Japan Stories: November 1999

Rolling towards Bangkok

Once the train gets moving again, the rest of the trip turns out to go quite smoothly. We spend the next two days reading in our compartment, looking out from the observation car and the endless green fields of rice, or sharing travel stories in the lounge car with our new friends.

Strangers on a train no more: Ian, Jan, Angela, Jennie, Colin, and Rosemary

Angela with piano player in the bar

The E&O offers various entertainments en route. For us the highlight of these is a demonstration of traditional Thai dances. A local Thai girl performs these dances with impressive grace, all the more impressive given the constant rocking of the train. We're amazed she can remain standing, let alone perform the slow and precise movements demanded by the form.

Us with Thai dancing girl

Chris, polyglot train manager extraordinaire, offers an impromptu lesson on the Thai language. Today's lesson: don't mix up those gender-specific sentence endings.

Bangkok's Hualampong Station

We finally arrive in Bangkok early in the morning, after two days and three nights on the train. It's been a memorable trip. Even if it was a day longer than expected, and didn't go exactly as planned, we wouldn't want to have changed a thing.

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