Hello again

Bangkok - Trang

I knew it! I was sure that my group leader was hammered when he finally called at 2am last night. For most this would be a nuisance but for me, it was merely a brother in arms.
We were scheduled to meet at 10 am and considering I woke up at 6 am this gave me a large chunk of free-time. I explored the city a bit, but much of it was closed at that hour. I am apparently lodging in the garage district as every shop near the hotel is a garage, or some sort of garage fusion; garage/music shop, garage/souvenir shop, and the ever so suspect garage/restaurant.
I returned to my hotel for the complimentary breakfast and managed to accidentally ingest my first piece of pork. So much for the kosher meal on the flight.
At 10 am I made my way to reception where me and the group leader, had agreed to meet. At 10:10 (yes I am that impatient) I had the front desk call his room. On the other line was a freshly woken man under the spell of what I suspected was a hangover. He made his way down 15 minutes later, and if I needed anymore confirmation of my suspicions, the air of booze that escaped with every word he spoke was all the evidence I needed. AJ as he is called, which I suspect is special for westerners as there is neither an A or a J in the thai alphabet, was as cool and down to earth as I could have hoped. He looked 10 years below his age of 37, and was Thai by many generations. We chatted for a few minutes, filled out paper work, and he assured me that the trek was an easy one, and I had nothing to fear.

Sleeper train to Chaing Mai
I write this en route to Chaing Mai. It will be a twelve hour overnight trip by train. While I was initially suspect of the getting a good nights sleep the bed was surprisingly comfortable.
Before boarding the train the day was spent on a long tail boat exploring the canals of Bangkok. The city is frequently described as the Venice of the East but the parallels begin and end at the canals that run through the two cities. We went through a residential area in which mansions lay next to shantys, while I had seen contrast of wealth in New York before I had never seen it quite like this. If we think we know of poverty in the US, we truly have no sense.

Morning
We arrived in Chain Mai, and I suspect this will be the last I write for the next several days. We will be hiking through the hilltribes of Thailand for the next three days.