7 things I wish I’d known before taking a 13-hour sleeper train across Thailand. No food was sold on board and it’s easy to get left behind between stops.

On a reporting trip to Thailand in late July, I traveled on a sleeper train for the first time. At around 5 p. m.

, I boarded the Special Express 14 train in Chiang Mai, the largest province in northern Thailand. More than 13 hours later, and after traversing across nine provinces and 18 train stations, I arrived in Bangkok on a bustling morning. Since Thailand had just fully opened up to tourists on July 1, not all of amenities on the sleeper train and railway stations were back to normal.

There was no food for sale on board, barely any stops on a 10-hour stretch of the trip, and no cell service or Wi-Fi for more than half the trip. But it was a trip worth trying once — it allowed me to experience Thailand, a country I’ve visited many times, in a completely new way. Here are seven things I wish I’d known before traveling on the Special Express.

While the train stopped at around a dozen stations throughout the trip, the length of each stop varied. There were one or two times prior to reaching Ayutthaya that the train stopped for more than 15 minutes, but for the most part it either didn’t stop at all, or only took a few minutes to do so. What’s more, the train sounded its horn before leaving during some of the stops, but not all of them.

This means it’s all too easy to get left behind as the train takes off for the next leg of its journey. So, while I’d recommend taking a couple of strolls throughout the trip, don’t stray too far from the doors as the train. It can be difficult to get back on track if you get left behind — many of the stops are in rural places where there is little to no cell network or Wifi, and most people only speak Thai.

I initially booked my trip through a third-party website, but first-class, which was my preferred train class, was sold out. I then discovered the official Thai Railway website, where I could book directly and print my ticket from home. It was also much cheaper — I paid 2,906 baht, or around $81, to book an entire first-class cabin with two bunk beds.

I initially paid $30 more when I booked via third-party. If you’re interested in second- or third-class cabins, where there are more seats available, you can book on the day itself at the ticket office. Insider paid for my trip in full.

There are two kinds of first-class cabins: ones with bunk beds that face the front of the train, and those with beds that face the back. I chose a cabin that faced the back of the train. The bunks were positioned against the movement of the train, which means that I was moving backwards .

It didn’t bother me too much but I found it more difficult to take photographs and enjoy the sights outside the window. If you have motion sickness, make sure to choose a cabin with front-facing beds for a more comfortable experience. While food was served on board the train before the pandemic, the service has since been halted.

I packed a lot of snacks from 7-11, but since they weren’t complete meals, I still felt hungry. I wish I had shopped around for some Thai meals at the food stalls located outside the station before boarding the train. While I found internet access to be fine at Khun Tan and Nakhon Lampang, the connection got choppy about five hours into the trip as the train ventured into rural territory.

Not only was my show-bingeing interrupted, but I was also left with barely anything to do — the lights were so dim inside the cabin that it was difficult to read or write. Ever since I began covering the backpacking beat for Insider, I have been traveling as light as possible. I had a mix of assignments in Thailand that varied in dress code, so I opted for a small carry-on, which ended up being the perfect suitcase for the train ride.

While many choose to hand over their luggage to staff so they can store it in the train’s compartment, I prefer to keep my belongings in my cabin. But space in the cabins is limited, so don’t bring more luggage with you than is strictly necessary. The sun sets in Chiang Mai at around 7 p.

m. The train leaves the station around 5:30 p. m.

, which means there are less than two hours of sunlight during the train ride. The upside to this is that the jungles, rivers, and rice paddy fields look majestic during golden hour, but the downside is that most of the journey will be in darkness. By the time the sun rises at around 4.

30 a. m. , it reveals a very different side to Thailand — a cityscape with buildings, roads, and people preparing for the day ahead.

It’s a lot less appealing than the natural landscape of northern Thailand. .