k
o
k
g
n
a
B
o
t
n
i
a
Tr
So Idecided to setoutto Bangkokusing thetrain
system.OK,so wehavetaxis,buses,minivans,
carseven motorbikesthatcan allgetyou to the
big city,and yesIhavetried them all,butIhave
gotto say,thejourneyto Bangkokbytrain
wasoneofthebestexperiencesIhavehad over
thelast12yearsherein Thailand.
Thereisonetrain adaythatleavesPattayaforBangkok,itleavesat2.20pm.You just
arriveatthestation,buyyourticketcosting astaggering 30THB (FREE forallThai
nationals)and awayyou go.Now,don’tbefooled,yournotgoing to hop on an air
conditioned,luxuriouscoach thatofferstables,reclining seatsand trolleyservice
along with clean and modern toilets,nope,in factyou aregoing to step backin time
and find yourselfon an old,ricketyslow train thathasno airconditioning otherthan
theopen windowsand afew ceiling fansbusywhirring around.Theseatsareold and
worn leather,thatsomehavemanaged to freethemselvesoftheirfixingsand will
happilysend you crashing to thefloorunexpectedly.Thetoilets,well,let’sleavethat
to yourimagination.Thereisatrolleyservicehowever,in theshapeofalovelyold
ladywho wandersup and down selling allkindsoffood,stickyrice,Khapow moo,
fruit,eggsetc,which you can wash down with surprisinglycold waterand soft
drinks.Istilldon’tthinksheactuallyworked forthetrain company,Ithinkshejust
hopped on and sold herstuff.
Oneofthethingsthatsurprised meon thisjourneywas
how clean thestationswere,and how beautifulsomeofthe
platformswerewith theirmassesofflowerdisplays
streamed along theplatforms.Theyreallydid givethe
stationsabrightand colourfulexistence.So wesetoff
from Pattayaand headed to Bangkok,surprisinglythetrain
did getup somegood speed which Iwasn’texpecting.As
weheaded into thecountrysideitwasamazing to seeso
manythingsgoing on,thatperhapswewouldn’tseehad,
weused alternativetransportation.Housescluttered
togetheroneminute,to then find ourselvesin thegreenest
ofricefields.Children playing alongsidethetrackswithout
acarein theworld,and withoutallthemodern technology
weareso used to!