Third class to UdonThani to NongKhai...
Trip Start
Mar 15, 2004
1
12
21
Trip End
Mar 15, 2005
Where I stayed
Mama'a Guesthouse
Bangkok to UdonThani to Nongkhai to Songchom, Thailand
Monday, April 26, 2004
cattle. There is no aircon. First and second class has seats that turn into beds so you
can sleep. We left at 9pm...we boarded the train and found seats that stay at a 90 degree
angle, with barely any padding. My ass was numb after 15 minutes...(and i've got lots
of padding down there). We tried to sleep...but it didnt work, i was cranky and miserable
so i curled up on the floor between two seats... and napped on and off for a few hours,
while bugs landed on me, bit me and god knows what else. Third class drives all night
with the windows down and the lights on, it attracts a fair amount of insects, tell you
what ! We made the train ride to Udon Thani, then we had an hour bus ride to NongKhai, without aircon yet again. Once we got to Nongkhai we had to take a 2.5hr bus ride to Songchom to the guesthouse where we wanted to stay. It was fucken hell, i could barely stand the heat !! But our guesthouse was wonderful and worth the trek. "mama's guesthouse is situated right on the mekong river across from Laos, its a beautiful view and mama cooks great food !! Although to get to the guesthouse there is a terrible rickety bridge you have to cross and i'm afraid of it even now, though i've crossed it many time.
One night at "Mama's Guesthouse" it became very windy (like a goddamn tornado!) There was dust flying everywhere and you could feel the grit on your skin and between your teeth. There was the loudest thunder i've ever heard and lightning that lite up the sky a beautiful light purple. Near the guest house there are rice fields. ANd that night, just before the rain the rice fields were set on fire. It looked like millions and millions of cigarette butts,..it was
beautiful. We were trying to cross the bridge and we had to wait for the lightning to we could see where the next wooden plank was, so that we didnt fall through. Then big huge rain drops fell and we ran back to our huts. That night seems beautiful and remains incredibly surreal in my mind.
