Train to Chiangmai

Our train for Chaingmai departed Bangkok at 1900 and hotel checkout was noon so we took our bags to Sang's friends condo and spent the afternoon there swimming and having lunch. For lunch we went to a nearby market for Isan food which is the state Sang and his friend come from. I thought I had tasted spicy before but this food kicked it up a notch, to quote not my favorite TV chef.

Waiting for the train we ate once again this time at the terminal KFC and it was a good thing as we learned the train we were on was a special route running only to meet the high passenger demand of Sonkran and therefore without a dining car. The beds were comfy enough and the other 2 people in our compartment were quite friendly and fluent in English.

When we got to our hotel in Chiangmai it did not match the description I had read online. The room was not AC, there was neither TV nor fridge. I politely but forcefully managed to have the very pleasant manager to find us suitable accommodations and now we are settled in for a week.

Our first destination in Chiangmai was the temple where Sang had done his stint as a monk when he was 25. It is not required but almost all Thai men spend at least several months as monks. This reminded me of a story from my previous trip to Thailand. I had taken a photo in the Bangkok airport of a sign designating an area as reserved "For Monks Only". When I was showing photos of my trip to my friend Alberto from Argentina, he was baffled by the sign. I explained the reason was because monks would not be able to sit next to a female. He still did not understand until the conversation continued and we realized he confused the word monk with monkey.

After the temple I took care of the second medical dilema of my trip. When I arrived in Bangkok airport a couple of days earlier I picked up a piece of sticky candy from the desk of the currency exchange. Wouldn't you know it pulled an old filling right out? Well I felt no pain but i wanted to get it repaired before experiencing any problem. We walked into a dental clinic at about 4:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon, I saw a dentist, got a fine reparation and was out in less than an hour. The bill was less than $25.