Day 40 – Tues – 14th July:
Up for my 6am alarm and down in the reception for 7.30am. Daniel was down before me but we had to ask the reception lady to wake Sijia for us (she was in the female dorm) as she had missed her alarm call.
It turned out to be very tight for getting to the station on time. We grabbed a taxi but it was close! We arrived at platform 10 seven minutes before it was due to leave at 8.30am and we waited on the platform for AUS Ryan (who was in a different hostel last night).
The doors literally closed behind us and the train left on time! Very unusual! We were given free water and a sweet bun, a common thing in these long journeys, it is included in the price and I think it’s so people don’t faint etc as the water from the sink in the train isn’t drinking water (same as all sinks in Thailand).
Well not much to say except it was a long and gruelling journey. Is was meant to be 12 hours but it was late, no surprise there. So 14 hours on a train in a tiny seat…. Yes I wouldn’t advise this journey lol. I wrote a few blog posts and read my book.
Here is a photo of Silja’s stolen from Facebook, of us looking very optimistic at the beginning of the journey.
Day train to Chiang Mai, North Thailand – 14 hours!
I was a little annoyed as I didn’t get much choice of where we were going to stay but it was so late and many receptions close at 10pm so it was very tight.
A bit stressful. I walked down the road to try and find another place but couldn’t so I walked back to the hostel to find they had locked the doors! Oh dear. Lucky a girl who was staying there let me in and I found the dorm room where the others were.
I couldn’t check in though as the reception was closed. There were plenty of spare beds so I just took one. I will pay in the morning.
We went out for a quick bite to eat from a street stall.
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Day 41 – Weds – 15th July:
A bit mentally exhausted today and we wasted a day travelling which was a shame. I paid for my gate crashed room first thing while the others lay in.
I felt I needed a few days break so I left the group in the early morning and found a lovely guesthouse with plants trailing up it. Very shabby chic and with a lovely pool.
Then I went to a bookshop and bought a bunch of books, to add to the three I was already carrying.
Here is my bookshelf…. So much for downsizing, I’m not sure how I’m going to fit them all in my bag.
My travelling library
Tonight I ate in the hotel. They had a large reception/restaurant, with a pool table and a koi carp pond.
Next up: days forty-two and forty-three.
Previously: days thirty-eight and thirty-nine.
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