I did it! That last connection was a nail biter but due to an awesome (and handsomely tipped) cabby I made the flight to Hong Kong with time to spare. Of course the train was late, we were due in at 6:15am and the damn porter actually had the nerve to come by at 5:30 to wake people, telling them we were 30 min out of Bangkok. HA! I was already dressed and, like a sprinter, ready to burst out of the gate at the station… 45 minutes past due.

A few stops went by, camouflaged as hesitations, and I thought of leaping out to take my chances on flagging a cab but the neighborhoods gave me pause and I decided maybe waiting for the main station was the smartest choice. At 6ish in the morning ghettos lose any sparkle of magic they had in the more flattering light of a dark moon. That train goes through some heavy shit, that’s all I have to say. I couldn’t even take pictures, it was just too gruesome; plus I was busy pushing that freaking train a bit faster with my mind. I just can’t imagine what it would be like to be born in that mire of desperation.

FINALLY we meandered into the station like we had all the time in the world, when, obviously “we” didn’t. The poor porter, he had jumped off as the train was slowing and I decided to follow suit and threw him my dense “little” pack, almost landing him on his ass. :} Woose. I nimbly jumped before the train stopped, grabbed the bag and power-walked to grab the best freaking cab driver ever! Thirty minutes people, from the train station to the airport in Bangkok! Score!

Bye Bye Thailand!