We left Kanchanaburi early today to head east to Ayuthaya. We were set to take a bus much like the one we'd used a few days before, only this bus had smaller seats and no air conditioning. Not liking this idea, Tim asked Bavine if we could get a different bus. A smaller, private bus for six of us and our luggage, where we would have air conditioning and comfortable seats. Bavine didn't seem to like the idea, and half the group was also against it, but Bavine arranged one for us for only 500 baht a person ($13). We traveled to our next destination in basic luxury, arriving almost two hours ahead of the bus.
Bavine talks softly and pronounces her name with a Thai twist, making it hard for us to know how to properly pronounce it. Tim came up with a solution. "Anytime you don't know a girl's name, call her Rachel," he told us. Apparently he does this all the time. From then on, Bavine was called Rachel, who seemed unsure of her new name but laughed every time we used it.
The hotel in Ayuthaya was small but had a swimming pool! Ayuthaya is the hottest city in the country, Rachel told us, which I found hard to believe after sweating in so many places. The city was amazingly hot that day, so the group from the van all changed and laid out by the pool. The sun was so hot that when my towel got wet and I laided it out to dry, the water I squeezed out of it later on literally felt like bathwater. The sun cooked the water so well that it was at the exact temperature I would shower in.
Ayuthaya is the old capital of Thailand, and magnificent ruins are situated in the center of the city. The purpose of our visit here was to tour these ruins, but it was so hot when everyone arrived and wanted to leave that Nat and I decided to stay by the pool. We wanted to go see the ruins later in the afternoon, when the sun had cooled a bit. So while the entire group left to tour, Nat, myself, and Troy all stayed behind. Troy didn't really want to see the ruins at all, so he stayed by us and played volleyball in the pool. We hit a small beach ball back and forth, trying to see how many times it could be returned before someone messed up. I learned that Troy was almost 24 and coming back from a nine-month internship in London. He had been traveling all through Europe before stopping in Thailand, where he would then continue back home to Melbourne. He hadn't been home since he left, but was enjoying traveling before getting back to start work. He and Tim met in England and are traveling together. Mostly when they talk they make fun of each other, which is extremely hilarious with their accents.
When everyone came back, hot and tired, Phil announced that the group was getting nicknames. His was Shooter, as in Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore. Mario's new name was Luigi, which he pronounced just like the character. Tim, being so tall with such long limbs, was stuck with Bambi. Karen was called Maple after her Canadian ties and also a maple leaf necklace she wore. Troy got his nickname after Sandra, who speaks almost perfect English but mixes up her words sometimes, called him "smash-ass" instead of smart-ass. The name stuck as Smash-ass. Eventually Nat and I got our names...she was Ping, and I was Pong, after our strange but adventureous evening in the red light district.
Around four, when the sun had cooled a bit, Nat and I decided to finally tour the ruins. After walking only a half mile and already gasping in the heat, we decided we'd done the right thing by waiting to come. There were two temple areas we could explore, both with seperate entrances. Wanting to be as efficient as possible, we had asked Phil before leaving which of the two he recommended. He told us to see the second one, so we looked through his photos and decided to just steal his from the first temple and take our own at the second.
The temple ruins were a beautiful reddish color and well preserved. They were in a relatively small area, so Nat and I walked through quickly, snapping a few pictures as we went. We took some silly ones near stones carved like people, imitating their positions and putting our heads where the statues' heads used to be. We were back within an hour.
The overnight train was scheduled to leave at 7:30pm. We dashed to the train station in tuktuks, unloaded, and were quickly attacked by insects. I have bug spray that is 40% DEET, but am somewhat weary of using it, as I have it wrapped in three plastic bags and the outer bag has still started disintigrating from the liquid three layers below it. I'm assuming this can't be good for the skin, either. Oh and it smells absolutely delicious as well, somewhere between a putrid chemical spray and a rotting insect carcass. Mmm. Our train was delayed, so the boys went out to 7-11 to buy beer (there are 7-11's everywhere in Thailand. We go there when we want air conditioning). We all started to drink and play "i've never", starting out somewhat tamely. When the train came, we claimed our beds. The seats hold down into a bed, and another bed is lowered from above, giving the appearance of bunk beds. I put my stuff with Nat's and most of the group went off to find the bar car, or disco train, as we liked to call it.
The disco train was filled with other bored westerners. The windows were open, with no screens, letting in cool air and giving us a nice view outside. There were a few tables but not much room, so our entire group had to squeeze around one table meant for four people. The train had loud dance music playing, and the motion of the train made it seem like we had all drank more than we had. There was even a small disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Phil gave one of the waitresses his I-Pod to play music from, and we all danced and took pictures and played i've never for hours.
The disco train closed at 11, an hour after it was supposed to. After pleading for more time, they left it open for us, but warned us if we weren't back in our cars by 11pm the doors would lock and we would be stuck in the disco train overnight. This seems like a good theft-deterant; each car is sealed off from 11pm-6am to prevent people from walking through and stealing things as you sleep. Of course this doesn't prevent those in your own car to steal, but it seems to help. We were loud and rowdy when returning to our car, and were shocked to see almost everyone asleep. We continued drinking and laughing for a few hours until one of the Thai girls sleeping near us got fed up and told a worker about us. In broken English and sheepish hand gestures, the worker asked us to be quiet and go to bed.
Sleeping on the overnight train was actually comfortable and somewhat pleasant. The beds had mattresses and blankets, and I liked the rocking motion the train made while traveling along the tracks. We seemed to all sleep well and arrived into Chiang Mai at 8:30 the next morning.
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