More travel Woes

I was able to get a taxi easy enough from the dock at Surat Thani to the train station and then it was time to play the waiting game. The station was dated and open aired, and once the sun started rising it got incredibly hot. The train was about an hour late arriving, which was not all that shocking. What was a shock was that they had double booked my seat. Of course this would happen to me; I've had nothing but terrible travel luck since arriving in SE Asia. For the first hour or so of the ride I was seated on a cooler with a blanket laid over it, the train staff smiling nervously at me, but in no rush it would seem, to solve the problem.  Finally though, they offered me a seat in a non-AC car. I politely if not a little irritably declined and told them I would wait for a seat to open up in the AC car I paid for. I guess it was well within my rights to ask for a refund since I didn't exactly pay for a cushioned cooler either, but I figured it was not worth arguing with the stewardesses that barley spoke English. Noticing my predicament a lovely Thai woman offered me her young daughters seat, saying she would hold the 7-year old on her lap. It was very kind but I couldn't accept. I think she thought I didn't understand her broken English so she called he husband on her cell and after speaking with him for a moment handed me the phone. He then explained in better English that she would be honored to offer me the seat next to her. Luckily it became a mute point when the seat directly behind them opened up just a few minutes later. Once I was seated the woman and her daughter kept looking behind and smiling. Finally the woman said, "my daughter like to speak English."They were so cute and sweet, how could I refuse! So I spent the rest of the trip talking with her and her daughter, who offered me some fruit and cakes, and by the time we pulled into Hat Yai, where I made my transfer for the train into Malaysia, they were handing me a piece of paper with their number and inviting me to stay in their home next time I was in Bangkok. Melt! They were really precious.

The train from Hat Yai into Kuala Lumpur was long and overnight, but it was not terrible. I met a man from Melbourne, Australia who kept me company most of the way. He had such fascinating stories to tell and offered to show me around Melbourne when I get there later in June. After a surprisingly short stop at a customs station at the boarder (I was through in all of 5 minutes) we were on our way. Next stop, Malaysia!