Ways to travel

I enjoyed already several of the means of transport which make travelling different in these countries. In a former post I mentioned the chaos on Bangkok's streets, but there are alternatives, as long as you don't depend for various reasons on buses or tuk-tuks (motorcycle rickshaws). One point is to try to find a guest house close to Chao Phraya, the wide river flowing through Bangkok. I managed to do so: first of all the guest house was really away from any larger street, in a totally quiet neighbourhood, and second, it was a 5-minutes-walk to the next pier of the "river taxis"... These boats serve as ferries, and it's simply fun to see the city from the waterway (the exotics behind... it's a simple everyday transport for many people, yet I enjoyed it like a little kid). Besides that you are exposed to a refreshing breeze, which is in the middle of the hot season something incredibly precious...



One of the piers is less than a kilometre away from the main railway station. To get there means a walk through narrow streets, again mostly away from the traffic noise. At Hua Lamphong station I hopped on the night train to Nong Khai, the border town from where I would cross into Laos. I like travelling by train, and Thailand's trains are a perfect way to see the country ( they are fairly slow) and yet go somewhere without paying a lot. I booked a sleeper 2nd class, without air condition. Sleeper 2nd class means a bunk bed which is fully prepared for you (pillow, bed sheet, everything), no air con means that it is possible to open the windows... that means that the hot humid air is streaming through the car, that the smells of food kitchens are coming in, that you can even hear the noises of the streets and neighbourhood quartiers where you pass through...



This train left Bangkok at 20.45 h in the evening, we arrived in Nong Khai at 10 h the next morning. I have to go back to Bangkok, because my return flight is originating there, and I know already that it will be by train... there's nothing comparable to it...