2nd class overnight male.

The train I was taking down to Surat Thani (a part of the country that Mr. John swore was fraught with danger) was a 2nd class overnight express. It would take me just under 12 hours to reach my destination, and I would spend these hours in a seat, since there were few sleeper berths available, and they were all sold out.

I haven't ridden enough trains this trip though, so I was looking forward to it. My hope was that my seat would recline at least a little.

I grabbed some stuffed pastries in a shop at the train station and climbed aboard, finding my assigned seat (the Asians have to know exactly where they are sitting, it seems, on anything longer than a local bus ride) and throwing my bag on the overhead rack. We pulled out a few minutes late, and I was glad of it--I would be arriving at 6:30 AM, and I figured it would be tricky for me to get to my hotel at 7:15 and ask for a room--better if they had the extra hour or more we might run late.

Sure enough, we didn't arrive until almost 8AM, which worked out well for me.

The ride itself was pleasant and uneventful, people wandering the train selling drinks and hot soup, the windows open (they opened fully, which was cool) and overhead oscillating fans with two-degrees-of-freedom, something I'd never seen before and I found so fascinating that I took video. I'll try to post it in my follow on writings when I return.

With the exception of a couple of backpackers, I figure the train was mainly low caste Thai on their way home to visit relatives, judging by the outfits and packages, and we all got along pretty well.

The seats didn't just recline, they laid out what felt like almost flat, down to at least the 30 degree mark. This was great, it meant that by necessity the seats were father apart (so I had some leg room) and that I could nap comfortably on the way there. Most of my fellow Thais, obviously more practised at this, dropped off within minutes and slept straight through until daybreak. I tossed and turned somewhat, unused to sleeping under such bright overhead lights, but dozed throughout and probably assembled 6 to 8 hours worth of naps throughout the course of the trip.

Near dawn, I noticed people starting to get up and disappear with toothbrushes in hand, and it sounded like a great idea, so I did the same. Instead of bothering with the tiny cramped bathroom sink I stood on one of the swaying open doors between cars, watching the jungle scenery slowly come to life as it flickered by. And in case you're wondering, yes, I did have the good sense to crouch when I spat so it wouldn't get whipped back into the open windows in the next car by the wind.

The vision of pure countryside with a house only every five or ten minutes was soothing after my time in the city, and the sharp terrain with moss and vine covered rocks that just appeared as if they'd been punched out of the earth from below by a giant hand was really remarkable. The sunrise was beautiful, billowing clouds tinged with yellow and pink contrasting vividly against the sharp green of banana trees and coconut fronds. I nearly stayed in the doorway for the rest of the trip, but I knew we had some time left, so eventually when the sun had finally risen I returned to my seat.

We reached our destination around 8, and I got directions and caught a local bus to my hotel in Surat Thani. The hotel is gorgeous, a 4-star type place with a big open lobby and marble tiles in big spaciously decorated rooms, and all of the employees sharply dressed in white jackets and black pants. It felt like I'd walked into a nice hotel in Shanghai in the 1920s. Furthering that impression was the cost: the room rate for a room (with an air conditioner) was 440 baht--about $14 US.

So now I'm going to take a shower, then catch the ferry out to the island of Koh Samui, to meet a fellow I contacted through CouchSurfing and see what he's all about.