Monday June 14
We boarded the overnight Chiang Mai to Bangkok train at about 5:20pm. Samantha was very excited to be taking the ‘Dinosaur Train’ to go visit her triceretops friends in Penang. For the uninitiated, Dinosaur Train is a PBS Kids cartoon. So, on the train we ran into many stygymolocs, triceretops, t-rexes, teranedons, and velociraptors.
I’m a pessimist desperately attempting to be an optimist, so we booked a first class cabin for containment purposes, and we are so glad we did. The kids were running up and down the isle, talking to people in other cabins… I don’t think we would have been able to get them to sleep had we been in second class, resulting in the classic ‘airplane stare’ that only parents have the joy of experiencing.
Both kids loved watching the world go by out the window… they were climbing all over me and each other, vying for window space. Samantha was enthralled as she watched the conductor ‘make up’ the beds, and of course immediately had to climb up to the top bunk to explore and test it out. She even asked if she could sleep in the storage area up there. So cute.
Sean took the top bunk, I took the bottom with Timothy, and Samantha slept on the floor (they gave us an extra mattress, sheets and pillow for her). Timothy and I got progressively sicker as the night wore on, both coughing and spluttering, disturbing each other continually. By 5:30am, Timothy was pretty much awake and exploring every inch of the cabin again, including the top of his sisters head.
“Hmm, this is interesting. I wonder what happens if I jump on it.” BAM! “Whaaaaaa!”
The train was 2 hours late, which was good for us as we didn’t need to be at the airport till noon – our ‘time wasting plan’ would have to be used on another trip. It was also bad, because one thing that Samantha has picked up from watching Dinosaur Train is “Are we there yet?” I was a zombie by the time we arrived at the station. I’m usually the ‘travel guru’ who has the game plan all mapped out. I can scan terminals and signs in milliseconds and determine where we need to be next. Today, I just stood there like an idiot, trying to stay focused enough to breathe and walk at the same time.
We decided to take the subway to the sky train, go as far as we could (ie. Subway from Hua Lumpong to Sukumvit, then SkyTrain Asok to On Nut) and then take a taxi to the Airport. It was relatively easy, especially when we had help from friendly commuters, and were able to use the lifts. Special Unhelpful Honours go to the security lady at Asok, who refused to let us use the lift to get up to the platform.
When we arrived at the airport, I saw a sign (in Thai) that the rail link to the airport was open and FREE! I wonder why the Information desk at Hua Lumpong didn’t know this info? I asked around a few places, and it seems that not many Bangkok residents even know the City-Airport Link is open. Not that I mind. It was a fun adventure for us and the kids to ride the subway and skytrain across town. Although, I wasn’t very happy when I realized that the taxi driver was taking us the long way round in order to make an extra 100 baht – we call it ‘farang tax’.
I think I’ll leave it there for now. Stay tuned for more Sanborn Adventures…
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