December 15, 2007
Bangkok - Aranyaprathet: Train to the border
The big day has come and we set off for the Cambodian border. When I pack my bags I can't believe how full they are. All the warm clothing I had on when we arrived must now fit into the panniers: fleece jacket, rain jacket, heavy shoes, jeans.
Again everything is much easier than I had anticipated. I choose to walk the bikes to the train station and at the station we have some time to spare before departure at 1:05. The station is small but has everything: a haircut for 4 Euros in 10 minutes, foot and body massage, a good selection of English books, and a simple cafeteria. We have some of that good green papaya salad, som tam, with sticky rice and roast chicken which should last us until we reach Aranyaprathet in the evening.
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The train has no luggage car but we are allowed to take our bikes in the first car. The bikes block two seats but the ticket for a bike costs twice as much as one passenger, neither of which are at all expensive by European standards. The passenger ticket for a four and a half hour ride costs one Euro. This is only possible when the railway is subsidized. I wish it were so in Germany. But Germany with an economy that relies so heavily on its automobile industry is not interested in getting people to take the train instead of their cars.
There are only third class trains running the stretch to the Cambodian border. When the train departs, it's full, we just manage to get seats, and at every stop it gets fuller. The aisles are so crowded that we don't have a view out of the window opposite us and the windows on our side are shuttered to keep the sun out. We just get a few glimpses of a monotonous, flat countryside.
Across the aisle from us are two mothers traveling with their children, three young boys aged between five and nine. It is impossible to imagine children in Germany, or probably anywhere in the west, taking such a long, hot, boring trip with such equanimity. These children don't whine, complain, make noise or get into mischief. Nor do the mothers have to scold, bargain, entertain or appease. Those kids are just well behaved. I've seen this repeatedly in this part of the world and I'm amazed every time.
With the help of many friendly people along the way, we soon find a hotel. It's quite incredible how we are taken care of. All we have to do is stand there and look helpless and someone comes to our rescue.
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