Day 1: Night, Bangkok's Hualampong Station (Oh, for a little breeze!)
The air is so still. Am waiting for the train to Buriram in Northeast Thailand. Glad to have that nice, cold shower (10B) in the station's public loo. Hualampong has been 'upgraded' since our last visit -- more expensive eating places, nicer counters, etc. KFC is round one corner; just follow the smell of fried oil.
It was rather easy to buy train tickets from the small airport station at Don Muang. We even managed to get advance tickets to Buriram without going to Hualampong, the main station, first. The staff spoke English, a great relief for us! During our previous visit several years ago, we had to walk around the tiny station looking for someone who could speak English because all the staff at the counters spoke Thai. It took a while to find our helpful English translator (a calm, bespectacled lady in a three-piece suit) because Don Muang station, although opposite the international airport, wasn't a busy station.
Tickets bought for the night train, we took the next train bound for Hualampong. That was late by half an hour, but at 5B per person, difficult to complain! Defintely the budget choice. There was plenty of time to kill, so we decided to check out Khaosan, the backpackers' haunt. Of course, the budget way to get there was by public bus. For a few baht, we were treated to a hot and dusty mobile sauna as our vehicle rolled into smoky Chinatown to join the long jam (at one in the afternoon) across town.
Along the way, we passed the Grand Palace, Wat Po and the National Museum. Lots of public buses to these places with many students and monks on board. Took us an hour to get to the farangs' (foreigners) ghetto. Very interesting place. So many backpackers throng the area that the eating places and the more popular guesthouses are going upmarket.
Nice park off Banglampu -- two guys were swimming in the Chao Phraya! One jumped in, a couple of benches from us. The other had been swimming long laps further out, like he was practicing for a marathon.
We almost got lost coming back to Hualampong. Had to alight from the bus in the dark, with the train station nowhere in sight. So we did the usual -- asked a lot and smiled even more -- using sign language, keeping a smiling mien and, very important, pronouncing the name of our destination as clearly as we could. After a long walk, we found our way back to the station and that nice, cold bath.
Feeling a little sleepy now, but may not be able to sleep tonight. We've air-con seats to Buriram, but I've never slept well when travelling at night, unless in a train with sleeping berths. Still, not something to lose my sleep over, lah! I can easily catch my 40 winks later.
Budget (for two in Baht)Train to Buriram (air-con seats) >> B530
Train to Hualampong station >> B10
Bus from Hualampong to Khaosan >> B7
Lunch >> B110
Shopping: greeting cards >> B100
Bottled H20 >> B13
Insect repellent >> B50
Bus to Hualampong >> B7
Toilet in train station >> B4
Dinner >> B60
Shower in train station >> B20
Some useful LINKS:
Trains - Bangkok Metro - Bus routes in Bangkok
Big blog coming up...
As I go sleepless in Isan and motorbiking pillion+pillion up majestic Phanom Rung
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