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Woke to sounds of snoring and grumpy coachmen shouting in thai for us to get up, next stop Chiang Mai 30 minutes.
What an experience that was. Sleeper train left Bangkok at 6 last night. Was clean and air conditioned - so far so good. Bought a few snacks to keep me going for the journey cause apparantly they rip you off with food and meals on the train. Had a nice big 2 seater to myself which was fab but i had the short straw of the to bunk. At about 8 o'clock, staff came round and made the beds up...oh dear god....how was i ever going to manage sleeping in this thing. Took pics to prove it.
There is one carriage on the train (about 3 away from) thats called the Disco Carriage. It's basically a small carriage with about 5 tables, opened windows, no aircon, poor excuse for a bar and a hundred ashtrays. It's basically where you go for a smoke. Had a wee wander along about 9 o'clock and had a large Singha (beer). What a funny experience. The carriages are full of thais who've went to bed and closed their individual curtains at 8pm....the Disco Carriage is full of Europeans smoking and drinking and having a laugh. Closed at 10 tho soo it was time for a night of hell.
Think i eventually fell asleep about 5 this morning and we arrived in Chiang Mai at half 6. My earplugs didn't keep out the sounds of snores and my eye mask certainly wasn't keeping the light out....thought they would have at least dimmed the lights. Got up a few times for the loo...my first experience of a real squat toilet. There are basically metal areas for your feet and you basically squat... another useful piece of advice....alays squat with your back facing the door and you face facing the wall....less splashage!!!!
Anyway, woke up to another beatiful morning. Roasting as always. Another day of sweats and dehydration ahead! Got off the train and got picked up by a Sangtheuw (think thats how you spell it). It's basically a pick up truck with a row of seats on either side. Definatley my favourite way of transport so far. Don't have these in Bangkok but seems to be how you get about in Chiang Mai. What a beatiful city...so different from busy Bangkok. There are mountains and birds and trees and everything seems so much slower paced. So peaceful. Looking forward to heading into the jungle tomorrow. For now though i think i'm off for a wee kip as absolutely shattered from my bone shaker train journey from hell!
Promise to get pics up soon
Cxx
Ps....send me some messages people!
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