Day 26, Friday, 29th March - Bangkok

No Issues....... Our stay at Hop Inn, Chumphon has been as smooth as it can be. Issues in the past with this apartment chain have been multiple including being overpriced and inflexible due making plans several days ahead. However, in this case there is no problem since we knew exactly where we would wish to be on our return to Bangkok. A bonus was the room being next to the elevator on the second floor too. I hate route marches!
Chumphon Railway Station....... We depart at reasonable time well before 10 am. Without stopping, we could arrive in Bangkok around 5:00 pm but I've been starved of visits to the railway during the last week and it just happens that we are close to the railway station at Chumphon. Checking the schedule however, I'm lucky to see any passing trains during this visit but since I was last here there have been major changes to the station. The dual-track upgrades as far south as this station have now been complete and since the 15th December 2023 a new operating timetable has significantly reduced to travel time on this line. However, that's not to say the infrastructure including platforms and station buildings are complete. At Chumphon the platforms are ready but to reach them requires a bit of a walk including crossing the track from the ticket office. It shouldn't be long though before the station is fully operational. The impressive new station building is constructed in the fashionable red and cream. While I won't be seeing any passing trains here there are locomotives in the depot opposite. Four in fact, so I'm happy with that. We now proceed north rejoining HWY 4 and I'm still considering option to where I can see more trains.
Bang Saphan Noi Railway Station....... Crossing into Prachuap Khiri Khan Province I select Bang Saphan Noi meaning another departure from HWY 4. Once again I'm greeted with an exceptionally well-designed station building in red and cream. The expense of completely upgrading and investing in the infrastructure here must be enormous. For example a new road overpass has been constructed: The days of level crossings in Thailand are numbered. The reason I have chosen this station is that my partner is looking for an iconic railway bridge over the river. I don't know exactly where it is and as it turns out we're at the wrong river. We need to be in Bang Suphan Yai which is the next station further on. Our searching around here is adding to the expected arrival time in Bangkok and as we arrive at Bang Suphan Yai Railway Station that time gets extended more.
Bang Suphan Yai Railway Station....... At Bang Suphan Yai Railway Station things are much the same as at the other stations except that neither the station building or the platforms are in use. I decide to wait for two trains, One service from Surat Thani to Bangkok and the second the reverse. Both services are still using the old platforms. We now must make some serious progress along HWY 4, Stopping only for comfort breaks and lunch around the town of Pranburi. Time is not on my side but there is one more station I need to visit, one were I know both the platforms and the station buildings are in full use.
Hua Hin Railway Station....... Even before the upgrades Hua Hin Railway Station was an attraction in itself and setting the tone for the building style in this province with its fascinating red and cream decor. On 15th December 2023 this station fully opened amid a fanfare of publicity. I just have to come here to see what all the fuss was about. Hua Hin has grown rapidly in recent years and is unrecognisable from the first time I came here. Much has changed especially at this station. One thing I do know is that this station is elevated; only the second one I've come across apart from the main station in Bangkok of course. Elevated stations means one thing; I will not be able to reach the platforms without buying a ticket. This of course I'd love to do but there's no possible way to fit a journey into our schedule today. In a sense it's a disappointing but also a learning experience. What I take from arriving here is quite startling and puts into perspective how much foreign investment has been put in to create this state-of-the-art station with the artistic impression being paramount almost usurping the function of the station itself. The station complex and concourse is massive, built in the same red and cream associated with the original station. Anyone who visits this station is bound to be impressed but it seems as if the main intention is to promote Hua Hin as a tourist destination. God forbid! It's already over crowded in my opinion. As far as train services are concerned, cutting the journey time is welcome but did they really need to go to such great lengths with the building?
The journey through Hua Hin's busy streets has used up more time. We could have avoided it altogether. My plan was to take more time to return to Bangkok to help create more train videos but that seems to have backfired. However, since I've now covered all of Thailand's provinces that opens the door for spending more time on creating videos in the future and today's visits have been rather exploratory. Back to the here and now there's still a long way to go to Bangkok. At around 5.00 pm the expected arrival time at the residence is now 8.30 pm. There can be no more hold-ups.
Home Sweet Home....... We return to HWY 4 then make the junction with the Rama II Road. We count down the kilometres but know there is congestion in the city. Fortunately it's no worse than predicted, and we arrive before the revised estimate. All we can do now is grab some food from 7-Eleven and try to settle back in as best we can tonight after a grueling 26-day tour, the most ambitious I've ever attempted. Compiling and editing material provided by this tour will take months.
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