash crops and has a farm shop. It's always a pleasure to visit these locations due to the variety of fruits and vegetables that are available in this tropical region. It's a veritable vegetarian paradise, but I note other products as well including cactus and fruit trees for sale. The downside is that it's very hot today and not ideal to wander too far. It's time to get back in the car and press on.
We arrive at BG Stadium just after 5.00 pm for a fixture that starts at 7.00. We have plenty of time to find some snack food and mingle with the crowd. Today's fixture is between BG Pathum United (the Rabbits) and Prachuap FC (the Hornets). It's a Thai Premier League clash with two teams that are doing reasonably well in this league. The hosts are 4th with the visitors 7th. Still, BG Pathum are favorites to win.
The game kicks off in front of a crowd of 6904, but neither team settles being evenly matched. It takes 31 minutes to break the deadlock with the home team going in front, the only goal in the first half. The second half sees more action, but both defenses stand firm and there is no further score giving the Rabbits a hard fought win to move up to 3rd. The day ends with a 30-minute drive to the residence. It's been a long day of 12 hours and my twin love of trains and football has been well-satisfied and not only today but over the two days. Just wonderful!

Source: Visit