On the Train Again

My first thought is that I didn't leave early enough to catch the train. You think a 4:30pm departure time for a 6:00pm train should be enough, right? We sat in Bangkok traffic and didn't move an inch for a solid 10 minutes. Then, out of nowhere, the cabbie cuts across 5 lines of traffic. It was as if the car was moving sideways. I got to the station as the train was boarding. It was a crush of humanity... lots of people sitting on their luggage.

I walk onto car 6 and find my seat. Seat 20 is a leather bench wide enough for 2 people. It faces seat 21, another bench wide enough for 2 people. This is supposed to be a sleeper car. I picture myself curled up in the fetal position on that bench for the next 13 hours. Hell to the no! I gathered up all my luggage and marched right off that train.

"Excuse me, I thought I reserved a sleeper car?" The woman kept saying, yes, yes. I said, "But where do I sleep?" I'm sure she thought I was an idiot, but she politely followed me onto the train and showed me what was what. Seats 20 and 21 fold together to make a bed for seat 20. The person in seat 21 has to climb up into a fold-down bed that looks like a luggage compartment. You just call the train attendant when you want to go to sleep. She's like a speed demon and can make up both beds in 5 seconds flat. So it's not as bad as I first expected, but I've obviously been spoiled by the individual sleeper cabins on the Chinese trains.

I'm immediately concerned about the woman in seat 21. She a grandmother-type traveling with 2 young girls who can't stop staring at the white lady (me). Grandma seems as confused as me about the bed situation. But that doesn't stop her from plopping down her bag, resting her feet on my seat, and eating smelly food. Also, she has the loudest cell phone ring I've ever heard. She disappears for a while and the train attendant makes up my bed. That means seat 21 no longer exists... the old lady will have to climb up into her bed. There is mass confusion when she returns. The 2 girls climb into the bed, but the woman looks upset and is talking to anyone who will listen, including 3 train staff who seem to be dressed in military uniforms.

The woman perches herself on the armrest of my bed. That is obviously uncomfortable, so I motion for her to sit on my bed. I ask the young family next to us, "Do you speak English? Does she have a bed?" I think they tried to indicate that grandma and both girls had to sleep in the top bunk together, but we weren't speaking the same language. All they wanted to know was, "Where you from?" They seemed happy to talk to me, so I don't think anyone was blaming the situation on me.

Because it is the right thing to do as a human being, I tried to indicate that I would take the top bed and let the old lady and the kids sleep on the bottom bed. However, I did this begrudingly because I paid extra for the bottom bed. If I, as a clueless farang (foreigner) can manage to buy myself the correct ticket, what is this lady's problem? In any case, they didn't understand me or didn't want the bed. When the woman finally got off my bed hour later, I quickly closed the curtain and went to sleep. I was out from about 9pm to 2am.

At about 6am, the train staff come through and start turning the beds back into bunks. I look out the window and see some of the most skeletal-looking cows. On my way to the bathroom at the end of the car, I notice grandma and the 2 girls in a bottom bunk a few rows away. Whatever... I must have missed something last night.

I reach the bathroom and find that it is a squatter toilet. Great. This is a real balancing act on a moving train. Now, there's no flush or anything, so I'm pretty sure the contents go right onto the tracks. And I'm also pretty sure you're not supposed to put toilet paper in there, but I don't realize that until after the fact. The floor is all wet... with I don't even want to know what. I go outside to the sink and thoroughly wash my hands and my feet. On my next train ride, I will wear something that offers more protection/coverage than flip-flops.

When I exit the train, I am surrounded by cabbies and tuk-tuk drivers offering to take me this place and that. There are booths for hotels all over the place. I actually recognize one of the names from my guide books, so I take a room with them and they drive me into the city. It was kind of a risky move, but the place seems fine so far, so I think it paid off. It has a pool, which will come in very handy in this horribly hot weather.