Thailand 2012 - arrived in Thailand

After waking up I went to the Airline Counter and was able to book my next flight into Bangkok. No problems, they also arranged to pick up my bag from lost luggage and book it through to Bangkok. I was a bit skeptical about this but it did indeed turn up at the other end.
So breakfast was Kaya Toast, coffee and a half cooked egg. I learned later that they deliberately under cook the eggs. A delicacy. Shortly after I was boarding and I arrived in Bangkok without incident. As it happened the Immigration did not bother to check if I had onward travel arrangements.
I had decided not to stay in Bangkok, so from the airport I got onto the rail system and made my way to Hua Lamphong Station. I made a couple of errors on the way and ended up having to go back several stops.While I waited for the return train I spoke with an American girl who was standing nearby. It turned out that she was a women's health officer in Afghanistan. She told me a little bit of the conditions there and how happy she was to be in a safe country for a short time. In Afghanistan she moved in armed convoys and I wondered how effective you can be in such circumstances. She put on a brave face but I could sense the underlying fear of going back.That girl had True Grit and I admired her.

Waiting for the train in Hua Lamphong

I made it to the station and bought a ticket to Ayutthaya. Third class, 15 baht about 50 cents for a journey of some 90 Km. That journey ended up taking 3 hours and I was hot tired thirsty and sore by the end of it. My idea of traveling the country by train took severe punishment. In fact I only did one more train journey.

Lunch in Hua Lamphong. Have to keep the fluids up.

In Ayutthaya I took a taxi to a place that looked good on the Lonely Planet guide. It turned out to be shut, so I ended up walking about 2km to an alternate place. I should mention that I had a broken toe and walking was not much fun. At the new location I took the first accommodation option open to me. An airless room, with a fan. I "lumped" it rather than liked it but by now it was evening and I had a bed for the night. I had a meal nearby and took a walk to orientate myself. During the walk I found a much nicer place to stay and booked in for the next 2 nights. Fate was guiding me at this stage.
The Bludger was tired and retired for the night.