May 2
Thank goodness we get to leave today….not sure I can survive
one more minute in this hotel. We wake
up and Paulie, Sam and I go to a nearby shop for coffee (Paulie and I) and a “breakfast
of champions” Falafel (Sam). Then we
return to the hotel to drop off Sam while Paulie and I go to the bus station to
purchase our tickets to Nong Khai which is just across the Laos border in
Thailand. We have overnight train
tickets from Nong Khai back to Bangkok, but the trick is getting there. We procure our tickets for the 12:40 bus and
return to the hotel to gather our flock.
We return to the Fruit Restaurant with Annie and Hudson and we order a
most unusual breakfast…fresh spring rolls, camembert sandwich, hamburger,
etc. Nonetheless, we are quite satisfied
after we eat and we return to the hotel to gather up our belongings. We say our goodbyes and head off to find a
tuk-tuk for the return trip to the bus station.
We find a songteaw to take us to the station for what we consider to be
a reasonable sum. Once at the
station, we have just enough time to
spend all of the rest of our “kip” before heading out. The ride is pretty straightforward and we
arrive at the Laos immigration about 45 minutes. We all get out of the bus, pass through the
immigration area where we have our passports stamped and depart Laos. Then, we all pile back into the bus and drive
about another 15 minutes where we all pile out of the bus again and pass
through Thai immigration. Once through
to the other side, we see the signage announcing that anyone caught bringing in
narcotics will be sentenced to the harshest “penalty of death”. Pretty scary justice system. We get back on our bus for another short trip
to the central bus station of Nong Khai…..only problem is we need to be at the
train station. Enter 150 tuk-tuk drivers
all huddling around and asking “where you go”…..a question that cannot possibly produce
more than one answer. “The train station”
(ie a way to get out of here) we all announce in unison. I absolutely refuse to pay one penny more
than I think is reasonable for the short ride and the result is that we play
hardball with all of the huddling masses.
Finally, we approach a sort of timid soul who is at the back of the pack. He sees us coming and it is like a spaghetti
western……we approach and ask “How much to the train station?” His reply, “100 baht”….right on! All five of us along with our numerous
bulging bags are all piled into the back of a single tuk-tuk. We are a sight to behold J and I am not even
certain that the poor driver’s front tire is still touching the ground. The kids are giving me one of those looks
like “really….mom” and I am just howling with laughter. By the time we have driven about 5km to the
train station, all of our feet are numb under the weight of the bags and we can
barely peel out of the tuk-tuk. All of
the bystanders look at us in amazement as we continue an endless stream of
people departing from the tiny vehicle.
We emerge with huge smiles on our faces and offer our very good humored
driver a tip for his trouble. We arrive
at the station and get a lay of the land that will be our home for the next 4-5
hours. The heat here is unbearable and
we wander about aimlessly trying to find a nice cool spot where we can park our
sweaty bodies for a while. We see that
the train is already in the station and we wander through to check out our digs
for the night. This train is much older
than the last one we rode, but I guess it will do. The kids go off to have a snack, return and
put them in charge of the luggage what Paulie and I wander over to a nearby
restaurant to eat and to enjoy a short break.
We return to the station where we go ahead and board the train…so off we
go. We get settled into our seats and
read for a long time before the train gets going. Once underway, the train guy comes around and turns our seats
into beds for the night. We cozy into
our bunks, play cards for a while and then drift off to sleep.
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