After a wonderful day in Bangkok, @girlwhoflies and I went to the Bangkok Railway station to grab our overnight train to Chiang Mai, a beautiful jungle city in the north full of animals and art. How exciting! Apparently, taking the overnight train is quite an experience for any backpacker. My friend Chris said it was a must. For $25 a ticket for a 2nd class bunk, I thought it was definitely worth a try!
The train ride started off really fun! We ordered a dinner of gravy pork, vegetables, rice, green curry chicken, and pineapple for dessert. All for only $4!!! We wharfed down our food and with our bellies full we tucked ourselves in for the night falling asleep to the peaceful rocking of the train.
This is where the nightmare began. A few hours later, I woke up shivering. My nose was a block of ice. OMFG– it was SOO COLD!!! And I HATE being cold (no offense all you snow people). I wrapped the thin blanket around me tighter but to no avail. Where was all this frigid air coming from?! The answer I discovered: the air conditioning. BOO!!!!
I had to get warm. First thing I did was pull a bath towel out and laid it on me. That didn’t work. Next I tried to fold the blanket in half to provide more protection. The cold air still pierced through. Aaahhhhhhh! I wanted to cry. It was SO COLD!!! I didn’t want to become Elsa living in an ice castle. What crazy person wants to be this cold?!?!
In total despair, I racked my brain through my packing list to see what else I could possible put on my body. Suddenly, I remembered I had a windbreaker my mom gave me! I leaped out of bed, tore it out of my bag, and threw that sucker on. Oh, heavenly bliss! I started to feel my body heat circulate through the jacket and warm my body. Praise Jesus. I curled up into a tiny fetus position and slowly fell asleep.
The sun started peeking through the window and I got up. @girlwhoflies and Fabio (our fun bunk mate from Belgium) were already up and shivering. We were all icicles. Thankfully, breakfast arrived and I had never been more grateful for a cup of coffee. The hot liquid warmed my body from the inside and relaxed my tense muscles. We made it through the night.
I put on some music to celebrate (“I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” from The Lion King) and we had a little dance party while admiring the jungle flying past our window.
What an experience!
TIP: BRING WARM CLOTHES! One set will suffice. But don’t leave home without it. Air conditioning is cold!!!
