To Cambodia

Didn't want to go but had to...


Leaving Ko Lanta was painful. It was the most beautiful island I have witnessed so far in Thailand as well as the most relaxing (Ko Tao + Ko Chang - All the hassles).

Because of our lack of an itinerary we were lucky enough to get the 3rd class ticket from Trang to Bangkok. Trang was reached by taking a minibus from Ko Lanta. On the minibus we met 2 gorgeous Swedish girls who ever travelling to Kuala Lumpur via Hat Yai.

Note to self - travelling with unknown + hot women is much more interesting than travelling with ones friends.

The train ride was an experience on its own. When the tickets said 3rd class, we really did not know what to expect. After we got on the train, the meaning of 3rd class was shoved down our throats.

To begin, all the 3rd class carriages did not have A/C but fans. Because of the hot temperature and all the passengers, the carriage cart became a sauna. The synergetic factors that added to the experience was the smell that I can only describe as a night club washroom + east side Vancouver.

The ride was around 13 hours so naturally we were expecting to sleep on the train. I had never been so wrong in my life.

Sidebar - people left ALL the windows open and the fans were turned on.

When the sun set, at first it was refreshing to feel the cool night breeze that was flowing through the open windows. Naturally we went to the very back of the last carriage and started a very superficial yet entertaining conversation with Thais who spoke virtually no english. What was interesting was that the SE Asia phrasebook I had taken with me was more handy to the Thais than to me. They were flipping through the phrasebook like there was no tomorrow just to tell me their names and where they were from. One particularly friendly Thai named Tom even taught us how to roll a cigarette using a palm leaf.

When we got back to our seats we found that the ladies in front of us were using our seats in correspondence with theirs to make a bed.

Sidebar - 2nd and 1st class seats have nice comfy beds which we saw after the ride.

Thus we began our brief but interesting quest for our sleeping area. Once we started moving towards the upper carriages we saw some interesting sights. Some of them include, locals whom were sleeping on the ground using new paper as a thin layer of protection from the train floor and themselves, kids who fell asleep standing up, and my personal favourite the baby that was sleeping upside down.

When we finally found an empty set of chairs to sleep on little did we know that the previously described stench would permiate through and into our souls. Our sleep on the train was as follows:

1. We fall asleep
2. 10 minutes later the train stops for no apparent reason. Because the air stops circulating, the stench comes back and chokes was awake
3. We get used to the stench and fall back to sleep
4. Bunch of merchants selling food and beverages jump into our cart and shout at the top of their lungs of the goods that they are selling
5. We wake up again
6. The merchants bugger off once the train starts moving.
7. We fall asleep.
8. The cool night air eventually turns cold.
9. We awake up.
10. Goto step 1 until we arrive in Bangkok

The result of the ride was caked on dirt + sweat + blood from bug bites + narcosis from the stench. When I took a shower once we arrived in Bangkok, I dare say that it was the best shower I had taken in my life.


Let this post be a warning to all and the future note to self:

WHEN IN THAILAND, DON'T RIDE THE TRAIN IN 3RD CLASS.