Thailand the Land of Conical Shapes

This visit to Thailand was an add-on to our trip to Indonesia. Stewart had worked long and hard, so we decided to use the opportunity to make a stop somewhere else in the region for a little retreat before heading back to the USA.

Bangkok is the same population as NYC and was more westernized than we had anticipated. The architecture was incredible when looking at the temples and palaces. There are many New-Age looking high-rises that have recently been added to the landscape, and many more on the way. One building has a humongous outdoor TV screen which can be watched from across the river.

We used tut tuts, taxi’s, and river boats to get around. Our small, boutique hotel was a five-minute walk to the small port on the river where we could catch boat ferries. We did the usual tourist sights and shopped at markets. Bargaining is expected, and that, in itself, was fun.

The first two days we played typical tourists and saw most of what we were interested in seeing. Then, Stewart made plans to go to Khao Yai National Park which is a 3+-hour train ride. He also hired a guide for two of our days at the park. 

We packed up our backpacks and took a cab to the train station. Stewart tried to reserve tickets to Pak Chong but was told that tickets are only available the day of, so we went early to make sure we got an air-conditioned car on a train that took fewer stops. We arrived four hours before our intended departure and found the station packed with people. We went up to buy tickets and found out there were none available for the train we wanted. In fact, all we could get were third-class tickets on a train leaving in three hours. We took them. Now we had a bit of a wait, so we walked across the street and had a large, leisurely breakfast before coming back to the station where we found a place to sit together. As we were waiting, engaged in our computers, all of a sudden, a song came over the loud speakers and everyone got quiet and stood up with serious/blank expressions. At the far end of the station, I noticed men in uniform in front of a table with offerings for Buddha standing at attention. Of course, I stood up, realizing this was the national anthem. The song ended, and everyone went back to whatever they were doing before.

I’d been writing and trying to make reservations for the cooking class I wanted to take we got back, but not having any luck getting through. Stewart had started a conversation with a young girl who was drawing. She was in art school and going home for the weekend. I asked if she could help with my phone call since she spoke both English and Thai. She did, and I got my reservation made. What a delight she was, and very talented.

I was totally entertained while waiting for the train. People watching is great there. So much to take in. I walked out to where all the trains were waiting for boarding and started to walk down the long walkways (maybe they call them runways?). I had to start taking photos. So many interesting faces and they all were looking at me… so I took advantage of the situation and began to ask if I could take their photos.

We finally got onto the train and wow, was it hot! Even with the small ceiling fans rotating back and forth. Our seats faced one another, and due to the fact Stewart gets motion sick, I was the one sitting backwards. I was thankful the window we sat next to was wide open. At least we had air from that. The train was a local and stopped at every stop. I’m not sure how many, but I’d guess fifteen; it took an hour to just get out of the city.

At each stop, passengers got on and off of course, but vendors got on and off, too. It appeared that they rode for a stop or several, until they’d sold their wares, then got off to catch the next train back home. They sold cold water and soda, chicken dinners, pork, fish and who knows what else. I bought a small bag with a wet towel inside. I now know why people would need such a thing; with all the dirt and heat, a great deal of muck clings to hot, sweaty skin, just from sitting there. That wet cloth came in handy.

At some point the ticket clicker man came by and wanted our tickets. I couldn’t help but notice how serious he was about his job, which made me giggle.

 

Stinky noodle vendor. Notice the quality of the seats. Well now,  it could be a lot worst.  At least there was a place for my feet to rest.

 

As we passed through the villages and countryside, there were so many fields of green. There were bananas, vegetables, rice paddies, fruit trees and something that looked like wheat. At one point I noticed a very old looking combine (harvester) out in the field, cutting away. That convinced me even more that the crop was wheat. Whatever it was, it was harvest time.

One rugged-looking vendor woman with a pleasant smile was wearing a bright colored dress and singing in a chant-like voice and rhythm about what she was selling. It was very soothing. At first. But as the stops continued and become more frequent, and more vendors and merchandise appeared down the rows, the smells of the foods got to be a bit much.

After a few hours, we were really hot, and between the scent of fish and sausages and the odor of the train itself, I was beginning to feel nauseous. I relaxed myself into a trance for a short while, looking out the window and listening to the rhythm of the train wheels on the tracks and all the vendors chanting about their goods. At one point in my semi-trance, I quietly began to try to repeat the chants. Bing, chow, mi, con, ting… who knows what the words I was listening to were; it was more the tone and rhythm that mesmerized me. Once again, I found myself giggling, amused with the vendors. Even so, after several hours, with the heat, sweat and scents in the air, I was ready for the trip to be over.

I asked Stewart, “How are we going to know when our stop comes up?” They don’t announce the stops and at some stations, the name is written in writing so fancy I had no idea what it said. I decided to ask this man who had been staring at me for two hours if he could tell us when the stop for Pak Chong was coming up. His waving hands communicated that we had passed it a few stops ago. BUT, he did not speak English. So then we asked a few of the vendors, and another person joined in, and they all agreed that we’d missed our stop. At this point, Stewart and I were looking at each other, trying to decide what to do next. We figured we’d better get off at the next stop. Well, thank goodness that was when this young boy, probably 15-years old, came up to us speaking English. He asked, “Where are you going?” and then he showed us the train schedule and map on his iPhone and said, “We have six more stops.” Thank God for that.

The ride continued, and we sat back and relaxed as much as one can in the dusty heat. I begin to think of Oman and how there were mosques in every village. In Thailand, there are intricate, ornate temples; sometimes a whole group of these buildings in every village. And along the way in the countryside, out of nowhere out on the horizon, there was a huge Buddha about five stories high. In the ditches, where there was standing water (probably from the rice paddy fields), I saw hundreds of white Cattle Egrets eating the insects and small fish. In the US, if we see five or six egrets, we get excited.

We had counted down our remaining stops and were SO ready to jump off when the train stopped at our destination, Pakchong Station.

 

While waiting for the train to depart, I spent some time wandering around with my camera. I really had fun with it and so did they.