Woken by the alarm clock, we prepared ourselves for the day ahead before leaving the guesthouse behind. Breakfast was purchased en route to the train station. Not your average mix of museli and summer fruit, but soup containing a mix of animal parts. Liver, pork skin, tripe and other unrecognisable additions. Tasted fairly good, though difficult to stomach at 7.30 am!
We reached the train in time after stocking up on snacks. We looked on the side for our carriage and seat numbers then got on. Only to find the number on the side was the class (1st and 2nd) not the carriage number. We were in the wrong seats! Battling the hoard of tourists trying to get on, we got off and found our real seats in a rather less luxurious carriage. This has to be the first time we have seen so many western looking people since leaving England!
At 10.30am, to our surprise, the hostess came round with coffee and cake for everyone. Totally unexpected but could explain the price of the ticket!
2 hours into the journey, Darryl put his hand into his pocket to get his phone. To his horror, it had gone! He had been using it earlier. He hadn't moved from his seat so coudn't have dropped it. He checked his pockets again. No phone. We were sitting next to the guard's carriage in the last seat. No one had walked passed as there was nowhere to go. The only people moving passed were the guard and the hostess. Could or would they have taken it from his pocket? Surely not! We notified the guard on the next seat, who helped us look for it. He removed the seats, not under there. It really was missing. The guard suggested we try and ring it. Good idea. Christine called it, we waited patiently expecting to hear nothing. It rang, we could hear it, but where? It sounded like it was coming from Darryl. He checked his pockets again, no phone. By now we had tried ringing it 3 times and checked everywhere. People were turning to look at the crazy people at the back of the train, turning it upside down! Eventually, after a fraught 5 minutes of searching everywhere, Darryl stood up, reached onto the shelf above and lying next to his bag was his phone. HOW DID IT GET THERE? He had put his bag on the shelf as we got on the train. He had been using the phone in his seat. He had not stood up or moved from his seat. This remains a mystery ... but thankfully we have the phone back!
Our next surprise was at 11.30am when the hostess appeared again, this time with a tray of soup, rice and curry each! Perhaps we are in the luxury car after all!!
Beautiful scenery along the way consisting of pretty little villages, rice fields, temples and Buddhas. The further north we travelled, the more mountainous the scenery became.
4.30 along comes the hostess with more coffee and another cake! As it grew darker, the wonderful view turned to darkness but we were treated to a beautiful orange sunset!
We arrived in Chaing Mai only 5 minutes late. Pretty impressive considering the distance covered. We hopped in the back of a songthew (pickup) and headed for the old part of town where most of the accomodation can be found. We tried a few options but they were either full or expensive. Eventually, we found a large, very clean hotel. We dropped our bags in our room and had a quick look around Chaing Mai!
We reached the train in time after stocking up on snacks. We looked on the side for our carriage and seat numbers then got on. Only to find the number on the side was the class (1st and 2nd) not the carriage number. We were in the wrong seats! Battling the hoard of tourists trying to get on, we got off and found our real seats in a rather less luxurious carriage. This has to be the first time we have seen so many western looking people since leaving England!
At 10.30am, to our surprise, the hostess came round with coffee and cake for everyone. Totally unexpected but could explain the price of the ticket!
2 hours into the journey, Darryl put his hand into his pocket to get his phone. To his horror, it had gone! He had been using it earlier. He hadn't moved from his seat so coudn't have dropped it. He checked his pockets again. No phone. We were sitting next to the guard's carriage in the last seat. No one had walked passed as there was nowhere to go. The only people moving passed were the guard and the hostess. Could or would they have taken it from his pocket? Surely not! We notified the guard on the next seat, who helped us look for it. He removed the seats, not under there. It really was missing. The guard suggested we try and ring it. Good idea. Christine called it, we waited patiently expecting to hear nothing. It rang, we could hear it, but where? It sounded like it was coming from Darryl. He checked his pockets again, no phone. By now we had tried ringing it 3 times and checked everywhere. People were turning to look at the crazy people at the back of the train, turning it upside down! Eventually, after a fraught 5 minutes of searching everywhere, Darryl stood up, reached onto the shelf above and lying next to his bag was his phone. HOW DID IT GET THERE? He had put his bag on the shelf as we got on the train. He had been using the phone in his seat. He had not stood up or moved from his seat. This remains a mystery ... but thankfully we have the phone back!
Our next surprise was at 11.30am when the hostess appeared again, this time with a tray of soup, rice and curry each! Perhaps we are in the luxury car after all!!
Beautiful scenery along the way consisting of pretty little villages, rice fields, temples and Buddhas. The further north we travelled, the more mountainous the scenery became.
4.30 along comes the hostess with more coffee and another cake! As it grew darker, the wonderful view turned to darkness but we were treated to a beautiful orange sunset!
We arrived in Chaing Mai only 5 minutes late. Pretty impressive considering the distance covered. We hopped in the back of a songthew (pickup) and headed for the old part of town where most of the accomodation can be found. We tried a few options but they were either full or expensive. Eventually, we found a large, very clean hotel. We dropped our bags in our room and had a quick look around Chaing Mai!
