Hua Lampong and Yaowarat

After our awesome weekend of adventure in Kanchanaburi, my visiting friend, James, and I were looking for a more relaxing weekend in Hua Hin, Thailand's premier beach resort town, for the last few days before he flew back to the States.

We wanted to take the train, so after work on Friday, we rushed to Bangkok's historic Hua Lampong Railway Station.

Hua Lampong Station

Unfortunately, we were just a bit too late. We barely missed the 17:30 train, and the next one wasn't until 220:50. I guess we could have gotten a bus at that point, and been in Hua Hin in just a few hours, but we really wanted to take the train. So we booked a pair of second-class tickets, and set out to kill time in nearby Chinatown, arriving first at Wat Traimit, the famous Golden Buddha Temple.

Wat Traimit - the Temple of the Golden Buddha

We were just a little too late to actually go inside the temple, but we arrived at the photographic "blue hour", the hour just after dusk, and got to explore the temple grounds in the relatively cooler evening.

at the temple

I've always liked this old part of Bangkok, but I rarely come over this way. The weather was a bit cooler, and it was actually really nice exploring outside at this time.

temple at dusk

I like having visitors to show around. It gets me out exploring this city, and gives me new perspectives and insight on Bangkok.

walking around temple grounds

Next, we headed deeper in to Chinatown.

the Gate of Chinatown

Even though we had so much time to kill, it ended up working out pretty well. Chinatown was one of the things James had wanted to see last year, but we never got around to doing it. We didn't think we would end up having time this year either, since it's kind of out of the way.

Chinese Shrine

We had dinner at the famous historic Shanghai Mansion Hotel, then walked up and down Yaowarat Road.

Yaowarat Road

Finally, exhausted, we went back to the station to wait at a coffee shop for the remaining few hours until our departure (the last one of the evening). I was so tired after a week at work, and I was suffering from a cold, so I was very relieved when we finally boarded the train and prepared for departure. We would be arriving in Hua Hin at 2am, but I hoped to sleep on the trip.

our train! or is it...

Right at 10:50, the train started moving... then stopped. We sat and waited. For over an hour getting increasingly frustrated and annoyed. It wasn't a big deal for the people going 12-14 hours all the way down to the south, but Hua Hin is just a two-hour bus ride away. We could have been there by dinnertime! Eventually, the rail officers came by and asked us all to move to another train. We took that as a sign.

I am so exhausted.......

At 1am we finally gave up and went back to my apartment to sleep and make a new plan. We were both feeling annoyed with Hua Hin in general. We made a last-minute rushed plan, and fell asleep, only to wake up early the next day and set off on our next big adventure to somewhere neither of us knew anything about...