Running Train

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0918 ICT

12 February 2103

Special express train #9



After grabbing breakfast in the grand club, I caught a taxi to Hualumphong train station. The cab was whistled in from the street, and I got more of a reminder that I am not in America than any anything else that has happened so far. The stopped the cab at a gate, and checked it for bombs with the mirror all the way around before letting it up.



So the cab makes it the 6th form of transportation I have taken so far in the last day or so, with my train to Ayutthaya being the 7th. Bangkok traffic is insane. Major intersections often have a 4-5 minute wait before your lanes get a light again. Each direction gets its own tutn, and there may be 5 or 6 of them. Mopeds all move to the front of the intersection around the cars at lights. It seems frantic, yet I haven't seen an accident or anything yet. As we waited for a long light at the end of Lumphini Park I just watched the clock tick away. When out at the station, I hopped out of the cab, didn't ask for change and jogged to packed ticket windows. I waited in line looking frantic, seeing that the train I needed to catch was 0830, and it was close. The Thai lady in line in front of me asked where I was going. She got a train station worker, security or something and told him where I was going. He looked panicked and ran to a ticket window, talked to the lady in Thai, I paid for my ticket, and we ran to the platform. 0831. I ran down to the front of the train and grabbed a seat as we started moving. Moving is an overstatement. At 4-5 major intersections the trains stopped for a long time when waiting for their light to cross the street. We only really stared moving an hour into the trip. No wonder all the trains run late in Thailand.



1009 ICT

12 February 2012

Special express train #9



Moving was called prematurely. It took 90 minutes to make it 25 km to Don Muang airport, and the trip is supposed to be 90 minutes for the 80km to ayutthaya. Two funny things happened on the way out of Bangkok. i figured thai trains cannot be more organized than amtrak, and just ran and sat down. i randomly picked the correct seat, as they are assigned. it took me about an hour to notice that. second, my garmin watch finally located sattellites. in one of the biggest cities on earth, the sattelites couldnt find me. in the country of thailand i was located.



outside the city, the train tracks are much like elsewhere in the world. On the west side of the tracks it seems nicer most times. The houses are at least constructed rather than assembled. The corrugated metal houses remind me of the fragile nature of Bangkok. They are built on stilts, on top of canals. Bangkok is sinking, apparently 3 inches a year. The construction continues, higher and heavier. Thailands Venice grows unabated, yet it is the extremely poor on stilts on the east side of the tracks in Ramsit that may be able to keep their houses, not weighed down by luxury, steel and concrete.



The train appears hell bent on making up time now that we are outside Ramsit. They have brought me coffee a bun and some corn chowder. Rolling the dice with my snack.

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