We Ended 2020 with the Most Epic Train Party Thailand has Ever Seen
2 february 2021
On the 10th of December 2020, Lamphun Station, in the small Northern Thai province of Lamphun, was morphed from a sleepy railway stop into a vibrant platform of sparkling performers, colorful accessories, choreographed photos, and locally-inspired cocktails. And that was before the group even boarded the train.
While we did our best to keep the experience a surprise for our guests [who, unsurprisingly, are huge train enthusiasts], once word got out and rumors spread about the journey, the buzz was unstoppable. Guests began flying in friends from other cities and provinces to join the event. Hopes were high, and we were up for the challenge!
The Experience
The day’s mood was sensuality, joy, sin, indulgence, pride, and theatrics. For four hours, guests aboard ‘The Curious Carriage’ indulged, danced, ate, imbibed, and were transported into a journey of escapism. As many commented, “we were transported into another world.”
The onboard entertainment, a journey-long revue show with 7 performers, glitter, music, magic, and engagement. The cast for the day was an eclectic group including acrobatics, drag stars, dancers, theatrics, singing, and a runaway train of other fun surprises.
The Challenge of All Challenges
Logistically it was one of the most challenging missions we’d ever executed. With less than an hour to transform two railway cars into a glittering mobile fantasyland, then cue numerous performers, caterers, bartenders and fixers, all while choreographing guest arrival antics and mobilizing friends-of-guests boarding the train at different stations, the journey into escapism was a synchronous effort across multiple provinces and teams.
“Putting this experience together, it was a massive risk. An almost absurd and foolish risk considering the moving parts and need for perfection. We were doing something we had never done before, in places we had never hosted trips before, for a group of Thailand’s most influential people. This was a once-in-a-century gamble with so many elements beyond our control. To pull off the ultimate surprise in Bond-film like fashion, the cards were stacked against us with daunting expectations and pressure.”
There are often no dress rehearsals for our most important performances in life.
While we tried to play forward the tape and map out how each minute would progress, mobilizing a moving militia of surprises, the truth is that our entire team was operating on instinct, and a desire to impress.
"This trip is the result of a few great minds thinking about what is possible, not what has been done. This has been the ultimate effort from our team at Smiling Albino.
Often transforming rural town infrastructure into a world-class experience that has blown the minds of some of the country’s most influential and successful people."
As “experience designers” who curate moments that we hope will live on in the memory banks of our guests for decades to come, we live for impression points. On this four-hour high-speed carriage of fun, we’ve received some of our best compliments which speak to our vision. Words like imagination, bold, daring, electric, unexpected were offered generously. Many of the guests are still talking about the experience, sharing it on social media, and dreaming of their next adventure. For us this is the ultimate reward. Happy guests buzzing about our “all hands on deck” pursuit to bring a wild concept to life.
More to Come
“This trip was just beginning for us as Thailand’s epic train adventure curators.” We’re already planning a custom journey in December with plans for more wild escapades to come.
“We want to transform events while taking guests on a wild journey. Journeys, where the path to get there, is just as great (or maybe greater) than the destination. Whether it’s an upscale product launch, a corporate event, a milestone occasion, or just a ‘why not, it’s Thursday’ hoorah, we’re here for it. For us, the sky is the limit.”
Learn more about our epic Train Journeys in Thailand
Want to know more about Smiling Albino?
Travel is more than a luxury for most of us. For us, it’s a lifestyle. An adrenaline rush that you feel when you step off an airplane in a new country. It’s the euphoria and “wind in your hair” freedom that you feel driving through winding lanes in an open-air tuk tuk. It’s the giddy feeling you get when you see a golden-clad temple for the first time – or one-hundredth! For many of us, travel is living, and we’re ready to start living again!
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