After leaving the most northern part of Thailand, we decided to head back to Chiang Mai to try catching the night train going from there to Bangkok, which is said to be a very peculiar, not to be missed experience. Even if the train ticket is double the price of the night bus one, and if it basically takes the same amount of time (aka: 11 to 13 hours!…), we decided we wanted to try trains instead of buses for once! Also, this made us go back to Chiang Mai, which was totally a win since this city was my heart strike in the North! We were also happy to have several “nice to see you again” moments:
- our friend Bamboo, who came to pick us up and drop us off at the bus terminals, and filled our path with joy and Bob Dylan’s songs 🙂 ;
- the family running the guesthouse where we had stayed in the previous days;
- Lauro, an Italian man we had met in Pai who quit his job and more “conventional” life in Italy to reinvent himself and start a more free life, following his own ways;
- aaand in bangkok the mythical Diego (missing his angel protector Chiara) who we had left in Hoi An, Vietnam.
However, plans never go as we assemble them. So it turned out the train tickets were sold out for the next two days!!! Pretty popular idea, hein! Luckily, our friends the buses are always there to save us! SO night bus it was: but it turned out to be a great idea, as the travel was one of the most comfortable ones. We got blankets, snacks, even dinner (and being waken up to have dinner at 3 am is really priceless :P) and breakfast in the morning. So we arrived safe and sound in Bangkok. We spent 4 days there. To be honest, we did not fancy the city so much, as it is a huge metropolis, crowded and hard to be explored due to the constant heavy traffic. We were also quite disappointed by the backpackers’ district where most of the tourists stay (Khaosan Road), as it is the incarnation of a tourist trap and not offering anything special or different. One quite nice way of moving around BKK is to grab the little ferry boat that goes along the river that embraces the city.
Of course, part of the trip is to be squished among the dozens of people in the boat, and to try to make it through the passengers who jump up and down from one stop to another, no matter if they are elderly people, babies in carriages, locals with suitcases, chickens, or just random tourists!
After a couple of days, we took a day of excursion to Ayutthaya (2 hours away from Bangkok), the old capital of Siam (old name of Thailand), where you can find what remains of ancient temples. Truly beautiful scenarios, with what is left of old bricks constructions, huge lying Buddha statues, and a charmed atmosphere of a long-time-gone era, which still places a sacred aura on the whole temples’ sites.
What was unique of our Bangkok experience is the fact that the whole capital was mobilized to mourn the death of the KING. The big garden in front of the Royal Palace was all filled with stands giving free food, drinks and all kinds of services (hairdressers’, massages, doctors, nurses, artists,…). And this for – at least – one month from the King’s death (that happened on October 13th).
We found ourselves in the garden, and we were amazed, almost shocked, by what we saw. People being together, sharing all these goods with one another, and even with the few tourists who found themselves there out of curiosity or out of chance. The generosity of Thai people stroke us again! They were offering us everything with such big smiles on their faces, that even if we were not that hungry or thirsty, or even if I didn’t really need a mask to color my hair in Brown Cocoa (…), we could not say no!
We were so shocked by how these people were “celebrating” or at least sharing with happiness and such abundance their King’s death. We still did not understand who was financing all these stands (run by volunteers and also professionals), since they literally were functioning and giving goods ALL DAY, every day. We concluded that this was a way to cheer themselves up and to embody their King’s greatness and generosity; they are providing everyone with everything they need, exactly like their King did with them.
This example of loyalty, generosity and sharing will be always kept in my memories of Thai people. People with a pure heart, who are committed to their beliefs, not only as an obligation or as a convention that has to be followed, but as a true way of living.
This is the picture I will keep of beautiful Thailand. The land of big heart people and of breathtaking sunsets.
Electricity in Space 