My new room mate came 'home' about 2am. I heard him come in, but didn't meet him and fell back asleep. In fact I sleep so well that I didn't wake up until 8:10 (my iPod said 9:10 Indonesian time!) and we were to be checked out and ready to go by 8:30. So, I woke up James, packed and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast.
Met the group. There are nine of us. I am again the senior citizen and only Richard the guide is anywhere near my age. There are two couples, two single guys, me and my bunkie James, and three single women. That's all I know so far.
The first thing on the itinerary this morning was a longboat tour of the canals of Bangkok. We stopped at a home that is on stilts and is an art studio and was built from solid wood about a hundred years ago. After that the group was going on a tour of Wat Pho, the huge royal temple complex where the most beautiful reclining Buddha is located. I had gone there on my week before, so I decided to give it a pass. Instead I took a public bus to Asok station and had a look around the area there again. This is near where I stayed before. Had lunch there and then took the underground subway back to the Bangkok Centre Hotel. The subway is very modern and all platforms have sliding glass doors that prevent someone from falling or being pushed or committing suicide. When the train arrives, its doors and the platform doors both open simultaneously.
Thailand is a 'second' world country, quite developed and yet still with lots of poverty and a wide gulf between haves and have nots. That is what the uprising was about last year. The red shirts represent the poor and rural population and the yellow shirts the middle and upper class. During recent elections the poor generally get the government elected but then somehow the upper class usurps power and they take over the government. This is causing lots of tension in the country and it is only the beloved king who manages to hold it together. However, he has been living in a hospital for two years and is quite sick. The population does not like his heir, although they love his sister. Recently the government was dissolved and there will be another election soon. So, the worry according to the BBC is that if the king dies this country could be torn apart my civil strife.
At the hotel I picked up my laptop and went to a nearby cafe that has wi-fi at 40bhat an hour, as opposed to the hotel's 214bhat an hour. I stayed there for a bit blogging and e-mailing. Then I started a conversation with another guy who was also computing. His name is Scott, he's 49 and from Hawaii. We had a great talk for an hour about travelling, music (he's a guitarist), Thailand and bunch of other stuff. Great guy, I wish he was on my trip. Anyway, he's got my blog and is very interested in what I have done and will do. So maybe he'll be in touch.
Back to the hotel to join up with the group and then walk across the street to the train station. We bought a bit of food and drink and then boarded our sleeper car by 6:00pm. I got to talk to James, my bunkie, and another couple , Graham and his wife, from England, who were in the seats beside me (who are in the bottom picture - my roomie is top right and my empty bunk is bottom right). Also went and sat with Richard, the guide, and talked to him for a long time. I'm going to enjoy his company. He lives in Laos and married a woman there. We are going to have dinner at their house one night. About nine the porter came around and made the seats into beds and we settled in for the night. This train is not compartments, but is like the train in Some Like It Hot. I read and listened to music and then slept fitfully, but better than I anticipated.
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