Watching the world go by

We're sitting on a train watching Thailand pass by. It is phenomenal. 

We left the hotel around one o'clock. We stepped out onto the street, where Barbara proceeded to negotiate passage to the train station with a series of taxies. Apparently they don't like using the meters much, preferring to just set a fixed price. 

The trek there was probably only about twenty minutes long, but gave a good view of just how large Bangkok really is. Several times we passed views that were nothing but huge buildings sprawled in every direction. In many ways it again reminded me of New York. 

We arrived at the train station with about two and a half hours to kill prior to our train leaving. This was pretty easy to do, as there were several cool little shops scattered about to look at, as well as an insanely diverse collection of people to watch. There was a large group of monks, Arabs, Malaysians, locals, Europeans of all kinds, and three burly Russian guys who asked us to take their picture for them. The station itself as you can see was huge, and nice to roam about. 

Barb suggested that just before we left we grab some KFC to take with us. So we did, and brought it on the train for lunch. There were some chicken wings in there made with lime and Thai chilies. Wow. Good thing KFC in the states doesn't have those or we would have to eat there more often. 

When the train itself arrived we found we were in the very back car. We dragged our suitcases up (with help from one of the guards) and found ourselves walking down a tiny corridor barely wider than the suitcases we were dragging behind us. We quickly found our rooms. We chose first class accommodations, which are private rooms about five foot wide a eight foot long. They contain very wide and comfortable couches, along with a tiny sink. We were hooked up with adjoining rooms, so a wide door now stands open between our area and Barb's. all of this, along with two meals a piece apparently set us back 200 baht in total. That comes in a little less than $65 on the current exchange rate. If only we could travel like this in the US so cheap!  

Large windows allow us to watch the world pass by us. We've watched large cities, small villages, and open countryside move by. Many temples, ranging from small shrines to large beautifully ornate complexes to gaudy and garish complexes are scattered everywhere. We've seen houses that look very western, others massively big or extremely small (including one building that appeared to be a thatch hut). We've seen sprawling rice patties filled with water buffalo and large oddly shaped mountains hiding in the haze on the horizon. We've also passed over some beautiful rivers, as well as a couple of muddy scary looking ones. This is definitely a great way to travel. As Crystal has said, the only real issue is not being able to stop and look at anything as you zoom past. 

They will be by soon with dinner, and the sun is now setting. When we are ready they will come through and turn the couch into bunks where we will sleep tonight. I look forward to more of this trek.