I took a luxury overnight bus in Thailand and got 10 hours of business-class service for $30. The US should take notes.

Author Brendan Sainsbury sitting in luxury bus in Thailand — Thailand's surprisingly affordable VIP buses leave most other countries in the shade.
Brendan Sainsbury

I paid $30 to take a luxury Sombat Tour bus from Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Boarding the bus was easy and the service on board reminded me of business class.
The seats were large and comfortable and our ticket even came with food. The US should take notes.

Bus transport varies considerably from country to country, from super-slick intra-city buses in Mexico to down-at-heel Greyhounds in the US.

In my extensive journeys around the world as a travel writer, I've enjoyed some superb buses and endured some rust buckets.

On a recent visit to Thailand, I experienced my most deluxe bus ride to date.

My wife and I decided to travel between Bangkok and Chiang Mai by bus rather than plane.

Author Brendan Sainsbury in front of a Thai bus — We booked a bus trip to cut down on flying time and save some money.
Brendan Sainsbury

Aiming to save some money and cut down on flying during a three-week trip to Southeast Asia, my wife and I chose to take a bus between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Bangkok is just over 420 miles south of Chiang Mai by road, and I'd heard about a deluxe bus line that made the journey in 10 hours.

Seats cost less than $30 per person for services that — if the photos I saw online were to be believed — were reminiscent of business class on a plane. I booked tickets through the Thai-based travel agency 12Go and prayed the photos were accurate.

We caught the bus at Bangkok's Mo Chit bus terminal, located a few miles northeast of the city center.

Thai bus station — The bays at Mo Chit bus terminal were easy to navigate.
Brendan Sainsbury

It took us about 40 minutes to get to Mo Chit in a taxi from our city-center hotel through Bangkok's bumper-to-bumper rush-hour traffic. The fare cost about $9.

Although the bus terminal wasn't super modern, it felt clean, safe, and convenient, particularly compared to bus stations I've frequented in North America.

A wide range of food outlets were available, offering everything from doughnuts to Thai-style buffets.

There were no queues for check-in at Mo Chit on a Wednesday evening in February.

Empty bus terminal — The bus terminal seemed well-staffed with minimal wait times.
Brendan Sainsbury

We arrived an hour before our scheduled departure time and picked up our reserved tickets in a matter of minutes.

We had booked a VIP 20 bus run by Thai bus company Sombat Tour.

People boarding luxury bus in Thailand — Luggage was loaded into the bus.
Brendan Sainsbury

Our first impressions of the bus were promising. In addition to having a driver, the bus had an onboard attendant who welcomed us and explained the facilities in English.

Unlike at many budget airlines, our luggage was stored in the hold at no extra cost.

The bus was parked at the bay 15 minutes before departure, which let us to leave promptly at 7:25 p.m.

Sombat Tour's VIP 20 buses have 20 business-class-sized seats.

Inside of a luxury business-class seat bus in Thailand — Quality seems to rule over quantity on Sombat buses.
Brendan Sainsbury

The 20 large, business-class-size seats were arranged in 10 rows with an aisle down the middle.

Fewer seats meant more privacy. On VIP 20 buses, you don't have to worry about deciding who gets the armrest or getting stuck in banal conversations with overly friendly passengers in the seat next to you.

Each seat had its own flexible reading light, charging outlets, and TV monitor offering a selection of films and music.

Red leather bus seat with massage tools in it — The same seat on a long-haul plane would likely cost 100 times the amount.
Brendan Sainsbury

This being Thailand, seats also had a unique built-in massage feature that could caress our muscles electronically all the way to Chiang Mai.

The bus windows were fitted with curtains, and there was an onboard bathroom at the rear.

Several small snacks were brought around by the attendant soon after we departed.

Snacks on a counter on a bus — Basic snacks took the edge off our appetite.
Brendan Sainsbury

Snacks included water, orange juice, a muffin, and a bag of crisps.

Blankets were also provided and ultimately proved useful, with the air conditioning trying its hardest to replicate a cool spring day in Vancouver.

It would've been nice to get pillows and headphones or have high-speed WiFi, too.

Built-in seat pods meant we could recline up to 135 degrees without disturbing the person behind us.

Woman in bus seat leaning back — The large seats were perfect for relaxation.
Brendan Sainsbury

An electronic switch allowed us to set whichever seat angle we preferred. Other switches controlled the footrest height and massage intensity.

The bus had good suspension, and the journey was quiet and smooth — all conducive to a good night's rest.

A Thai-style buffet meal was included with our bus ticket.

Selection of food under glass in Thailand — A dinner voucher was used to redeem our meals.
Brendan Sainsbury

At around 11 p.m., three-and-a-half hours into our journey, we stopped at a service station for a bathroom break and a late dinner.

The bus ticket got each of us a complementary meal at a Thai buffet inside. Although the food wasn't gourmet, it was quick, authentic, and remarkably tasty.

We arrived at Chiang Mai's bus terminal excruciatingly early.

Author's wife with a suit — We arrived at Chiang Mai bus terminal in the dark.
Brendan Sainsbury

One small downside of the journey is that we arrived in Chiang Mai between 5 a.m. and 6 am.

We got a taxi to our hotel, dumped our bags, and waited for the city's first cafés to open at 7 a.m. After coffee and croissants, we headed off to hit the main sights.

Chiang Mai, with its many beautiful gardens and temples, was well worth the journey.

Flowers and plants lining a road in Chang Mai — Chiang Mai is a floral extravaganza.
Brendan Sainsbury

Chiang Mai is a historic city of ornate Buddhist temples, floral gardens, and courteous people that's surrounded by a moat and guarded by the remains of an ancient defensive wall.

As a destination, it surpassed our expectations.

Sombat Tour provided us an economical and comfortable way to travel — and it saved us from paying for a night in a hotel.

Thai bus at night — Sombat makes bus travel attractive and — dare I say it — enjoyable.
Brendan Sainsbury

If inter-city coaches of this quality existed in North America — where bus travel is often looked upon as something to be endured rather than enjoyed — public transport would be a lot more popular and widely used.

Plus, my bus ticket cost one-third the price of the cheapest plane ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

Not only did we arrive in Chiang Mai fresh and relaxed, but we also got to enjoy 10 hours of business-class-standard service for just $30.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/9xzSyRe

Something that you might miss to see?