I will be travelling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and also from Bangkok to Krabi.

Both modes of transport are good and have their own advantages. Trains offer less frequent departure times but most people tend to opt for an overnight sleeper on the long trip from Bangkok. It’s more comfortable to sleep all the way to your destination, and also better in terms of safety too. For greater comfort and privacy, you can choose to travel first class though a second-class sleeper is good enough and you have the opportunity to meet and talk with other travellers. 

In fact, many train travellers prefer the second class sleepers, reasoning that it’s more fun to be around people. Berths are arranged on both sides of a central aisle. During the day, pairs of seats face each other on each side of the aisle while at night, they are pulled together to form bunk beds. The train attendants make the beds, pulling the upper bunk bed out of the wall and putting on clean bedding. Each bunk has curtains for privacy

However, the railway network in Thailand doesn’t cover every major city. You can use the train to go to Chiang Mai but Krabi doesn't have a train station so you would need to take the train to Punpin Station in Surat Thani, Thung Song Station is Nakhon Si Thammarat or to Trang town. All are located about 150 kilometres from Krabi.

Buses can take you almost everywhere in Thailand, and they are quicker and cheaper too. Transport company or 999, which is the government bus company, offers better bus conditions. 

I would suggest you travel by train on the Bangkok- Chiang Mai route then use the bus for Bangkok to Krabi. Besides the 999 bus, Lignite Tour also offers a first-class 24-seat bus.

 

 

I will head to Cambodia after a week in Phuket. Do any airlines offer direct flights from Phuket to Siem Reap? Forrest L.

 

Phuket has an international airport with flights to various destinations in the region including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. However, for several other destinations, among them Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, you will have to transit in Bangkok.

Bangkok Airways offers a Phuket-Bangkok-Siem Reap routing. Choices on other airlines tend to be quite limited, as many of them only fly from Bangkok to Phnom Penh. Cambodia Angkor Air (www.CambodiaAngkorAir.com) has a daily afternoon flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap.

AirAsia can route you via Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap while Jet Star Airways allows you to travel to Siem Reap via either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

Have a good trip.