Trains, bikes and rickshaw

I had a 13km ride to the station and stopped at the 7 eleven for breakfast and water refill. The train station was just down the road, excellent, arrived there and was told there was a train just about to arrive that was heading to Bangkok, so it was perfect timing. Headed around to the ticket office, no train to Bangkok only Than buri, so how far from Bangkok, he kept going on about a night train to Bangkok no day train.
Bugger, headed off talked to the guy who said there was a train to Bangkok coming, now this is where it get interesting, Than Buri is a suburb of Bangkok, it’s right in the middle and it is the end of the Southern line, so after my friendly Taxi man explained this I headed back around for round two. Yes Train now to Than Buri I want to take, No Bangkok to night, No I take this train, which had just pulled up.
This could have gone on all day but someone else came up and said I wanted this train and so with a bit of rush because the train wanted to leave, the bike was lifted through a window with the trailer and I jumped on. Round three, I’m on the train now, heading to my bike, ticket man comes up to me were are you going Thon Buri, see I’m learning, OK 90 baht for you, 100 baht for bike. Ok. Money please, money with bike, ok money please. Right out the way money with bike. Paid. You sit here, great so I paid for the cheap wooden bench seat. 9 hours on a arse breaker.
But I was on the train, my goal was to get to Bangkok and jump straight on the northern line and up to the border then it would be back on the bike. So the train rattled it’s way out of the station, I relaxed back it seems it was just me and ticket men in this car. Drop the window open and enjoyed the view as we headed off. Flat rice paddy fields and limestone hills, I was just about to call them mountains, not that big.
With all the windows down it the car, it was a pretty dusty place at times. I worked out we were doing about 60 km hour with stops so that was a 7-8 hour trip. I had got some breakfast snacks at 7 eleven so had a bit of a supply of food. By lunch time I had cleaned through my supply and was looking for more, I think it was boredom I just wanted to eat all the time.
I had seen a food lady earlier so headed off in search of her. I went up through 6 packed cars ahead of mine before I caught up to her. I got a couple of meals of luke warm pork and stick rice, it was lovely, probably kill me but it was good. But from walking through the cars I could see even though I had a wood bench to sit on I had the better deal.
The rest of the trip was moving to a different part of my arse till it went numb and move again. I seem to be talking a lot about my arse don’t I, I have to say it’s pretty toned now. Jealous much.. The arrival it Thon Buri was a bit of a anti climax then a rush to get everything off the train to head to the next station.
I got directions off a tok tok driver and headed off, as I turned onto one of the main roads a tok tok driver pulled alongside and indicated to hold on, so I grabbed the side of the Tok Tok much to the amusement of his paying customers and he dragged me up the road and over the bridge, at the next intersection he went one way I went the other.
I got lost and had to ask for directions a couple of times and in the ended paid someone to take me there, he got a good deal as I was only two blocks away in the end, an’t that the way of it. So I got to the next train station and got my ticket for the 8pm night train to Nong Khai, got some food then smashed my head into a metal bar, splitting my head open, and had blood running down my face, but I was at the station.
So after stopping the leakage from my head, I realized how dirty I was, with all the dust from the day I was disgusting. I got the bike on the train and found my booth for the night, Wet one of my bandanas and had a quick clean up before other people started to arrive. My heads got a good lump and I think I have blood in my hair, but I am on the train and we are moving so have to sort the rest of it out tomorrow.