Days 40/41 - Bangkok/Chiang Mai
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday 17th September
Saturday 18th September
You would think after not getting to bed until 5am that I would want to sleep-in, but come 8am I was wide awake. I tried to return to sleep but at 10am I decided it was fruitless and showered and packed my bags, as I was checking out that day. I went to Starbucks for a frappucino and when I returned the boys were all still asleep. Liam had said he was interested in sightseeing with me but I didn't want to wake him, so I checked out of the hostel and headed for - where else - Siam Paragon for some food. The Grand Palace will just have to wait for another trip!
After a quick meal at Siam Paragon I needed to pick-up my passport and visa from the Vietnamese Embassy. The Embassy was only about 2km away, so I started to walk - and down came the rain! Lightly at first, so I persevered, but all of a sudden came a clap of thunder and the skies really opened. I ran to the nearest bus shelter and watched as the streets of Bangkok came to a stand still with traffice grid lock, as the drainage system was clearly not coping very well. As it looked like the rain would continue, I hailed the first empty taxi I saw and asked for the Vietnamese Embassy. Hey, it was less than 2km away, how long could it take?
Try 38 minutes! I could have walked there quicker on my hands, except for the rain of course. I ran into the Embassy for the whole of 30 seconds to pick up my passport, and then returned to the street to hail another taxi to take me back to Siam Paragon. The return trip this time was 49 minutes ... So it took me about 2 hours to travel the 2km there and back! The traffic gridlock is so bad in Bangkok (let's not mention how polluted the streets are due to the traffic fumes) that there are 'police' at every single driveway entrance and right hand turn - their job is to stop the oncoming traffic when a car wants to pull into the street, else the car would sit there for hours waiting for a 'break' in the traffic!
After this effort I had some lunch/dinner, fuelling myself for the long train ride ahead, and also purchased some snacks for the trip. By now the rain had stopped (although the traffic was still bad - 5pm on a Friday afternoon) and I flagged down a tuk-tuk to return me to Khao San Road. The weariness from the lack of sleep was starting to set in so I had a quick foot massage before picking up my bag from the hostel and travelling onwards to the train station.
I arrived at the train station an hour and a half early, not knowing what the procedure was for boarding the train. The procedure ended up being - wait for the train and jump on. So I joined the hoards of passengers on the floor of the Bangkok Train Station, waiting for my 7:35pm train. At about 7:10pm I walked down to the platform, anticipating that a long-distance train would probably arrive early to allow for re-stocking and for passengers to board. 7:35pm came ... and went. The train arrive at 8:15pm, finally departing at about 8:30pm. Not a good start when your 14 hour train is already an hour late ...
Luckily, the train ride was very smooth. I was booked into a second class, fan (not air-conditioned) sleeper-class cabin. During the day, the cabin consisted of sets of 2 seats which faced each other; and at night the cabin attendant would convert the seats into beds. The upper beds are cheaper because they are narrower and shorter, but I found I had plenty of room, and it was very comfortable. We were even given fresh blankets and pillows, and seatbelts to strap us in (I couldn't work out how to use it though - I just hoped I wouldn't fall out!)
I was asleep within 20 minutes of hopping into bed, waking refreshed at 8am to hear the train attendants walking through taking breakfast orders. I ate my last vegemite sandwich, knowing the train was supposed to arrive at 9:45am. I did hear the train attendant mention that the train was late (it had left an hour after schedule), so I expected to get in close to 11am. 11am came ... and went. 12pm came .. and went. 1pm came .. and went. My train, which was scheduled to depart at 7:35pm and arrive at 9:45am, ended up arriving at 2pm into Chiang Mai! Although the train was very comfortable, a 5 hour delay was not pleasant, as it basically wasted a day in Chiang Mai for me.
The fight for passengers was on between the taxi drivers when I exited the station - I always choose the ones who aren't yelling for attention though, and luckily my hostel was close by. It's called 'Imm Ecco' and the dorms here are basically twin rooms. Given how few guests there are, I've been lucky enough to have solo occupancy the whole time. On checking-in, I mentioned to the receptionist that there was an important match of football on that afternoon, and he said there was a big TV in the common room. After showering (much needed!) I checked that the TV had the Australian channel (it did!) and quickly went out for lunch (Sizzler - I just had the salad bar, and was extremely excited to find beetroot on the menu!). I returned to the hostel (quite an ordeal - the tuk-tuk driver had no idea where the hostel was, I knew better than him!) and settled in to watch the footy (Saints vs Bulldogs).
I got a bit excited, especially in the second and third quarters - I'm sure the staff were wondering what this crazy Aussie was watching - but was very glad to see St Kilda get up. Go Saints in the Grand Final!!
After Thursday night's lack of sleep and Friday's night train ride, I had a quick dinner in my room (vegemite sandwiches - of course!) and was asleep by 9pm ... zzzzz.
Saturday 18th September
You would think after not getting to bed until 5am that I would want to sleep-in, but come 8am I was wide awake. I tried to return to sleep but at 10am I decided it was fruitless and showered and packed my bags, as I was checking out that day. I went to Starbucks for a frappucino and when I returned the boys were all still asleep. Liam had said he was interested in sightseeing with me but I didn't want to wake him, so I checked out of the hostel and headed for - where else - Siam Paragon for some food. The Grand Palace will just have to wait for another trip!
After a quick meal at Siam Paragon I needed to pick-up my passport and visa from the Vietnamese Embassy. The Embassy was only about 2km away, so I started to walk - and down came the rain! Lightly at first, so I persevered, but all of a sudden came a clap of thunder and the skies really opened. I ran to the nearest bus shelter and watched as the streets of Bangkok came to a stand still with traffice grid lock, as the drainage system was clearly not coping very well. As it looked like the rain would continue, I hailed the first empty taxi I saw and asked for the Vietnamese Embassy. Hey, it was less than 2km away, how long could it take?
Try 38 minutes! I could have walked there quicker on my hands, except for the rain of course. I ran into the Embassy for the whole of 30 seconds to pick up my passport, and then returned to the street to hail another taxi to take me back to Siam Paragon. The return trip this time was 49 minutes ... So it took me about 2 hours to travel the 2km there and back! The traffic gridlock is so bad in Bangkok (let's not mention how polluted the streets are due to the traffic fumes) that there are 'police' at every single driveway entrance and right hand turn - their job is to stop the oncoming traffic when a car wants to pull into the street, else the car would sit there for hours waiting for a 'break' in the traffic!
After this effort I had some lunch/dinner, fuelling myself for the long train ride ahead, and also purchased some snacks for the trip. By now the rain had stopped (although the traffic was still bad - 5pm on a Friday afternoon) and I flagged down a tuk-tuk to return me to Khao San Road. The weariness from the lack of sleep was starting to set in so I had a quick foot massage before picking up my bag from the hostel and travelling onwards to the train station.
I arrived at the train station an hour and a half early, not knowing what the procedure was for boarding the train. The procedure ended up being - wait for the train and jump on. So I joined the hoards of passengers on the floor of the Bangkok Train Station, waiting for my 7:35pm train. At about 7:10pm I walked down to the platform, anticipating that a long-distance train would probably arrive early to allow for re-stocking and for passengers to board. 7:35pm came ... and went. The train arrive at 8:15pm, finally departing at about 8:30pm. Not a good start when your 14 hour train is already an hour late ...
Luckily, the train ride was very smooth. I was booked into a second class, fan (not air-conditioned) sleeper-class cabin. During the day, the cabin consisted of sets of 2 seats which faced each other; and at night the cabin attendant would convert the seats into beds. The upper beds are cheaper because they are narrower and shorter, but I found I had plenty of room, and it was very comfortable. We were even given fresh blankets and pillows, and seatbelts to strap us in (I couldn't work out how to use it though - I just hoped I wouldn't fall out!)
I was asleep within 20 minutes of hopping into bed, waking refreshed at 8am to hear the train attendants walking through taking breakfast orders. I ate my last vegemite sandwich, knowing the train was supposed to arrive at 9:45am. I did hear the train attendant mention that the train was late (it had left an hour after schedule), so I expected to get in close to 11am. 11am came ... and went. 12pm came .. and went. 1pm came .. and went. My train, which was scheduled to depart at 7:35pm and arrive at 9:45am, ended up arriving at 2pm into Chiang Mai! Although the train was very comfortable, a 5 hour delay was not pleasant, as it basically wasted a day in Chiang Mai for me.
The fight for passengers was on between the taxi drivers when I exited the station - I always choose the ones who aren't yelling for attention though, and luckily my hostel was close by. It's called 'Imm Ecco' and the dorms here are basically twin rooms. Given how few guests there are, I've been lucky enough to have solo occupancy the whole time. On checking-in, I mentioned to the receptionist that there was an important match of football on that afternoon, and he said there was a big TV in the common room. After showering (much needed!) I checked that the TV had the Australian channel (it did!) and quickly went out for lunch (Sizzler - I just had the salad bar, and was extremely excited to find beetroot on the menu!). I returned to the hostel (quite an ordeal - the tuk-tuk driver had no idea where the hostel was, I knew better than him!) and settled in to watch the footy (Saints vs Bulldogs).
I got a bit excited, especially in the second and third quarters - I'm sure the staff were wondering what this crazy Aussie was watching - but was very glad to see St Kilda get up. Go Saints in the Grand Final!!
After Thursday night's lack of sleep and Friday's night train ride, I had a quick dinner in my room (vegemite sandwiches - of course!) and was asleep by 9pm ... zzzzz.
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