Oh how quickly our standards have fallen
Sprite new backpack in tow hoped on a tuk tuk, (something dana could never have fit in) and headed to Hualampang train station. No english signage. Not one word. luckily Thai’s are very helpful (even when you don’t ask) and we soon figured out platform 5 in 1.5hrs…filthy from sweating all day we were not looking forward to sleeping on a train in that condition and opted for a quick shower in the public train station shower room. only 1oB! surely it can’t be that bad when all the proceeds must go to keeping a spic n span shower space. Well somebody’s getting rich. I’ll quote B. “it’s like the ymca but with homeless people”.
We boarded the train w/ the help of 4 thai attendants (not that we needed them, just helpful remember) excited about our 2nd class, ac, upper sleeper berths. A highly recommended combination. Now i’ve done my fair share of sleeper trains (my first kidney stone was on a night train through germany) and was confidant of the expectations and conditions. wrong again. There were no private rooms at all. just regular seats below and what looked to be closed beds above. Our seats were the beds but the man beneath b’s bed scolded her for even trying to open it. So we just sat in others seats and looked around in wide eyed confusion. An American couple with two thai children next to us, looked confused as well and said that this was “not exactly what they expected”. What happened to our highly recommended combo? Well about an hr into the ride this snaggle toothed smiling thai attendant came round and lowered the beds, fliped cusions, mechanisms, buttons, pulled out plush sheets, pillo9ws, blankets, and CURTAINS no less! Superb. And we had doubted.
Snuggled into the best sleeping conditions we’d had yet. (except we downsized our sleeping masks in BK- every ounce counts- and the lights stayed on all night)
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