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From Bangkok to Vientiane | Laos
Departing from Bangkok in the afternoon, this lauded international route crosses the Mekong River into Laos and is a great opportunity to try out Thailand’s overnight sleeper trains. In the morning, with warm sunlight streaming into your bed, you’ll pass by the tiny villages and seemingly endless rice fields that make up Thailand’s rural northeast. After a stop in Nong Khai, you’ll cross the so-called Friendship Bridge to Laos. The 15-minute ride drops you in Thanaleng (aka Dongphasay) station, meaning that you’ll need to take a taxi or tuk-tuk the remaining 10 miles to the capital, Vientiane. A high-speed train linking these two destinations is in the works, but delays in construction mean that it’s completion has been pushed back to 2030.