Heavy Rainfall on Kaoshan Road

Greetings from 'sunny' Thailand. I've found myself stuck in a couple of undesirable situations. Firstly, the sudden heavy downpour has forced us to take refuge within a semi-flooding internet cafe that doubles as a travel agent. It seems the same people also run a mini hostel and massage parlour upstairs as well. Nothing wrong with internet cafe itself, but since we only have a couple of days in Bangkok I'd much rather we were out and about making the most of our short time here.

The second dilemma is that we've checked ourselves in to a hostel on Kaoshan Road. I never thought I'd be staying at this so-called 'backpacker's ghetto', but due to some major screw up with the directions to the guesthouse I'd booked, we thought it'd be better to just find a place to stay (of which there's an abundance here) instead of wasting another hour or two walking all over Chinatown (which is what we did upon arrival at Hua Lamphong train station).

The train ride itself was a very pleasant journey and the time passed by as quickly as the many fields and small villages that flew across our window. In the seats opposite us sat a gorgeous one year old Thai baby, who kept us and the adjacent passengers smiling and entertained for a good portion of the trip.

Only small complaint would be that we ended up in one of the older train compartments, which had tighter seatbenches. Other than that it was as enjoyable as the time I travelled on it for the Buddhistson/Whence He Came tour.

The train lacked a dining car, but catering was provided so we helped ourselves to some mediocre rice and soup set dinners. Our other source of food came in the form of hawkers who'd come on the trains at various stops along the way, selling anything from fried chicken and fruits, to hot coffee and fried dough sticks.

We were supposed to depart at 13:15, but for some reason or another, the train didn't start moving until it was close to 14:00. Factor in the various ridiculously long stops throughout the journey, and we got in to Bangkok at about an hour and a half behind schedule. Good thing we weren't in a hurry.

Anyway, it looks like the rain is clearing up so we better go and indulge in some sights and culinary delights. I'll upload some photos as soon as I come across wi-fi. There's a pretty swanky Starbucks round the corner... guess I'd probably find something there.