Train Train Go Away

The Sawahlunto Train and Railway System

Growing up, I have always been fascinated with moving things like trains and airplanes. I was never a big fan of race cars or bikes but trains and airplanes have always been admiring things to me. Whenever I travel to the city from my hometown, there used to be a working passenger train that travels to the northern part of Bulacan which was operated by the Philippine National Railway but since the tracks and the trains were never really given much care, the trains eventually stopped plying that route. Now the only existing train route that I know of is the ones from Alabang to Bicol. I believe its a 12-hour journey from Alabang to Bicol Region using this electric or gas powered train. I never really knew what type of train there is because I do not really know much about the history of railways in the Philippines. I guess nobody really seemed to bother about trains anymore unlike in the olden days. And then trains in Manila evolved into Light Railway Transit, the elevated passenger railway system that travels from Monument to Baclaran (which now extends from Munoz Roosevelt to Baclaran). Eventually, it led to the construction of two more elevated railway system such as the MRT (from North Avenue to Taft Avenue) and the LRT2 which covers Recto to Marikina.

Bangkok Again. 3rd Time Is The Sweetest

I went to Bangkok again and I don't know why. Well it was actually my stop over on my to Siem Reap to see the Angkor Empire so I had to stay here for a couple of days. On my first trip to Bangkok back in 2009, I visited almost all of the temples so when I came back, I visited it again. The only change that has happened is that there are more and more tourists now compared 4 years ago. And most of them are the ever growing breed of the yellow people. But after this trip, I am pretty sure I will keep coming back.

The Golden Buddha Temple

Bangkok Shopping: In Search For Your Not So Typical Souvenirs

So during my trip to Bangkok this month, I kind of found some different souvenirs that people do not usually buy when they travel. Well for me, I found these two new things really classy but cheap. Just right across the Siam BTS Skytrain station, you will find a lot of cheap stuff to buy especially at night. As you walk under the train station, you will find lots of clothes, cellphone cases, fake watches and shoes. Then I stumbled upon a stall that sells leather goods, not shoes, but some kind of organizers stuff that I am certain teachers like me will definitely like. I bought two items. One is a sort of laptop case/portfolio or file holder and another one is a smaller version of it that I can use for passport or some other small stuff.

From Bangkok to Vientiane via Sleeper Train

 I always liked flags since when I was a kid. I remember browsing through our Collier’s Encyclopaedias series and going through all the flags in the world. And with that interest, I have known many names of different countries even though I have no idea where they are. Countries like Nepal, Qatar, Mongolia, Pakistan, Uruguay, Paraguay and the list goes on. Laos is one of those countries I only know by name and have no knowledge of its culture and it is my luck to get the chance to visit this country even for only 2 days. Laos’ flag is made of three stripes, red on top and bottom and blue in the middle with a white circle in the centre of the flag. Well I’m not going to discuss what does the flag stands for as it may bore you about history. So when I went to Bangkok a week long break I decided to make a research on the neighbouring country. I thought of Siem Reap, Cambodia and Vientiane, Laos but decided to go the latter instead because of the challenge to take a sleeper train from Bangkok to Vientiane. I have never been on a long train ride.

Bangkok Jam

“My first trip to Bangkok and it was great. The places I've seen are awesome. The food is gastronomically delectable. And the people are nice and will always give you a smile. Bangkok has preserved its richness in culture as they have maintained most of their temples and palaces which is the cradle of their religion, which is Buddhism. You will be impressed with the grandiose of all these temples located far from the other side of Bangkok's central business district. You will also be amazed to see a lot of flashy neon coloured taxis (like pink, green, blue and orange) that it would be so hard for you to hail the taxi as you will not be able to see whether it is available or not because they are just too bright to look at.”