I'm in looooooooooove....

Trains. I am in love with trains. I know, it sounds really silly but I think trains are the way to go. Get it? Go? Bad joke. Anyways...

We had to leave our lazy, indulgent paradise a.k.a. Koh Tao so we decided to make our exit by train. Night boat first- sleeping on life jackets on an open deck, warm night, medium swells, not seasick, perfect. Then taxi- bumpy, no clue where we're going, trusting the driver who means well but will probably overcharge us, that's life. Finally, an hour nap with ear plugs on rock hard benches at the station and then the train arrives. It is a beauty. Filthy, colorful, open windows because we roll Third Class which means non air-con. A sea of Thai faces staring back at us, such a welcome sight after all the farang on the island. And to top it off, uber cheap fare, 53 baht which is hardly more than a dollar. We were off to a great start.

Then there was the train ride itself. Green wet scenery coursed by, palm trees and rice paddies and distant hilly mountains. A sight completely devoid of the usual car traffic and powerlines that we are stuck with on buses. Then we eased up next to the ocean and cruised along the Gulf of Thailand for awhile, gently rocking to and fro. Divine. And then, it was lunch time and a million Thai women started walking up and down the aisles, calling out their wares in a language we still don't understand, selling the most interesting to-go lunches I've ever seen. Rice, sauce, fish, all in a bowl made out of a woven leaf. Sweet sticky rice cooked inside a stalk of bamboo, then split open to devour. (That was my choice.) Juices and unrecognizable sweets in clear bags of all sizes. It was awesome.

All too soon, the train ride was over and we were back on the streets, haggling with taxi drivers. We talked two motorbike taxi guys into giving us rides to the beach for 10 baht each. We had to walk away twice of course during negotiations to get such a great price. But now we're here in Cha-am, this little untouristy beach town a few hours south of Bangkok. It's great to be in a place again where not all the signs are in English. We'll stay here until we've collected enough seashells and eaten our fill of fresh seafood and then we'll book it up to Bangkok to fly out Saturday. Back to the USA!

More reflection later, when I can get my mind off trains. :)


-Kai