Traveling by Train

When we boarded our train we were expecting a sleeper car but there were no beds visible. We staked our claim on a couple seats and hoped we were in the right place. Soon every seat was taken by other travelers from all over the World; The US, Israel, France, the UK, Germany... the list goes on. The train departed exactly at the time scheduled and we slowly made our way through Bangkok. Looking out the windows we could peer into the homes of some of the poorest locals we've seen yet; those who can only afford to live next to busy train tracks. These were truly shacks, obviously pieced together by what could be salvaged and standing due to being precariously affixed to the adjoining shanties. Whole families could be seen together inside their small room sharing an evening meal, talking or working on crafts to be peddled on the street the following day.

One of our biggest concerns about such a long trip was the bathroom facilities. It's not unlike a single toilet among throngs of tourists to become stopped up and unusable thus making the trip uncomfortable. We were in luck as these toilets used fail safe plumbing- a large hole. Unlike the previous squatty-potties which also employed a hole, this potty provided in use entertainment watching the tracks pass by underneath. The hole was large enought not to miss, and we couldn't help but wonder what animals may have made their way onto the train from here and even worse how many small children may have slipped through during use.

As is the custom with any captive audience, vendors made their way back and forth through the aisles selling food and drink. While we declined immediate snacks, we did prepay for a breakfast.
Soon the lights of the city faded and glassy eyes and yawns started appearing on weary travelers. An attendant also appeared and started the rapid transformation of the seating area into two full sized twin beds which included clean sheets and pillow. We nestled into our respective compartments and awoke the next day as dawn began carving the landscape from the darkness.