Traveling many hours in Thailand is usually a taxing experience that wears down even the most hardened of travelers (which I am not). This trip was different. We were so sick of being sick and hot in Bangkok, that we opted to pay a little extra for an air-con sleeper train for the 14 hour trip to Chaing Mai. We had bottom bunks that were large, comfortable and dark. The train is set up so that there are large seats facing each other with a table between them during the day, and at about 10:00pm they change them to beds. During dinner we met up with a Dutch couple who were sitting right across from us and spent the whole night drinking and playing poker with them.
I woke up at about 6:00am and watched the sun rise over the mountains through the windows of my bunk. It was relaxing to just sit in bed on a moving train, seeing the terrain flash by and not have to worry about anything.
This morning we all got off and made our way into the city where we walked for a while to find a guest house. We hit several, and settled on one that is cheaper than the room in Bangkok, but has a balcony, its own bathroom and some furniture!
Laura and I did some laundry, hung it up to dry, and met up with the Dutch couple to get breakfast. There is free wireless here so we won’t have to worry about that. I have been in contact with my father’s friend and am meeting up with him for dinner tomorrow night. It will be great to finally meet him, as we have been emailing back and forth since before I even left on this trip.
We are going to try a trek soon, and then we don’t know exactly what we will do. Probably head to Pai, which is a small town near here, or go into Laos and spend New Years and Christmas there. I have to leave Thailand by Jan. 1, so we do have somewhat of a time frame.
The Dutch Couple (Their names are impossible to pronounce, much less write…)