Cambodia & Thailand Day 17
Cambodia & Thailand
DAY 17 - December 12, 2003 - Chiang Mai - Train to Bangkok
We got up at 6:30 to get our day going. We took our time getting ready and then went down to the buffet breakfast. We sat with Leonard and Nancy and we shared our home visit experiences. They seemed to be similar but we had the opportunity to see our host’s home and make our own salad.
After breakfast we went to the street and got on a tok-tok (three wheel motorized rickshaw) and asked to be taken to the internet place. It was not open. So our driver drove a little further toward the city center and found one just opening up.
We used it to send out Day 16 email and pictures and to check our mailboxes. After 30 minutes we were back out on the street, found another tok-tok and for 40 baht (1 dollar) we had a five minute ride back to the hotel. Saved us a 1.2 kilometer walk each way.
At 9 AM we met the group at the front of the hotel to go to the city market. This was different as it offers the people of Chiang Mai their food. In this 4 block square area we saw all types of fruit. The common ones we are familiar with but also tropical fruit I had never seen before.
Their vegetables were the same, those we knew and many others we did not. The fish section had fresh fish, still squirming, eels swimming in water, frogs, squid, all sort of shrimp - large to tiny - and all sort of dried items. With meat and chicken there were all parts, mostly being chopped as customers awaited. The rice, spices, great number of chili peppers and other items were readily available.
There are many other shops also including knock-off clothing, shoes, bags, cosmetics, gold jewelry, watches, sunglasses, house wares and just about everything a person could need. We spent almost two hours looking, smiling, taking pictures and smelling all the different fragrances of the city.
At 11:30 we returned to the hotel on a tok-tok that we negotiated outside of the market. For 60 baht ($1.5) he took us from the center of town right to our front door.
At 12:30 we went to have a light lunch. Salad, some other light items and fresh fruit. People were beginning to return from shopping and those that slept in were enjoying the first serious leisure time we have had in two weeks.
We returned to our room, showered, prepared to vacate our room by 2:30 and finished our luggage packing and set them out for the hotel porters to take downstairs. At 2:15 we went down to check out. We have a couple of items to pay, laundry and wine with dinner one night.
At 3 PM we were back on the bus and on our way to the Chiang Mai museum. We drove through town, pulled into an area and got off the bus. Wrong place. We were at an ancient temple reconstruction. The workers told Anya that the museum was just down the block so we got on the bus and arrived at the real museum.
We had only until 4 PM so we took a quick tour seeing the prehistory of the area, the ancient leaders, the unification of the upper area of Thailand, the take over by Burma and then how all of Siam was unified into a kingdom to the present day constitutional monarchy.
A little after 4 PM we were back on the bus on our way to the train station. Once there our driver and bus boy helped to unload the luggage, we gave them their tips for the 12 days and said our goodbyes. We waited on the platform for almost 40 minutes and then saw the train be moved from the siding and we got on.
We had seat 31, 32, 36. We also saw that the Cambodian crew was together once more - Anya was taking care of us. Our luggage went into one compartment, and with others, we stacked them up so we could have more room.
The train left the station at 5:50 and we were off on our 13th mode of transportation. Gennie and I had full facing seats so we could stretch out, put our feet up and be comfortable. Anya had bought us some wine, so we had some drinks and ate the box dinners she had for us.
Anya had segmented two large pomelos (grapefruit like). We sat in our seats, Mickey and Jim sat across from us, some other people joined us and then Anya came over. We discussed the politics of Thailand, life in general and many other aspects of life here. About 9 PM the train porter came and made our beds.
Gennie took the upper berth made up with a sheet, blanket, pillow and curtain. I had the lower one made from the two seats stretched out. The bed was a little over 6 feet long and 5 feet wide.
There was air conditioning in the car but when we closed the curtains to our sleeping compartments the upper bunk was quite warm. The bathroom facilities on-board were not en suite, and a shower was not available until we reached the Impala Hotel in Bangkok the following morning.
During the night we would hear the train whistle as it came to crossing and stations. The start and stops as the train came to stations along the way were reminders that we were making progress toward Bangkok. The swaying and the wheel clatter were hypnotic and sleeping was not too bad. Much better than the 10+ hours on a plane.
We arrived in Bangkok at 6:30 and Anya had two porters with carts to move our luggage from the train to the platform and then out to the bus. She really makes things work smoothly. From the station to the hotel was a short 15 minute drive as the traffic on this Sunday morning was so limited.
We again saw people on their scooters hurrying from here to there. What is so interesting are the taxi scooters. These individual get one or more people in back with them and take them to where they want to go.
This morning we saw one with orange vest (a company) with a woman and her child in back. Very precarious situation. When we stopped at a red light, I took their picture from the bus and when the mother saw this she waved and had her young one look and wave also.
Accommodations: Overnight Sleeper Train
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