While organizing the old travel materials, I found the timetable of railways in Thailand in 1996. It reminded me of that story.
I was planning to go to Ayutthaya from Bangkok, and then go to Pak Chong by train. I had got a timetable in advance. I wanted to take the train leaving Ayutthaya at 8:22 in the morning.
The trains from Bangkok are divided in the direction of Chiang Mai and Ubon Ratchathani at Ayutthaya. To go to Pak Chong, you have to take the train toward Ubon Ratchathani.
The train does not come even after 8:22. I didn’t worry because it’s a usual thing. Eventually, it came at 8:40. I thought it was the train towards Ubon Ratchathani, which was late.
But it was the train bound for Chiang Mai which should leave Ayutthaya at 8:09.
I had to make sure to ask the attendant, but it’s natural to regard the train as going for Ubon Ratchathani in that situation.
Anyway, I had been aware of a mistake after finding a seat on a train and being calmed down. I didn’t remember why, or I might have anxiety, I told them I went to Pak Chong. Then people around me were abuzz.
I was taking the third-grade seat, and no tourists around me, only local people. Only two, or three persons in the car speak English. People around me talking and Thai who speak English came out, then I explained.
In the end, local people made a plan I got off at Lopburi and took a bus to Pak Chong, and I got a note written in Thai. I got off at Lopburi and show the note to the guy in a tuk-tuk in front of the station. Because the bus terminal is away from the station, they think of a way to go to the bus terminal. The guy looked at the note and took me to the bus terminal. I could find the bus to Pak Chong easily.
Thai people who helped a strange foreigner on a train were very kind and thankful.
