Mon 11th Dec – Bangkok, overnight train
Bangkok and I have until 3pm together, after which the night train will wind us down to southern Thailand.
After being out late last night with a tour group facsimile of friends, when my alarm goes off at 6.30am for breakfast I consider ignoring it. But the isolation of being out before the backpackers is the winning urge. I come across an alleyway with one vendor selling to ubiquitous pork ball noodle broth, and next to it a man selling goey eggs in a cup, doughnuts and coffee. I get all three but in process very obviously reveal myself distinct to everyone else have breakfast. An oldish Thai man with fair English and a 750ml bottle of beer sniffs out a conversation and sits next to me while he douses his pork ball soup with four teaspoons of dried chilli. The menacing red tint of his breakfast, the enormous bottle of beer at 7am and my general distrust of Bangkok dilutes the enjoyment of my breakfast. In the end, he talks for 30minutes non stop and asks more inquisitive questions than some of my extended family, and I walk away safely.
breakfast with an old man who is drinking beer at 7 is the first sentence of a novel that could have many differnt paths to the end.
i feel like there is much to disclose about that chat and look foward to the details next time we catch up.
i’m never sure if it is a great idea to build on reclaimed land in a river delta with rising sea levels.
was this train more comfortable than the xpt to coffs?
The beer was a red flag, but then even bigger red flag was the size of the beer. 750ml is a huge bottle.
The train was more comfortable than the xpt and the patrons were much more respectful…