After a day in Bangkok, we boarded a 12-hour night train that would take us to the northern border of Thailand so that we could cross over into Laos.

We opted for the less expensive option of a 2nd-class sleeper car where, instead of having a private cabin, the entire car was a shared space. There was a top level of bunks above the seats, which themselves also folded down into bunks. Each bunk had a curtain for privacy, as well as an interior reading light.

Shortly after departing, a man came through and made all the beds (folded down the chairs into bunks, put sheets and a blanket on each). In the morning, the same man came through and gathered all the linens and folded the bottom bunk back into chairs and the top bunk back into the wall.

This turned out to be the only train ride we took on our entire trip. Apparently, there were plans for a rail line that would take visitors into the Lao capitol of Vientiane, but the tracks literally stop halfway across the Friendship Bridge (the bridge that spans the Mekong connecting the two countries). The Lao government is said to be waiting for external funding to complete the project on their side.

Compare image to the trains in Venice.