Trip to Thailand, Laos & Bali- Trains to Bangkok

After the Museum I was off to the new train station in Laos near the Friendship Bridge and the border with Thailand. This station just opened last March and there is a morning and afternoon train across the bridge. It is a handy way to get to the Bangkok train in Nong Khai...the first town over the bridge. You go through Lao immigration at this station and Thailand immigration at the next station.
The train has just four cars. In Nong Khai you have to transfer to the Bangkok train.
Inside the train.
I had to take a second class sleeper this trip as it was the only type I could reserve online. Actually it was quite comfortable with single seats across from one another on each side of the car. And there were racks to store your bags on the side which also served as ladders to the upper bunks. A porter came along and made up the beds and each bed had a curtain for privacy. Not bad at all.
Yikes. The only drawback was that there was only a squat toilet in this type coach. There are western toilets in the first class coaches.