Not that we have any concept of what day or time it is as we've just stepped off a 'sleeper' overnight train journey from Bangkok to Changmai! A comfortable way to spend the night this is not...as we crawled out of Bangkok with cars (and even pedestrians) overtaking us it was clear why the journey can take anything from 12 to 15 hours! I think its about 5 hours by car but we're not ready to brave that!
Despite reading up on the journey we really weren't prepared for when the rickety old train picked up pace and we experienced a night being thrown about on what felt like a mattress strapped to the back of a lorry! - anyway more on this later let's start at the beginning!
Journey to Bangkok! Insomnia part 1
We boarded the 'world class' Emirates airline flight to Dubai a bundle of nerves and excitement!
Despite my own levels of anxiety it seems that some were even more nervous than me as to my delight I discovered that the seat I was already sitting on was drenched in liquid! Now I won't go into too much detail here but whilst rubbing what I believed to be 'water' from the back of my trousers I discovered that it was something else entirely!! I jumped out of my seat immediately, at which point the
steward came over and half the people around me stared as I told him there appeared to be someone else's urine on the seat!!!Now i'm not a prude but i would expect better from a no frills airline never mind Emirates.
Whilst I ran to the bathroom the 'helpful' steward came back with a nice blanket for me to sit on for 7 hours!! We seized the opportunity (well Nat did) to try and get an upgrade but that got us nowhere (despite several other passengers agreeing with us) so in the end we gave in and opted for a new cushion on the chair!
Upon arrival in Dubai for our two hour stop over, my trousers had dried and i'd made it through a succession of all the in flight films whilst Nat slept..
Landing in Dubai airport I realised exactly why i never want to spend a sustained period of time there although the airport was like a palace. A quick stretch of the legs and it was on to the onward flight. It got off to a slightly smoother start although we were delayed by an hour whilst the paramedics boarded for no clear reason and we ended up sat next to a German bearded lady who practically slept on my shoulder for the entire flight and never seemed to stand up although i was desperate to!!
Sleep count: 2 minutes for Jane, at least two hours for Nat.
Bangkok - Insomina Part 2
Upon arrival we headed straight for Beth and Pete's apartment. Taking in the sights by taxi it was already clear how vast the city is. We knocked on Pete's door and eventually he came to open it - he was settled in watching TV believing we were due the next day -oops this is why we need a new laptop that actually sends messages!!
Their apartment block is amazing, look at the view:
We spent two days in Bangkok - in our usual holiday fashion of walking and walking until your legs give way! We were immediately impressed by Bangkok and charmed by the locals who seemed to stop and chat to us on practically every bend - it was only when we noticed a pattern of people mentioning suit shops that we realised the subliminal messages being sent ! Their sales technique is excellent despite being reasonably wise to it! We did initially love the fact that everyone said how beautiful our pale skin is before attempting to rip us off but it got a bit tiresome on day 2. There were however some locals who generally wanted to stop us and chat - mostly about football - it is lovely how welcoming they are and proud of their country.
Beautiful park where everyone runs in circles despite the scorching heat. They all stop at 6pm whilst the National Anthem is played:
On the second day we went to the Grand Palace and decided to take a look at the backpacker central district of Khao San Road - staying in the luxury apartment block across town was such a blessing (thanks beth and Pete) as i never want to set foot on the khao san road again!! (everything i hate about Brits abroad!)
Sleep count: 3 hours for Jane, 30 minutes for Nat - Jet lag has set in!!
Bangkok is amazing and so crazy but after two days we were ready to head off into the countryside for stop 2: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand!
Train to Chiang Mai
The sleeper train has fold out beds which a steward puts down at 7:30pm for you and you are stuck on them until 7am the next day. They're actually pretty comfortable but like i said earlier the bumper trackers are not and it is like experiencing a series of earthquakes - thankfully there is a seatbelt for the top bunk!!
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