There were no second class sleeper beds left for my night train up to Chiang Mai, so I was 'forced' to upgrade to a first class ticket that would give me sole occupancy of a cabin.
As I had made these arrangements on the Internet back home, I fully expected to find when I boarded the train that there had been some kind of con/cock up and that I would instead be sharing my cabin with a large Thai family. In fact, nothing could have been further from the truth. My cabin was clean, comfortable and had just the one bed along with a sink and even a TV.
Travelling through the Thai countryside in the comfort of a private, air-conditioned cabin and laying in bed has to be one of the finest travelling experiences. I read my book for ages and glugged back a few drinks in total comfort and privacy.
I was awoken by the sound of breakfast being served in other cabins at around 7am. Feeling very dehydrated, I quickly drank some water and orange juice to feel better. Within a couple of minutes, I was vomiting this liquid back up and into the sink in my cabin. And so it went on for the next three hours until we reached Chiang Mai - every drop of fluid I tried to take would re-appear again seconds later.
It was a struggle not to be sick as a tuk tuk took me from the train station to my hotel. Fortunately I managed to avoid the ignominy of that, and quickly checked into my room and went straight to bed. Apart from a couple of quick visits to the bathroom, I then managed to get about four hours sleep.
What has caused this bought of highly unpleasant illness? It would seem to be a sickness bug, although the heat and travelling probably haven't helped. As I type this I am now at least able to keep water down, but don't feel brave enough to eat any food. I'm going to concentrate on getting better during my stay at a very pleasant guest house in Chiang Mai, and then I'll be getting a flight to a beach.
No comments:
Post a Comment