Thursday
We had been told the bus was getting us at 7am this morning so we had set our alarm for 6am to give us time to dress and get a bite to eat before the journey. The phone ran out of battery though so luckily Liam woke at 6.30, shouted in shock and we were both out of bed quicker than I've ever seen! We managed to be in the lobby for about 10 to and ordered bread and butter to take away. They couldn't find our passports for about 10 minutes which was stressful as well. We waited until about 10 past and when nobody had turned up we started eating our takeaway breakfast quickly.
By half past there was still no sign, and on top of that I had received a snotty email from my university after a month of waiting for a reply and numerous please email back emails, more or less telling me that they couldn't offer much help. All in all I was a stressed out maniac by the time the tuk tuk arrived for us at 8am.
We were then transferred very haphazardly onto a tourist bus, it was so unorganised and the staff were so rude. They spoke really rude and were seen just throwing luggage in which didn't go down very well. The bus was crammed so we didn't get to sit together and we stopped on 2 occasions for for up to 40 minutes at a time for the bus driver to, what it seemed to us, just lie in a hammock for a nap! After about 3 hours, which should have taken 2, we arrived at said destination.
After a lot of confusion with who goes where and who has what sticker on them for which second bus we collected our bags and walked about 5 minutes to somewhere where they check our visas and passports. The walk was bad enough, it was so hot and the bags seemed heavier. Then we had to stand in a big cluster of people in what was I suppose an unorganised line for about an hour in the blazing heat with our bags on still. By the end of that ordeal i had nearly punched a french woman in the face, and no doubt lism eould have joined in as his hate for french people has become very intense during our traveling! After that we had a 10 minute walk to wait in another line and fill out forms for another passport inspection where we waited in line for about 50 minutes. We were both ready to collapse by then but we still had a long way to go!
Another bit of confused walking and we found a little lady in a very odd contraption which she called a tuk tuk, I'm not so sure if it could be called that! But we jumped in, bags and all and relaxed with the wind cooling all of Our sweat for 5 minutes before we got to the train station.
We could have caught another bus but the train was only about 80p each for a 7 hour journey so we chose that! After gathering a few street vendor snacks, mostly sausages on sticks and chicken balls on sticks, with coca cola in plastic bags with a straw we got on and found a comfy spot under a fan.
Although the seats were very straight backed and a little hard it was a really pleasant journey. Not too many people so we had a 4 seater to ourselves for the duration and we say by the open window enjoying the views and the breeze.
After that we got off, booked our over night train ticket for the next night and took 2 trains to the area our hotel was in. By this time we were both so tired and really sweaty! But we still walked for about an hour trying to find our bloody hotel and it was gone 9pm by the time we got to our room. We still had to find tea as well so we ventured out to eat before collapsing in our comfy bed for the night!
Friday
We had a late wake up this morning of 9am, heaven...although more was still needed after the nightmarish walk of lastnight. After packing and sorting for our onwards trip we set off out in search of a couple of new items due to our stuff getting manky now, and also to try and post our souvenirs before our next flight.
The transportation system in Bangkok is really easy, you just hop on and off the trains and sky trains and you're where you need to be in no time. We found a post office fairly easily and got all that sorted, regretting not buying family and friends stuff but also knowing we would end up spending a fortune and its just not possible!
After that Liam was determined to have a Starbucks for some reason so we each had a festive hot drink, which was wonderful although slightly odd doing it whilst being so hot!
Through out the day we bought a few new items to replace stuff, at one point I called a girl a man and Liam asked me what I'd said, so I said it again to which he THEN decided to inform me she was a she. She was stood right next to me as well, I wished the ground would swallow me up. We looked for our secret Santa gifts...still no luck!
We tried to go to the cinema to watch life of pi but unfortunately it wasn't out yet which was very disappointing.
We generally had a taste of modern life again, Liam had a subway sandwich , we both had a festive Krispy Kreme donut each, and we really enjoyed looking at all the big Christmas trees dotted around...it's so weird appreciating a Christmas decoration wearing sunglasses and shorts!
Anyway I guess to conclude we enjoyed our day of modern life but I was glad to leave....not so sure about Liam he likes his comforts and technology.
We went aaaall the way back to our hotel, picked our bags up and went on our way. I had told Liam I was by no means walking all the way to the station this time, we had a long day ahead of us and we sweat like crazy in Bangkok without 20kg weight strapped to us. We tried to get a taxi but every single one was full, so by the time we reached our destination (half an hour of walking and 3 train changes later with our backpacks) we were wet through. Nice!
We were expecting it to be a 4 or 6 berth dorm like the other times, but it was just like a standard (very basic) train. Our one had a good 70 people in it, and you get 2 seats sat opposite each other with a few random spots to put your bags. But when it's time to sleep you ask the workers and they come over and make it all into a bunk for you. A compartment at the top drops down to make the top bunk, they do it all up for you it's sheets and pillows, and they hook curtains on for privacy. You could almost forget there were dozens of other people in there with you! We stayed up until around 10 which was the same for most people, got our bunks set up and brushed our teeth at one of the 2 sinks before having a wee in the hole, and settled down for the night!
