Saturday 8th February

Evolution........ Arriving back in Bangkok after a long break of more than eight months it should be business as usual but a lot has happened since I was last here. In September/October I broke the sequence of Far East travels when I visited Turkey (Tours 19E/F). However, having broken that link and succeeding in adding two more counties to my visit list in 2019, the opportunity together with my desire for more travels in Thailand remains unfettered. Nevertheless, recent events mean that for this visit at least, my plans will not follow the usual pattern.
While the duration of my current absence from the UK is a familiar 7 weeks, a longer tour outside Thailand, in fact outside the Far East, is planned. A two-week tour of Sri Lanka will break up the current stay in Thailand and add a 3rd new country in less than a year to my list.
Revolution........ As this year will complete 10 years of my tours in the Far East, I look back to the days before I officially retired when I felt a lot like a backpacker, relying on public transport with hiring a motorbike the only luxury. They were exciting and ambitious times. However, the move to four wheels reduced the challenges but with the addition of GPS navigation the output for this website dramatically increased as I used a hired vehicle during tours in Thailand. However, a recent event in late January will have a significant effect on this visit: Katoon has finally agreed to an investment in personal transport. I fully support her in securing a Toyota Vios, a tidy vehicle of the same spec we've been used to hiring. This is a game changer. The most immediate effect is that as I write these notes, with the exception of the Sri Lanka tour, I've absolutely no idea of an itinerary for the rest of this month. The turning of the wheels of our new Vios is revolutionary and within a day of my arrival this new freedom is felt for shopping and dining out. On the 2nd day the ritual visit to Pradipat Road to change currency is further proof that past excursions under not the best conditions, hopefully are a thing of the past.

Bang Sue........ While the last few years have seen no shortage of State Railway of Thailand station visits, this area of interest for me has taken back-stage. Today I'm taking a visit to Bang Sue Junction Railway Station north of central Bangkok and yet again I'm singing the praises of the new found freedom. Despite being some distance from our residence we reach it with ease and I can update myself with what will become the greatest engineering feat in the Far East for a railway station.
Background........ The Bang Sue Railway Junction was created in 1903 when the Southern Line was connected to the Northern Line north of the main terminal station at Hua Lamphong. In 1919 the line gauges were standardised to 1 metre (3 ft 3 inches) which remains the case for the national network today. However, in recent years, work to address the chronic failing transport infrastructure is at last being addressed with the construction of new metro and sky train lines. In addition, provision for a high-speed national rail network (HSR) is also part of the plan. This plan outlined in 2010 provided for the creation of a new central station at Ban Sue. This made total since the existing terminal at Hua Lamphong, originally created to serve the expanding city of Bangkok over 100 years ago is now deep in the heart of the most congested part of the city. This station will close when the new terminal at Bang Sue opens in early 2021 and be converted into a museum.
Bang Sue Central Station will become the universal transport hub for Thailand providing links to all parts of the country and beyond via the HSR service as well as for commuter traffic within the metropolitan area and with adjoining provinces. It will be the largest rail hub in S.E. Asia.
As I reach the station, the amazing new structure dominates the skyline will all but cosmetic works now complete. However, until the new station opens, trains continue to use the adjoining station as they have done the more than 100 years. Arriving around 3pm the station is really busy. The window is open for departures to the most distant destinations of Thailand's deep south. These include the border station at Sungai Kolok and the station at Yala on the Southern Line and Ubon Ratchathani on the Northeastern Line. These services will arrive after dawn tomorrow. Other long-distance trains including the northern destination of Chiang Mai, the north eastern destination of Nong Khai and the southern destinations of Kantang and Nakhon Si Thammarat will leave Bangkok station later at around 6pm. However, in the space of an hour and a half at Bang Sue, my visit has been most productive and worthwhile. So far so good.