Train up North

I loved everything about the journey. At the station when the 6 o'clock news came onto the big screen in the concourse the national anthem was played and the whole train station stood up for it en masse, without exception. It's the King's 60th year of his reign next week so all of Thailand is gearing up to celebrate. Hence the navy's manouevres last week in Bangkok, they were practising for a display.

We travelled 2nd class to Chiang Mai which is a 12hr train journey. It was like travelling on a plane - the seats reclined and we were served 3 meals - dinner, supper snacks and then breakfast before we arrived in Chiang Mai. The aircon was blissfully chilled and the other Thai travellers seemed relaxed and friendly.

When we woke up from the couchette seats the next day I was disappointed that I'd missed the sunrise but that soon evaporated when I looked out of the windows. There was a rainbow of green either side with endless mountains covered by large brocolliesque florets stretching into the distance. Stunning.