Bangkok to Autthaya

DAY 6
The girls got up first and went for coffe and chia to jump start our day. Chris and I packed up our bags and dropped them at the front desk to eat. The girls knew of a resaurant that was pretty cheap and very tastie. We then went to a few travel agents to plan our next destination. We decided on heading north to Chaing Mai instead of south since the girls were just on the islands. We got train tickets to Ayutthaya which is on the way to Chang Mai and has about 50 temples and looks amazing from the pictures. Our train was at 2:30 so we picked up our bags and got a taxi to the train station.

    It was due time to leave Bangkok and riding the train was a very cool experience. We were in second class seating and actually had alot of leg room allowing me to stretch out. It is a very humid day but not so hot due to the overcast that seems to have stayed with us for the past few days with occasional daily showers at noon. Off we went on our way north passing the city streets and entering into more green surroundings.

 Fields of grassy water pools stretch out from each side of the train tracks. Birds dip and dive right on the waters surface up and down and in all directions. I stare off into the distance and let my thoughts drift off like the clouds in the sky and breath this moment in deep. The rain blankets certain spots along the horizon like a patchy quilt and rain drops dance and sparkle as they touch down.
    After about an hour and half we get to our stop in Autthuya and sqeeze off the train with our backpacks. We stop in the center of the train station and look at our map. A man named Mr. Noi a tuk tuk driver and tour guide approaches us and tells us he will show us a cheap guest house to stay at. Jeanie who never takes the first off ignores him and holds her head high and says it is to much and we will find it ourselves. So we walk about a block to where we are shuttled into a hotel by a man on the street to check out a room which we end up not getting. As we leave Mr. Noi is waiting for us in his tuk tuk, we give in and get in the back and off we go into the city.

     We stay at the PU house and get a great clean room for only 200 baht a person. We then take a walk around town, grab some beers, talk to some travelers and then pick up a bottle of rum and bring it to the family restraunt across from our hotel.

We all order the Pad Thai and it was amazing. The family is awesome, Sato the father cooks our meal and performs all sorts of tricks. We end up staying at this families house/restaurant having the time of our lives talking, learning thai, and gamble on a funny bowling game with three pins in the middle of the street. Chris starts dropping bahts like there hot and bowls till his fingers are bleeding, literally. Chris and I decide to get another bottle of rum to share with the men of the family. They play music and we dance and play with the little kids.

A man with a cart showed up later in the night with all sorts of fried bugs for sale. One of the Thai's traded him some rum for a bag of grasshoppers. We ripped off the heads and indulged.

All in all a amazing experience and wonderful time with the most friendly and welcoming Thai people so far on this trip. I stayed later then the rest of our crew and hung out with Sato who was pretty hammered after the 3 or 4 bottles of rum we had shared that night. He gives me a big hug while standing on a chair and tells me he will cook us whatever we want the next day. I agree say goodbye and head back to the room and we all laugh at the pictures and stories until we fall asleep.