Bangkok to Chumphon

What a day.  Walking around Bangkok in the morning, a delayed train down to the south, some late night empty street walking looking for a hotel and finally, a luxury shower, one of the most cathartic I've experienced.  There are showers after good workouts, showers after a long time in the cold, and showers after walking around Bangkok's Chinatown, train station and 10 hours on an open air Thai train.  The catharsis of showers.

Thailand is beautiful and exotic.  In Chinatown we saw little shops and street venders, smelled incredible spices and teas-basil, ginseng, tiger balm- before hitching a ride on one of the little taxis that zips through the streets.  At the train station we found our train and boarded but for some reason had to unboard while they took it away and then brought it back.  We left an hour late and arrived two hours late in Chumphon.  Along the way we saw the beautiful Thai country and peeked at the food that vendors brought on board at every stop.  They were neverending!  Fruits, meats, rice meals, soups sold through the open windows of the train-things that are complete mysteries to me.  When we arrived a woman gave us unsolicited directions to walk to the hotel.  Well, we're here safely, even if there was a period of doubt.  An adventure, but we're clean.