another taxi ride an
d yet another opportunty to have a bash with my thai language skills. and it seems the drivers i come across become increasingly more friendly and chatty. this guy's english was the best i'd encountered yet so didnt have to try too hard with the thai. instead i was keen to spend more time attempting a broken conversation and fine tuning my broken english and miming/charade skills.
d yet another opportunty to have a bash with my thai language skills. and it seems the drivers i come across become increasingly more friendly and chatty. this guy's english was the best i'd encountered yet so didnt have to try too hard with the thai. instead i was keen to spend more time attempting a broken conversation and fine tuning my broken english and miming/charade skills. he broke the ice with "where u from?" i reply. he then proceeded to hold wrists to chest,hands bent down. i said "yes we have waves, surfing". then he startrd bopping up and down in his seat. lol.
"ooooooh kangaroos! yes we have those", to which he replied "bankook zoo have" next topic
driver:"bangkok lately..... got problems" referring to the recent pro-thaksin protests.
driver: "thaksin no good, pay money chow rai chow nah (farmers) come bangkok"
driver: "thaksin no good, pay money chow rai chow nah (farmers) come bangkok"
me: "thailand...... massages good ( with my thumbs up)
driver: " yes. massages with no f @ #*ing ... no good . massageswith f@#*ing 300 baht. *me with raised eyebrows*
driver: " yes. massages with no f @ #*ing ... no good . massageswith f@#*ing 300 baht. *me with raised eyebrows*
lol. i suppose i shouldnt be surprised he knows the f word, being a taxi driver carting sex tourists and sexpats to and from patpong and nana each day.
a car in front then cut across us and he was clearly angry mumblimg something in thai. i flip out my phrase book and point to the car. "ban-yah orn!" to which he smiled and nodded.
I continue, "in english..... idiot" he acknowledges.
" f@#*ing idiot ". he laughs.
arrived at the station with half an hour to spare. alot of good it did me though cuz the train was late, and i mean monumentally late by 1 hr! there were sporadic annoumcments in broken english over the speakers to advice commuters but that didnt stop all the foreigners from walking back to and fro to the info desk to quadruple check they werent waiting on the wrong platform. i'd booked a 2nd 
class seat but the condition of the cabins was a lot shabbier than i'd beeen expecting. when i found my seat i also found an old thai lady in it. gesturimg to her that she was in my seat she moved out but into the seat beside me. i thought it was a little odd she didnt go and find another empty pair of seats since there were plenty aroun. suddenly memories of my stolen wallet and an old lady on a peruvian bus who'd sat next to me came flooding back. i looked over her with suspicion but she already had her eyes shut. hmmm.....sneaky little one this one is. waiting til i fall asleep then whapam! clean me out!
class seat but the condition of the cabins was a lot shabbier than i'd beeen expecting. when i found my seat i also found an old thai lady in it. gesturimg to her that she was in my seat she moved out but into the seat beside me. i thought it was a little odd she didnt go and find another empty pair of seats since there were plenty aroun. suddenly memories of my stolen wallet and an old lady on a peruvian bus who'd sat next to me came flooding back. i looked over her with suspicion but she already had her eyes shut. hmmm.....sneaky little one this one is. waiting til i fall asleep then whapam! clean me out! an hour in
to the journey and i'd pulled back from the hysteria. i thought to myself, c'mon al, shes 
just an innocent old lady. at one poimt she even whipped out what appeared to be a small budhist teachings book. actually my only gripe with this lady was that she slept for most of the trip and cuz she was in the aisle seat i had to hold toilet visits til i was desperate :(
to the journey and i'd pulled back from the hysteria. i thought to myself, c'mon al, shes 
just an innocent old lady. at one poimt she even whipped out what appeared to be a small budhist teachings book. actually my only gripe with this lady was that she slept for most of the trip and cuz she was in the aisle seat i had to hold toilet visits til i was desperate :(actually i really regret the train ride now. Thought it'd be nice to see the scenery pass me by, but 
the trip was way too long at 
12.5 hours, it was late by 1 hour departing, arrived 1.5 hours late to chiang mai (figure that one out!), and there wasn't anything that facinating to see. It's probably cuz i've seen so much of the rural sort of scenary in other countries.
the trip was way too long at 
12.5 hours, it was late by 1 hour departing, arrived 1.5 hours late to chiang mai (figure that one out!), and there wasn't anything that facinating to see. It's probably cuz i've seen so much of the rural sort of scenary in other countries. 
so instead of arriving at chiang mai at 830pm, ended up arriving at 10pm. Unfortunately by the time i checked in and got myself sorted it was 11pm, so all food places around the hotel were closed. The receptionist could only suggest 7-eleven for a meal, and after pacing up and down the road i eventually was resigned to take her advice. can't believe i wasted one whole meal eating noodles in a cup from 7-eleven. oh well at least it was tom-yum flavour. 
interesting conversation with the taxi driver! i would have certainly raised my eyebrows too LOL. in a way it's good you sort of blend in with the asian crowd - flying under the radar and not getting accosted too much.
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