We spent seven hours at Hua Lamphong Train Station in Bangkok waiting for our overnight train that was supposed to depart at 7:30 pm, but we left shortly after 8:00. Even though we stored our bags at Left Luggage, we were too lazy to venture far because of the heat, and we didn’t want to stink up the train with our sweaty selves.

Standing is Compulsory

Our major accomplishment was standing for the entire national anthem at 6:00 pm. When I was growing up in Malaysia, I had heard about how everyone in Thailand would stand still when the national anthem is broadcasted twice a day. When we were on our way to the Grand Palace early one morning a few days ago, the national anthem suddenly came on (at 8:00 am) while we were in the middle of crossing the road. Not expecting the cars to stop too, we quickly finished crossing. We must have looked so disrespectful. So, we were glad we got a chance to show our respect this evening. Besides, it was hard to miss. The whistle blown by a police officer before the song came on was very loud, and everyone, except for a few tourists, got up and stayed still. When the anthem was done, there was an “as-you-were” whistle.

Don’t Wake Me Up

Having successfully resisted the contraband beer that a vendor was sneakily trying to sell us, Kenric’s biggest challenges this evening are to not spill his Pad Thai onto my bed, the lower compartment. Had we known the train attendant would come by so early to convert the seats into beds, and to make the beds, we would have eaten earlier. His other challenge is to not wake me up hours ahead of time like he did the last time we were on an overnight train.

Last November he woke me up saying we had to get off soon. When I finally dragged myself up and realized what time it was, I asked why he woke me up hours before we were scheduled to reach Belgrade. All he could say was he must have been sleep-talking and fell right back to sleep. I was up for the remainder of the journey. Don’t mess it up this time, Boyfriend!

UPDATE (18 hours since I wrote the above):

We are finally in the Airbnb apartment in Koh Samui after the eleven-hour train ride, a one-plus-hour bus ride, a 1.5-hour ferry ride and another 45 minutes in a van. The overnight train ride was horrible because there were four males and two females who were extremely noisy until at least 1:00 am. The five-hour profanity-laden chatter included “Konichiwa!”, trying to remember how to say “Feng Shui”, playing a card game that required “Slam!” and retelling of their sexcapades. We were three compartments away and we could hear every word. Why they didn’t go to the restaurant car is beyond me.

I truly sympathize with the Korean family that was right next to them. They did not look happy this morning. Neither did the Russian mother-daughter duo. I’m glad the six young Ugly Americans went their own way after aggravating everyone on the international stage coach.