Sleepin' Our Way to Chiang Mai

Taking the sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai turned out to be a great idea. We lucked out with our cabin mates: two ladies our age from London, who were into theatre and arts. It was a very comfortable ride (except I have no idea why they left all the bright lights on throughout the night) and I woke up feeling pretty good, especially with the cabin service: hot coffee delivered in bed.

We each ordered a beer from the pusherman (actually a woman) who would not leave us alone until we finally bought something from her, and also pre-ordered the coffee I mentioned above for the following morning.

Cup o' tom yam soup takeaway in the train station.

It was organized, despite appearances.

Is she handcuffing the cop?

The goodbye crew.

Our blankets were nicely wrapped, warm and fresh-smelling.

Ready for bed. Our sleeping bags came in handy--it was quite chilly.

A beautiful morning in bed on a train with a cup of coffee in one hand and a camera in the other.

The dining car, which we never ate in.

I didn't want the ride to end. I seriously was sad when we arrived at Chiang Mai. I was just enjoying the slow pace of the train, nice morning sun shining through the windows, and the company of our new friends. The English girls were on their way to do a three-day trek outside of Chiang Mai, so we had to part ways when we got off the train. Maybe we'll holler at them when we go to London at the end of our trip.