We got the train here from Bangkok. It takes twelve hours, but, wait for it, it's in an air-con carriage and included a nice bit of lunch. Never has second class felt so good !
The first bit of the journey was a bit dull. We travelled across lowland rural plains of paddy fields, coconut groves and banana plantations for about seven hours. You could see why food is cheap and plentiful in Thailand.
Things got a bit more interesting after a town called Uttaradit ( which I will have just spelt very badly ). The train started to climb and weave as we entered a continuous tunnel of dense green jungle and forest that only broke occasionally to reveal rivers and lush mountains. It was all very picturesque, but only lasted for a few hours before the sunset.
We arrived in Chiang Mai at about 9pm, hopped into the back of a pickup and got dropped to a hotel with an ELVIS PUB SINGER !!!. And Thai Elvis rocks, uh huh.. Anyway, a quick bowl of spicy fish soup and vast shrimp and to bed. We need to sort out the next few days of action from here.
