day 123 Oct 25 Into Bangkok and out the other side...

 

Our night on the bus was fairly uncomfortable, but we have had worse journeys and we were atleast in relative comfort compared to the journey on the Sofie in Fiji. Apart from a hideous film being shown at full volume, which in the end David demands is switched off so the girls can unplug from ds and ipod and go to sleep. the journey is pretty uneventful. As we head further south the water lying in the surrounding countryside seems to increase and the roads become bumpier until we are near to Bangkok. However this is shortlived as there are lots of road blocks and diversions in operation. This results in several detours on unmade roads and back streets and an extra  two hours travelling time. We are all ready to get off by the time we pull into the bus station. We catch a taxi across the outskirts of Bangkok directly to the railway station.

 

As we arrive it is clear that this is a city under emergency measures, the army are out in force, loading and unloading sandbags from trucks and all the shops and food outlets are busy sandbagging their doorways. It is only when we leave later in the evening that we see just how bad the flooding is. We had already reworked our schedule to avoid staying in Bangkok for any length of time for a variety of reasons, but the extra risk of disease and air pollution, along with the real threat of ending up stranded for longer than we hoped, confirms that we have made the right choice in not even attempting to visit the city itself. Indeed many of the main tourist sites are closed anyway due to the floodwaters.

 

The main concourse is fairly crowded - with separate seating areas for monks! We hole up in the comfort of the air conditioned KFC at one end of the station and spend the afternoon playing cards, writing journals and charging the laptop!

At 6pm the now familiar beeps over the tannoy signal the playing of the national anthem and the world seems to come to a halt - almost as if the pause button has been pressed or as in a game of musical statues. Silence descends, everyone stands still, the anthem plays. Everywhere we go there are images of the Royal Family who are akin to religious icons in Thailand - the two are almost inextricably linked in fact and there is great national pride. Even bank notes which depict the royals are treated with reverence and it is a crime to even stand on one - hence all the notes are non crumpled - almost pristine. As soon as the anthem is finished the world begins again and everyone continues along their way. The national anthem is even played in the cinema and we all stood for the playing of it before the film, even though we were the only ones in the theatre!

We board the sleeper train which will whisk us away from the floods of Bangkok and south to Trang and the beautiful beaches of the Southern Andaman Islands. We are lucky enough to have beds in interconnecting compartments and we all agree that this will be a better night than the last!