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Published: November 5th 2007
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I was scared a long time ago when Miles was sick here and I couldn’t stop his fever from ravaging him….I was scared again on the short train trip from the central station in Krung Thep to the Don Muang station….
The trip from Chiang Mai to Bangkok on the night train is something I have always wanted to do. The kids agreed that trains rocked (Yay Grampa Lee!!!) and we booked the first leg of our return trip in the “Express” train to Bangkok.
I chose a first class sleeper and the cost was still less than a domestic flight to the same destination. The kids loved the set up of having a bunk bed and the bedding was comfy and clean. The food however sucked rocks…I know to pack better snacks next time.
We really wanted to head to the dining car for our meal hoping for the experience, but apparently if you are first class (equivalent of a greyhound bus ride) you eat in your compartment. Sigh…the food was hot, but questionably prepared. Greasy Thai….think local mall food…
The attendant managed to dump a bowl of red duck curry all over our compartment and
myself after spooking when a cockroach jumped out at her from the tiny sink in our cabin, but she did offer apologies and a roll of toilet paper for me to clean up the mess…?!
Ahh whatever, “Ka Bleuey” (southern Thai for Mai Pen Rai, or don’t worry about it) Life goes on…duck curry or not. I always pack a change of clothes…
The beds were awesome and the sound of the train wheels on the tracks definitely does have that romantic lullaby quality to them. We slept like babes until 5am. The coffee was served hot and creamy and by 6:40 we were at the main station in Krung Thep… I will not go into detail about the shared squat toilet that we had. That was hair raising enough and with the lurching of the train…well there were no hand holds….okay, ewww….and I prefer squat toilets!
The train station is pretty neat…a real New York feel to it...thinking Grand Central Station, but smaller. Multitudes of people and things to see….Miles found a roti man and we had a great breakfast. This is about where I made a small miscalculation in the planning. We had the option
of a taxi back to the Don Muang Airport, or taking a commuter train to the station across from the old airport. Our luck and spirits were running high, so I opted for the train again…
Unknowingly, I purchased third class tickets for the half hour journey thinking they would be just fine…
We waited on the platform with other locals and visitors for the train to arrive. The kids charmed a few older ladies into letting them sit with them for the wait and I watched people and chatted with a few others. The train arrived in a proverbial huff, scattering pebbles and blowing diesel across the platform. I chose the centre of the platform to board, not knowing where I should be to begin with. Wrong car….clearly those with unspecified seats go to the back of the train…we jumped between the cars and nabbed an empty bench in the (non-air conditioned) car close to the door.
The rail car was basic, but beautiful, in a timeless sort of way. The ceiling was stained with years of tobacco, the benches satin smooth teak from a decade of bums polishing it. The windows were actually rimmed with teak too, no the modern metal you see everywhere today. All in all I was pleased with the choice of this experience and the kids thrilled to hang out a train window.
We were two stops into the trip when it got a bit tense. The train car started off with only 30 or so people, but quickly it was filled beyond capacity. We were seated only five feet from the doors, but by the fifth stop there were 30 people, boxes, bags, a crate with two chickens and a foreigner with a massive back pack between us and the door. Our stop was the seventh on the route and I started seriously sweating how we were going to escape at our stop. I tried to stand and make motions that we needed to somehow climb over, under, and through the mass of humanity to reach the exit but it wasn’t going well.
I started to panic and considered escaping out the window at the next stop. Thankfully the foreigner packed behind the boxes and chicken crate also needed the stop and cleared the path for us by unceremoniously picking up the chicken crate and dumping it onto the lap of an elderly woman who looked as though she could handle these birds. I grabbed our pack and literally threw it into the empty space where the crate had been. I yanked the kids out of their packed spots by the window and we pushed our way to the doors.
This was honestly climbing over people. Miles used the laps of a couple people to reach me and Marrin tried to copy my footsteps. The train squealed slowly to a stop and the doors opened to a packed platform. The foreigner used the right doors to disembark, but I couldn’t clamber over the old woman plunked on top of a large sack of yams to go out that way. I vaulted over the boxes (about three feet high) in front of me and pulled the pack behind me.
The few passengers trying to board the train had the same near panic look as they fought board in the minute or so we had before the train started moving again. I jumped and turned to grab Miles who was barely visible behind yams and boxes. He scrabbled over and leapt into my arms but left a shoe behind. Just as the train started to move, Marrin made it to the top of the pile. I grabbed her arm and yanked her over the top. We all landed in a heap on the platform and thankfully had nothing better to do but laugh at our performance.
We all made it out, gear intact…and just as the train pulled away, a thoughtful person chucked Miles shoe out a window towards us.
LOL…..third class gave me enough of an experience to know not to do it again….at least not if I have to disembark before the end of the line!!!
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