It occurs to me that I haven't really been sharing the details of my transportation. I think you'd be slightly intrigued.
I was finished with my time in Kanchanaburi, and by that, I mean that since I had gotten there, things had seemed a bit off at every turn. This happens from time to time. Nothing bad, but always something slightly unexpected, and so slightly disappointing. For breakfast, I didn't get what I ordered. I assume I didn't point at the menu correctly. The day had been full of things like that.
So I started off to the bus station. I accepted an offer to be taken there in a rickshaw. (That's its name in India, I'm not sure of the correct term in Thailand.) Think of a bicycle, but with two wheels in the back sharing an axle. There's a platform to sit on. Someone pedals, and you go. Something about a person moving me along bothers me, so I tip well to assuage some guilt.
The driver asked me what city I was headed to, and proceeded to take me towards the bus station. He tells me a bit about the town when we are stopped at the light. He stops a bit before we get to the bus station, and tells me that the bus in front of us is the bus I want. I look at it, and it does have the expected number painted on the side. I do have to say that the rickshaw driver was the best part of Kanchanaburi. The conductor gets me on board, and even finds me a seat on the very packed bus.
I'm not sure how to describe this bus. Think school bus, complete with windows that come down, and you get close. They also have curtains to keep the sun out, and fans on the ceiling.
About 12:45, I start to get hungry, and hope that the ride is almost over. We are stopped at a semi-major town center, waiting for the proper time to leave. All of a sudden, there appear food vendors on the bus. A man shows up with BBQ chicken. I automatically have a huge grin on my face, and he knows he has a customer. I get four pieces for about $.50. I also get a bag filled with ice, water, and coconut flavor for about a quarter. My faith in Thailand is restored.
Upon arrival at the transfer point, the conductor finds and directs me to the next bus to take me to Ayuthaya. I'm feeling grateful.
I took the train here to Chaing Mai. I was waiting at the train station. A train pulls in about 15 minutes before I'm supposed to board. So I ask someone in uniform if this is the train to Chaing Mai. Someone else offers assistance to translate. The bottom line is that when my train does arrive, the station manager signals to me, and then sends someone over to get me and take me to the correct compartment. I am truly grateful.
2 comments:
This is awesome. I was really mostly wondering how you were getting along with the language difficulty since that is the thing I'm most paranoid about myself. Mainly getting a place to stay. That's tough if no one speaks your language.
Fortunately the people you have run into seem very humble and helpful. That's cool. Do you have to act lost to get their help or do you just give it a real college try and they pick up the slack and carry you the rest of the way, or what?
What is the secret: falling back on French?? Is there any non-native language that is more useful than English, in general?
Pointing at phrases in guide books??
/pbz
English is the language to know. If another language is known, it will be English. It is possible for a tour group to get a guide who can speak any given language, but that must be specially arranged. In China, I heard a tour given in Dutch. (I'm convinced that no Dutch are actually in Holland, as they are all out traveling the world.)
I used a phrase book in China, and it was worth its weight in GOLD. No kidding. I used it to buy a cell phone charger.
In Bali and in Thailand, English has been common, but mroe so in Bali. Here, it seems to be common to have a few people in an establishment who can speak English, but many others who can not. So there person who takes your food order knows only enough English to take your order, but the person who takes the plate away may know no English.
In general, it's not possible to have an indepth conversation here in Thailand. I could in Bali, in certain circumstances, but not so much here.
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