What a Day ...

At 530a a sharp turn of the bus woke me up.  We had reached Bangkok.  From the Southern bus station where we were dropped off, David - the US guy I met in Ranong, and I tried to figure out how best to get to the main train station without paying an insane price.  This resulted in carrying our heavy bags for a half hour as we circled the place trying to find a tuk-tuk, which for some reason were being quite elusive (the drivers probably still asleep).  We finally found a guy who offered a normal price.  Still very groggy from the all night bus ride I entered the train station and discovered the train I wanted left in 5 minutes.  I rushed to buy a ticket, said goodbye to David, and was directed by a guard to the correct train.  And then I sat and sat with the train not moving.  After 20 minutes or so I began to grow concerned that the guard who adamantly claimed the train I wanted was on track 6 could be mistaken.  I asked to see the ticket of a guy sitting nearby - it was different.  Then the train started to move. Great.  Of course there was still a chance this train was moving in the same direction, just a different speed/# of stops (maybe I was just trying to remain a bit optimistic).  What a terrible feeling when you know you are on the wrong train.  About a mile down the road the train stopped again.  I brought out my ever so helpful Thai phrasebook and learned the train was going East, not North.  Great.  I exited and spent the next 1/2 hour or so trudging back along the train tracks with my heavy bags, fuming and silently cursing the guard.  Though, I admit I really should have double checked - still though, erg.  Back at the train station I was informed another train leaves in 20 minutes for my destination.  At the shop where I went to get some coffee I saw David again, who looked at me with surprise, my reply "don't ask!" :P

I finally got on the correct train and made it to Ayuttaya.  At a cheap guest house I found I relaxed with breakfast and talked with some other travelers.  They were impressed that I was traveling alone.  My mood lifted and I again felt like a strong happy independent traveler, despite the few "snaffoos" of the morning.  I went back to my room and went to take a shower.  Returning to my room dressed only in a towel I tried the key in the lock.  Nothing.  Again and again I tried rattling, shaking, everything I could think of.  Oh no!!!  The door was unlocked when I arrived, had they given me the wrong key?  Damn it!  So, I, the strong independent solo traveler returned sheepishly downstairs dressed only in a towel and admitted I couldn't get the door open.  The manager and an Israeli guy I had been talking to at breakfast came up and opened the door on the first try.  Apparently instead of shoving the key in, you need to withdraw it a bit and it opens easily.  Damn it!  At this point I would have loved a "do-over" for this whole #@$! day, sigh.

The afternoon was okay - I just walked around some old temples taking pictures.  That is, it was okay until I got a hankering for a banana shake.  I started walking down the street.  Usually it's no problem to find, but somehow today people were missing the necessary combination of ingredients.  One lady had bananas and a blender, but nothing else.  Another had everything for shakes, but no bananas.  After 20 minutes of walking down the hot sweltering street I finally found a place.  And it was excellent, a very delicious shake.  After the shake I sat there reading and enjoying the atmosphere before I finally got the motivation to explore the market just a few blocks away.  I leisurely walked around looking at the different exotic foods when a motorbike came up to me and a lady grabbed at my arm "you pay 40 Baht!"  I looked at her with confusion. "for the banana shake"  Oh God - shame, embarrassment, and guilt instantly filled my reddening face - I had forgotten to pay! @#$@#!!!  I quickly shoved the notes in her hand profusely apologizing.  She gave me a dirty look and drove off. !@#!@, ugh, :P  It was time to return to the safety of the guest house.

Or so I thought ... I took a nap, but when I went downstairs for dinner things just got strange again.  I watched a dog get run over by a car- a terrible sight seeing the dog shrieking under the car, but somehow it survives without any noticeable problems.   Then there was a weird moment when the guest house owner who I gave my laundry to whispered in my ear that I had a lot of underware and asked to have a pair - I'm hoping this was a joke, but I made sure to count them when I got to my room.  Oh, and there was a young Japanese couple I was talking to, who had just finished a 1/5 of whiskey.  As we were talking the guy asks to see the palm of my hand, I thought to read it or something, no instead he begins carresing it infront of his girlfriend.  Oh, sooo time for bed - anyway, it was all quite a day.