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Published: February 28th 2006
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Last day in Thailand and its absolutely steaming.
Rewind to Yaang Come Village. As predicted, when it came time to leave we’d booked transport to the station for 8am, alarm call for 6.45, plenty of time to get showered, have breakfast then check out, but of course it wasn’t quite like that in the execution. The alarm call was fine but then we came into the equation. After so many years together there are still things where we haven’t yet understood exactly how we work. Because we had booked the call for a quarter to seven instead of the original idea of seven we thought we’d given ourselves way more time than we needed. I like to think of myself as a morning person but the truth is I wake early but am no good for anything until several coffees and several hours have passed, Barb is just not a morning person FULL STOP. So after a leisurely shower and refusing to bolt our breakfast we found ourselves going back into room 512 at 8 o’clock with Barb muttering ‘I don’t care if the cab has to wait a few minutes’. Go to check out and of course we’re in Thailand,
these things take time, we have to be fulsomely thanked for our patronage, the mini-bar has to be checked, the bill prepared, then the credit card authorised. By this time we really are getting late. Anyway the lovely woman who owns the place does at least instruct the taxi driver that we really do have to make the train. At the station as we pull up the clock outside shows the time as 8.35 so Barb flies in hoping we haven’t missed the departure, inside the station the clock shows 8.20. The truth turns out to be 8.25, so we haven’t missed it, but it makes me grateful to have taken my blood pressure pill with a glass of water before breakfast. Luckily we had prepared for the long journey the night before by purchasing a bottle of Smirnoff and six cans of coke.
The train journey is really good because on the way up to Chiang Mai we’d been wide awake for the first six hours and dozing for the last, on the return we do the same but in the other direction, so between the two journeys we’ve seen the whole 500 miles. For some two hours of
The bar at the Davis Bangkok
It's not for the likes of us!! the ride all that can be seen is endless miles of rice fields, and that’s just alongside the railtrack, but it must take a lot of rice to feed the millions in Bangkok.
The only thing that spoils the journey is that after seven hours of peaceful travelling, at Phitsanulok what seems like a few hundred germans troop onto the train. Now I don’t want to racially stereotype, no hold on a minute, yes I do, but they really are the rudest, most insensitive, self-unaware people I have ever come across, their incessant overloud babble is a complete contrast to the serenity that had reigned before their arrival. It takes a good couple of hours until they realise that they are completely out of touch with the prevailing vibe on the train and they finally shut up. So different to the wonderful Liselotte at The Sanctuary.
Also, when we got on the train at Chiang Mai I saw a guy who we’d seen at The Sanctuary on Koh Pha-Ngan, he’s doing a much more backpacker thing than we are. Funny, the backpackers think that they are doing a much more earthy, authentic journey but the truth is most of us are just following well trodden routes. Tourist or traveller?
Either way I have a sense of sadness leaving Thailand, the people I have met have been entirely polite, helpful and strangely industrious despite their very laid back demeanour. I have not once heard raised voices (except for the germans).
Unfortunately with Barb and I both having colds and the temp here in Bangkok nudging 100 deg (in old money) it’s just too hot for us to go rushing around doing last minute sightseeing so it’s just going to have to wait ‘til we come back, which I’m absolutely sure we will.
Hi, the bit jb didn’t mention was that he was whining for something to eat so I nipped off the train to grab some biscuits & nuts, of course there was no-one on the stand but there were three very smartly dressed thai guys in uniforms (all different) who were running around like crazy to get me a price. The whistle for the train blew and I was ushered back on - bit of a dash, closely followed by one of the uniformed guys, we exchanged monies & goodies, fab then the poor guy got told off for holding the train up, jb’s comment - I wanted crisps! Was thinking how fab it would have been to do Thailand when we were younger - then thought nah, if jb had survived the trip the relationship probably wouldn’t. Both suffering from cold’s again and ears playing up - not sure if it isn’t just an overload of dust and pollution, loads of people on the train seemed to be coughing, bit of a drag but Bangkok is very dusty very hot and very busy, and sadly I have seen an elephant being walked through it all. Being driven through the traffic is like a fairground ride - but without the safety measures, hotel is v. comfortable and trendy and will be sorry to leave, thai people are so calm and generally softy spoken - even the poor guy on the moped who I walked into didn’t raise his voice, don’t think he said anything at all, and he certainly didn’t lose his balance.
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John Gravell
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Hi. We are enjoying your TravelBlogs. You appear to be having a wonderful time. Wish we were with you. Luv and kisses. Cecile and John