The train consisted of 3 cars, all air conditioned. We left on time at 9:00AM. We were pleased with our accommodations on the “Supinta” train for the 8 hour ride to Bangkok. Having read that often conveyances are cold as meat lockers, we had taken our jackets out of our bags. It wasn't long before we put them on and pulled out a small blanket to cover our legs. I had even put a pair of socks in my day pack, which I also put on. Yes, I looked like a dork, but the Germans behind us eyed my socks with envy and motioned that their feet were freezing.
As the miles between us and Chiang Mai gradually increased, we drove through green fields surrounded by mountains. The scenery was very beautiful and we were glad to have taken the day train. Unfortunately, we stopped every little while and we began to wonder why this was called the “Supinta” train as it seemed we were going to get nowhere fast.
G- Look, we're being served a beverage.
P – What are our choices?
P- That's what I was thinking. I'm not sure how safe they are, but I guess we'll find out.
G- Phyl ordered coffee and I got hot tea.
We talked, looked out of the windows, read, and typed blogs. Even though we stopped frequently, the time passed quickly. We had been told that there would be no food on the train so we had brought
one container of fried rice & one of curry chicken, purchased from the lunchtime vendor, with us. We also had some crackers and cheese for later. At lunchtime, the attendant returned and passed out dishes of white rice with 2 slices of an unknown meat draped over the top. We declined the offer and ate the dishes we had brought.
G- It tastes good even though it's not warm.
P- Not warm! It's cold! I hate eating cold food.
P- No thanks, but I wish she would heat our food for us.
G- Good luck trying to figure out how to request that. Just eat it and pretend it's hot. Oh, that last bite just burned my lip. Be careful with the chicken, it's almost too hot to eat.
P- Shut up, ass! Those psychological tricks don't work for me. Cold rice is cold rice no matter how many times I tell myself it's warm.
G- I have to blow on mine before I can even eat it. Too bad yours is cold.
P- To the moon, Agnes!
The Germans got off and were replaced by a French couple. A Thai family got on with a giant bag of cracklin. A woman got on with a little baby boy strapped to her chest in one of those baby harnesses and sat across from us. He looked about 6-7 months old and cooed, giggled and smiled from ear to ear. We made goofy faces at him and he laughed, but maintained a quizzical look on his face. Even the 6 month old knows we look different.
P- You're right. If the hotel workers in Bali weren't doing anything, they just sat and talked to one another or looked around or napped.
G- Even our bus drivers who would just sit and wait for us didn't read.
P- Now that you mention it, look around this bus. Almost all of the tourists are reading and none of the Thais are reading.
G- That was the same in Malaysia, in Chaing Mai, everywhere we've been.
The mountains receded and the land flattened, but we continued to pass mile after mile of farmland. We had no map, so we had no idea where we were, but it was about 5:00 pm, and we were scheduled to arrive in Bangkok at 6:30 pm. It was starting to get dark. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement on the seat across the isle.
G- Oh shit!
P- What?
G- There is a roach on the seat across the isle.
G- Does it matter? I hate all roaches. The brown kind that infests a house and makes a million babies. Not a giant cockroach.
P- That's great. Just make sure it doesn't come over here.
A little time passed.
G- There's another one running down the isle.
P- Kill it.
G- You know I don't like stepping on them.
P- Kill it before it runs by us.
The man across from me stepped on it as another one ran out from under another seat. Now everyone was looking around and at each other.
P – Get your backpack off the ground! I hope they aren't getting into our bags on the shelf above us.
We continued to see roaches run on the floor and various people would stomp them. Everyone had picked up their bags from the floor and was on high alert. It wasn't exactly like the infestation you'd see in a movie like Snakes on a Plane, but there were enough of them that everyone was keeping their eyes peeled. I went to the bathroom and when I returned the French couple behind us was inspecting a train schedule. I smiled and we were chatting about where we had been and where we were going when the train stopped, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We sat there for about 20 minutes until another train passed in the opposite direction. Apparently there is only one rail that each direction must share.
We hadn't been moving long when we made another stop. I saw the couple look at the train schedule so I asked if they knew where we were.
French girl – We are here. (pointing at the town on the list). I think we have 2 hours still.
G- 2 more hours?! I looked at my watch and it was already 6:15 pm. We are 2 hours late?
French guy – Yes.
P- Great! We're stuck on the roach coach and now we're 2 hours late? I was enjoying this train ride, now I'm ready to get off this thing before a roach crawls on me.
French guy- Yes. A big one.
G- How big?
French girl – Not too big.
P- How big?
The guy held up his fingers and indicated about an inch.
P- Did you get it?
French guy – No.
As I turned my head I saw it come running over the top of Phyl's seat. I simultaneously shoved Phyl's head forward and grabbed a bag from the seat pocket in front of me. Phyl was trying to climb over me as I grabbed it with the bag and threw them both on the floor. The French guy stomped the bag. Now we were totally freaked out and paranoid. Our eyes roamed, constantly looking for signs of movement and we were jumpy. Things settled down after we hadn't seen one for about 10 minutes, but then Phyl squealed and jumped over so quickly she jammed my hips between her and my armrest.
G- What?
P- Now the little bastards are coming out of this hole in the molding between the windows. (She grabbed a napkin from her seat pocket and smashed at them with it. They were the tiny little black babies.)
G- I'll just stand in the aisle. You move over away from the window.
The French guy also stoop up and the girl moved over to the aisle seat. This is how we remained for the next hour until we pulled into the Bangkok station at 8:30 pm; only 2 hours late. We gathered our stuff and headed toward the metro. We tried to get information from the ticket clerk, but she did not speak English. Phyl spotted 2 western looking guys and they gave us directions to the metro. We went 3 stops, then had to switch to the Skytrain. Of course we had to go up a flight of stairs, walk a block along the crowded street, then up 2 flights of stairs to the platform.
P- I'm not climbing anymore stairs!! My knees are killing me and I think they're going to buckle under this weight.
G- We'll probably have to go downstairs to get out of the station.
P- I hope there is an escalator.
Four stops later we arrived at Surasak We took an escalator down one flight, then had to take stairs to the street. Phyl's brows were furrowed, but she didn't say a word. Luckily we only had to walk 2 blocks to our hotel. It was 9:30 pm. The hotel was only a few months old, and we were very excited when we walked into our room because it was the most modern one we have had so far. It was large with a king size bed and a fluffy, white, European style comforter, flat screen TV, large mini fridge, coffee pot, 2 night stands (with bedside lamps!) and a chair. By far the most impressive thing was the bathroom with a very contemporary sink, large glass enclosed shower and a big rain shower head. We took a long hot shower.
The roach coach had been hell, but now we were in heaven!!!!!!
