I awoke this morning to the greenest
of greens. Tall trees flew past my train window in neat lines surrounded by dusty
purple soil ploughed and ready for planting. Occasionally we passed by a mound of
smoking earth which was presumably cooking someone’s breakfast.
Last night in the restaurant car there was
a sign stating ‘No Smoking in the Morning’ I had chuckled to myself at the time
but it seems it was only a suggestion as official looking men, army boys and
even the restaurant staff were puffing away.
The 6am wakeup call had not been a welcome
one – even though the train was late to arrive by a solid hour there was no
sleeping beyond 6am. First started the marching up and down the aisle by the
bed making man, fully uniformed, ready to start his day. Then the official
looking men with their grey uniforms and guns on their hips not willing to take
any nonsense of any kind. Then the restaurant ladies up and down the aisle ‘Coefffeyyyyyyyy…….teeeeeeeee………..Coefeyyyyyyyyyyy…….teeeeeeee.
Now however much I really needed a Coaefffey I would have happily slept another
hour before attaining one.
Also I had just got the hang of continuous
sleep in the top bunk before it was time to get up again. The top bunk did not
have a window like the bottom so your only access to ventilation was from the oscillating
fan on the roof. However when you closed your little green and gold curtain to
give you some privacy the fan has no impact on your temperature at all. After
sweltering for a good hour I took a sneaky peak up and down the corridor to see
how other people had dealt with this problem. Cleverly they had unhooked the
centre of their curtain so it sagged a little leaving a small gap for the
coldish air to waft in. Even though this was an improvement it meant that the
light in the carriage that had been obscured by the curtain then blared on to the
bunk with the intensity of a prison searchlight. So it took me several hours of
shifting position of myself and the curtain and laying several different
thicknesses of clothing over my face to block out the light before I managed to
nod off for any significant time at all.
Then it was all stomping and shouting.
However watching the man pack away the beds was a work of pure grace and dexterity.
I was transfixed as he flipped and tied and swung the sheets into tidy packets
and precisely placed the new lined folded and in order or placement ready for
the next journey to begin. Once the upper bunk was prepped it was neatly pushed
upward and stowed away against the wall leaving it occupier without anywhere to
sit until the bottom bunk was vacated - but no fear! One swoop and flip and ta
darrrr! All neatly put away in the blink of an eye. Glancing through the cabin
all the upper deck curtains were expertly knotted with the gold seat number
facing outward. What pride in his work he must take and how I wish he’d prepped
the train yesterday as I had such trouble locating my seat from the tiny
scratched off metal plaques. He must have been given a day off for his
excellent performance.
The train was delayed which was fine but I
could have done with that extra hour in bed. However it did give me longer to stare out of the window at the ever changing landscape. The closer we got to our destination the earth colour was changing from purple to light pink.
When we did eventually arrive the border crossing was much more
simple than I had anticipated. The two German’s that I met in Bangkok and bumped
into again on the train had booked everything through a travel agency for 1200
baht. I had disregarded that way as I thought it was way too expensive. My Yorkshire roots shining through once again. They
had a sleeper bunk in 2nd class with air con, train to the border
and bus into town for that price. I opted to wing it. I spend 488 baht on the
train and when we arrived at Nong Kai the sign in the ticket office window said
Vientiane 300 Baht. OH SHIT! I didn’t have that much in my wallet and there was
nowhere to get cash out. However having gotten the river boat in Bangkok I got
the impression that this 300 baht may be a decoy from a travel agency to stop
you from buying an ordinary ticket. When I got to the ticket window I just asked
for a ticket to the border. They smirked at me and then eventually said 20
Baht. 20 BAHT!!!!! Phew and cheeky buggers! How many other people have been
duped by that trick? But after the train there was the border and then
transport into town – who knew how much this would be? So the rain took 15
minutes which felt like a bit of a cheat. The Visa was 35 dollars which I
already knew and was prepared for. The German’s had slowed down and I wasn’t
about to wait. Then I spotted my French bunk mate who was waiting for her
friend who in turn was waiting for her Visa. I asked to share a Tuk Tuk and she
agreed. Things were on the up. She and her friend turned out to be French
teachers in Vientiane so they knew the score and gave me lots of good advice
about orientation of the town. They were also good at haggling and got us the
trip to town for 50 baht each. So all in all I spend 558 Baht over 1200, I felt
like a winner – but that feeling didn’t last for long............
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