16 hrs on the bench

Well, what a bonding experience it was - 16 hrs perched on a narrow wooden bench, travelling from Trang to Bangkok on the rattler..

We were lucky that we weren't allocated seats together; at least with people of Asian build in between , we had a chance of keeping half a bum cheek on the seat!

Of course we sought some relief from the hard seat and the monotony, by getting up to move around. Luke spent a lot of the journey in the alcove between the train carriages - before this area became prime sleeping space. The aisles were also full of bodies stretched out on sheets of newspaper. The hawkers somehow managed to keep up their activities, in an endless parade through the train: cigarettes, newspapers, beer, tea, coffee, cold drinks...an array of food from dried squid snacks to rice and pork meals. Even Thai ice cream made an appearance.

We brought along a bottle of Thai whiskey to ease the pain, but it 's success was limited. Our location was certainly convenient - right outside the toilet facilities ( with no water to flush ). Ah, the stale stentch of urine grew to a nostril burning climax by the early hours of the morning. We were pretty drained and disorientated when we finally hit the blanket of pollution in Bangkok.