The Rail Station of Pran Puri – Thailand
Matthew Young
The quiet bustle of several shop owners preparing to open, the chirping of crickets and other insects, and the faintest of Thai music filled my ears. I heard sweeping from across the railroad tracks, quiet rumblings from my fellow travelers, and the occasional conversation between locals. I opened my eyes to the sounds of the rail station at Pran Puri, Thailand at 5 A.M.
The nighttime fog filled the humid air and kept all but the brightest of stars from shining through. I notice that the source of the sweeping was a man cleaning a parking lot right next to the tracks. Suddenly a train speeds past us, faster than any of the trains I have ridden on these past few days, and I'm shaken back to reality. I'm traveling the world on a study abroad program with eighteen other students, waiting at a train station hundreds of miles from anywhere I'd recognize on a map, and we have to wait for the bus that is not going to be here for another four hours.
I look around and count twelve, most sleeping or at least feigning sleep anyway. Everyone else must be wandering around looking for food or checking out the local attractions. I relax and close my eyes again. Birds this time, a rooster in the distance, and the continued sweeping. How long does it take for one person to sweep an entire parking lot? What is that parking lot used for? I didn't think any of the buildings looked like shops, and besides it was too large for tuk-tuks and motorbikes alone. Then again not much here looked exactly as I expected. The train station for example was in surprisingly great condition while the trains themselves looked like they had been in service for several decades. A loud siren from inside the train station's small office jars my eyes open this time.
Another head count, thirteen. Nate and Andrew are back. So who has wandered off? I can't remember who was here last. I attribute this lapse to lack of sleep and spotty lighting. 5:50, back to my vertical bench bed. Snoring behind me to the left. Vince? No Tim, he's had a cold the last couple of days, and I heard that he snores even without being sick.
Something new hits me then, cigarette smoke. A refreshing reminder actually, of the overall lack of odors that had bombarded me on the train rides here. I hear Clay and Anh conversing over a pastry they purchased at the shop behind us that apparently opened during my most recent battle with sleep. Stray dogs walk past almost undetected if not for their nails scratching at the concrete platform.
6:55, and apparently I'm right next to the loudspeaker. Deafening tones explode out, jarring my eyes to attention, followed by what I assumed to be an announcement that the next train was about to arrive. Caitlin capitalizes on the chaos of this 7 o'clock train, thanks to Nate's timely bathroom break, to steal the bed-sized spot on the bench next to me. The sun was just beginning to peek over the buildings directly in front of where I am sitting. My seat was one of the few not sheltered.
Unfortunately my first pair of sunglasses was lost to the ocean in Hawaii, the second left behind after scuba diving in Thailand. Heat blasting directly towards me turns the comfortable nighttime air sticky and hot. I reach for my bag, grab my Maui sunhat and place it in front of my face. With the temperature rising quickly, I decide this will be my last best chance to sleep for the remainder of the day. I close my eyes to the hissing of deep-frying dough, my travel companions quiet chatter, and silence from my insect and roaster friends.
A car horn shrieks at exactly 8:30, much louder and closer than any from the passing cars on the nearby roads throughout the night. I look up to see the faded remnants of a 1970's party bus. Mostly white with stripes of yellow, green, and purple along the sides and front, huge rounded headlights with chrome accents, and bumpers that would knock any tuk-tuk off the road. I stood up. My time in Pran Puri Thailand was over, but the next adventure was about to begin.