Back to Bangers

Opted for the sleeper train back to Bangkok. A 15 hour journey compared to the 1 hour flight—and not that much cheaper—but I wanted the experience!

The train departed at 3.30pm so there was a bit of time to do some final few bits in pieces in Chiang Mai before getting a Grab to the station.

Leaving during the day meant there was some nice sights to see, although I spent most of the time either reading or mindless scrolling on the phone. It’s a nice way to travel though and despite being a train the journey flew by (heh).

Got some lovely dinner at around 6pm and a short while later a fella came around and converted the seats into beds.

Two seats on a train

Before

Seats converted to beds on a sleeper train

After

Was a top bunk bandit myself. Bit of a broken sleep as the lights are kept on and seemingly on a rickety old rail as we were bounced around the place!

Pulled up at around 5.30am and grabbed a taxi back to my old reliable H District Hostel. Arrived a good 6 hours before check in but it’s got a nice lobby and good internet so I just lounged about there for a while.

Same same but different

Funny feeling being back in Bangkok. It had only been a few weeks but felt so much longer. And, while my first visit had a great novelty factor to it, having seen other parts of Thailand, the appeal of BKK has waned massively.

Skyscrapers overlooking the water at Benchakitti park

Benchakitti Park. The poor air quality noticeable

The air quality was pretty bad and the seedy side of the place seemed far worse as well. The real nail in the coffin though was the higher prices.

Me after seeing that bottles of beer are 40 Baht more expensive in BKK

Cabbages and Condoms

On my last day I did a few messages: took out some USD, bought stamps and sent some postcards, and finally—and most importantly—took a stroll over to Cabbages and Condoms.

A sign for cabbages and condoms

Had to check it out

A condom-themes restaurant. The food is lovely and the free johnnies appreciated, but still a bit on the disturbing side. Worth checking out for the novelty at least!

A santa statue made out of condoms