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On the train to Pak Chong
This is before I parked my rucksack. I don't the picture does justice to how little room I had at that point. In accordance with trying to keep my resolution of trying to clear the backlog of entries, I'll post more blogs today.
Our plan was to spend a night camping at the world famous Khao Yai National park where (according to Brian) you might be privileged to see man wild elephants amongst other species. We never made to the town but never made it to the park itself. If you are wondering why I'm going to Pak Chong, it is because it is the closest town to Khao Yai.
Before I divulge into details of why I never made it there, I should first describe the train ride to Pak Chong.
Train-ride to Pak Chong The ride itself was about 2+1/2 hrs but unlike the train to Ayruthaya it only contained 3rd class cabins. This means that the seats are unassigned, or in a more positive spin, assigned on a first come first serve basis. (quite similar to "non-refundable deposit" on MRT cards in S'pore). Unfortunately for us, by the time the train arrived at Ayruthaya, it was standing room only. The aisles in the train which would be regarded as crowded and narrow even w/o the passengers
On the train to Pak Chong
Another one of the cool thai kids. He had a Tetris/FM radio device that I wanted to play with. standing there became a real challenge to navigate through w/ the large rucksack on my back. The luggage compartment overhead was packed and was too small to be of refuge to our bags. Nevertheless, we managed to traverse through to the middle of the car where 2 facing benches were occupied by a mother, her 2 children and an older man. one of the children was sleeping and taking an extra seat for his legs but this means that the feet rest area was unoccupied. We immediately parked our bags there and all of a sudden things begin to look up w/o the heavy bags on our shoulders.
W/o the bags, I was able to maneuver more deftly and managed to secure a spot across the aforementioned benches where I can stand comfortably with a view out of the window and some fresh air. It even offered enough room to lean forward after grabbing the overhead metal bars to avoid various food vendors that traverse the car selling anything from beer and snacks to pad thai. They came at an annoying frequency which forced me to dip forward every several minutes to let them through. I'm sure my inconveniences
On the train to Pak Chong
Combination of the scenery and curiosity kept him away from my seat. Yay! were trivia compared to what they face on a daily basis having to go up and down the car, dodging bulky tourists and locals trying to earn a living. Some of these venders were also quite young (~ 10 years or so) and they would carry a bucket of ice filled w/ beverages which must be quite heavy.
About 45 min into the trip, I was lucky enough to have the person I was hovering near disembark. I quickly planted my butt on the bench and now am a beaming temporary owner of a seat between Brenda, one of the kids. At our feet were our bags so we had very little room to shift. The kid, for the most part spent the ride on his feet looking out of the window and enjoying the scenery. If there is ever an immediate and practical benefit from children's curiosity, here it is; it gives me more room on the bench. And whenever he decides to sit, he would be sitting partially on my lap, sharing my lapspace with B's duffle bag. So the train chugged along for 2 more hours before finally depositing us in Pak Chong at 7:30.
On the train to Pak Chong
This little girl and her mother joined us later. She is so adorable applying babypowder to everthing she sees and eating constantly. Her mother later "told" us that she is the younger of identical twins and that her sister was with her husband somewhere else on the train. She also tried to share sticky rice with us. I should note that the Thais are very friendly. I bought some cuttle fish snacks and shared them with the kids nearby and kids for the most part were very appreciative. During dinner time, 6:30 or so, their mother brought out some rice w/ fried chicken, sticky rice, and some other food and was insistent on us sharing the food which we politely declined w/ fear of traveler’s diarrhea. In retrospect, our fears proved to be unfounded as I came down with it anyways in Pak Chong even w/o the food.
Pak Chong I realize that I'm being too verbose in this entry so will try to present the rest of the details of the town in point form.
- - Pak Chong is dead by 7:30pm. We might as well have arrived in a ghost town.
- - The only activity seems to be a curiously large concentration of barber shops around the train station and they seem to be patronized.
- - Unbeknownst to us, there is a lively market just 5min walk away from the hotel that we were staying.
Diarrhea How about that for a title eh? It is the reason I was deprived of a visit to Khao Yai National park so it is only fitting that I give it some blogspace.
It started as a stomachache, almost unnoticeable, merely hinting as if in hunger which I have learned to ignore. I did not really think it was bacterial since I have been eating various street foods in Bangkok, floating markets etc. and yet have to have an issue with the tummy.
As per Murphy's law, I have been staying at hotels w/ western style toilets till now; so why do I have to have diarrhea when I'm at a hotel with an asian squat-style toilet? I can almost see Murphy laughing at me saying "gotcha!". In about 30min, I was well acquainted with the toilet. Perhaps b/c of the lack of food in my body, the visits to the toilet were mercifully infrequent but perhaps for the same reason, my stomach decided to digest itself. I diagnosed that there was a combination fireworks and musical fountain show (not unlike that at Disney land) going on inside my stomach. But I was far from being at the happiest place on earth. I laid there for 7 hours or so trying to discern if it is bacterial or just a simple case of eating something too spicy. Finally by 7am, I decided that it is bacterial and started myself on Cypro and almost immediately felt better. Thank you scientific serendipity for antibiotics! I spent the day being dehydrated (which I only discern in hindsight) feeling like a bad hangover after a long Denning's night. Finally around 9pm I dragged myself (well, actually B dragged me) out of the bed to go out into town. When I was at 7-11 and saw Gatorade, it was almost someone switched on the lightbulb in my head. I realized that I'm feeling like crap because I didn't enough water in the last 24 hours. I bought 2 bottles and chug one right in front of the amazed sales girl. In retrospect, I should have started on the antibiotics and rehydrated sooner. Another one of life's lessons learnt.
So that’s why I never got to see Khao Yai national park. I'm not really too upset as being sick in the hotel room is much better than being sick in the bushes where I hear from a fellow traveler that there are ticks and leaches as big as your index finger.
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bryan
non-member comment
we'll go together in a couple years!
perfect..an excuse to go with me in a couple years! dude...i had diarrhea for 8 years! dont let that shit (sic) spoil it!! later bro