PASSENGERS - Farewell to Bangkok's Hualamphong Railway Station

“Hualamphong is one of the most carefully maintained buildings in Bangkok. A neat cool structure, with the shape and Ionic columns of a memorial gym at a wealthy American college, it was put up in 1916 by the Western-oriented King Rama V. The station is orderly and uncluttered, and, like the railway, it is run efficiently by men in khaki uniforms who are as fastidious as scoutmasters competing for good-conduct badges.” – Paul Theroux, The Great Railway Bazaar (1975) Sadly, after over 100 years of service to locals and tourists, Hualamphong is slated for closure in late 2021, replaced by a state of the art but out-of-town facility at Bang Sue. Time, then, for me to look back on over 6 years ...View all