On and Off the Rails in Thailand

So here I am, as promised. I am currently sat aboard my first train anxiously waiting for it to depart. I’m taking the overnight sleeper train from Bangkok to Nong Kai in the North East of Thailand from there I will catch the train over the Friendship Bridge (sounds ominous) and then over the boarder to Vientiane in Laos.

The train is a wonderful mish mash of ages with shiny new air conditioned 1^st class cars with their own private cabins and slightly matt 2^nd class cars also sporting air conditioning down to rickety old fan cooled 2^nd class ones. There are also 3^rd class cars but I didn’t walk far enough down the train to see those ones. I presume they have netting on the walls to hold the passengers in place.

I saved myself the 200 Baht (3 quid) and opted for the fan cooled 2^nd class option. Although after this section of my trip who knows what I’ll opt for next time?

This is the posh carriage and below is my one - at least it was right next to the restaurant car.....

The seats in the 2:2 carriage are a colonial dark blue leatherette that shine invitingly against the mint green walls. The carriage also sports a cleverly thought out tiered luggage rack so the person in the top bunk can easily access their belongings from bed. And finally two hospital like straps hanging vertically from the upper bunk to aid with the transition from ladder to slumber and also helpfully preventing you from rolling out should the train take a particularly tight corner.

4 minutes to go and I am too excited.

Not that I’ll see much in the dark but I feel that as soon as the train starts moving my journey will be properly underway.

I have only been here for 2 and a half days but already I am very aware that I’m running out of time. I’d wanted to be on my way this morning but unfortunately the train to Nong Khai only leaves at night. So an extra day had to be spent wandering the streets of Bangkok which is no bad thing. Since arriving at my hostel I had been whisked this way and that by a variety of friendly faces. Seconds after dropping my bag and aching for a proper sleep I was persuaded out of the door by Patricia from Holland who was rounding people up to go for dinner – after that I wandered Khao San Rd and the surrounding streets with Sophie from Leeds. I was surprised and reassured that the area was exactly the same as when I had visited 3 years previous. This meander resulted in an hour long foot massage which was exactly what I needed. Then it was back to the hostel for a late night film showing with a beer, on a lounger. Perfect.

The chalet owner and his wife have just bought 2 Persian kittens who are about 3 weeks old and so cute you might actually scream. So as they roll around you find yourself transfixed by their kittle fluffy faces.

Wetwipe (my cat at home) would not be pleased at all the attention I’ve been giving them. In fact everyone that walks in the places forgets their purpose and descends upon them. They are destined to be the most loved cats in Bangkok.

Back from my brief aside about the fluffy creatures. The next morning I slept through adjusting to the time difference and spent the rest of the day sloping around the markets eating breakfast and buying clothes.  On returning to the hostel for long trouser s when the sun set I met Alice from Newcastle who had just landed and Dom from San Francisco who I’d seen earlier on the day busily working on her laptop in a corner. In that moment I decided to take up Patricia’s role from the night before and as if anyone fancied dinner – they accepted and out we went once again to the street. A fantastic 35 Baht (70p) was spent on a dinner of yellow noodles and pork in a wonderfully fragrant broth. I practically inhaled it. Then the evening was spent with more meandering, beer drinking and relatively early to bed.

I’m being kicked out of my seat now because the lovely train man wants to make my bed for me. This is truly amazing.

This morning after another session of having to prop my eyes open and drag myself out of bed I decided that if I had to hang around till 8pm then I would make the most of it. Dom had recommended a breakfast place just around the corner where for 85 Baht (1 pound 60) you could get a full breakfast with coffee. This morning I really needed that coffee.  As I left I met Emily from Holland and Alice who joined me and we bumped into Dom when we arrived. All requiring some culture we hopped into a tuk tuk (I’m getting my bartering skills down to a T) and headed for the National Museum and then walking further down past the park to the palace where we gazed at the gold whilst chopping on BBQ’s chicken in sweet spicy sauce.

After eating even more delights we swayed onto a riverboat back to our neighbourhood. I love Bangkok from the water as you truly get a sense of it all from rich to poor with shining tall glass building to shanty houses and bars with tiny plastic stools. All busy, all making money just going at it from completely different ends of the spectrum.

So by the time we arrived back to the hostel is was time for me to head off again. And here I am bobbing my way North East in a sleeper train reminiscent of something out of 42st street just with a rotund Thai lady ferrying rice dishes up and down the aisles instead of a butler offering to shine your shoes.

We’ve come about 3 stops so far in about 40 minutes and so far Bangkok by night has been fascinating. The train went directly through town almost entirely along the road as would a tram which suggests to me that the rail line must have been built after the roads. Queues of people in taxis, buses, tuk tuks and on motorcycle all steadily inching their way further and further out into the road as the train passes -every single one in dire need to get where they’re going as quickly as possible.

I have chosen to travel by train for the majority of this trip for mainly comfort reasons along with a sense of grandeur and romanticism. Even though buses are quicker and the same price I felt the need to really take in the scenery as it rolled by and hopefully get a proper nights rest at the same time. I never really got used to the sleeper bus on my previous trip and I will be forced to use one in Laos as there doesn’t seem to be a train service of any kind. I can spend the rest of this journey researching that.

And so as the shutters on the train windows are drawn for me I think I’ll take a walk to the restaurant car for a beer before bed.

My bunk

Oh and Happy Halloween everyone!

C x