The Continuing Adventures of Travelman!: Stand for the king and remember to pay the bathroom attendant

The train station was abnormally quiet and serene for being so large and crowded. People sat cross-legged on the floor in the center of the hall and in the chairs lining the edges. I went to the toilet to get cleaned up a bit and do what you do there.. A woman sat in a booth outside the men's toilet and shower rooms collecting the fee of two baht for the toilet and four baht for a shower. I walked right by her, not noticing or paying her until I exited.

I found a seat in the row of chairs in the main hall. A giant jumbo screen on the wall behind me was tuned to Thailand's version of the home shopping network. Across the hall hung two giant banners, one a photo of a female in the royal family (not sure if it was the queen or princess, and the other was of the prince. The banners were close ups of their faces and each said something. They reminded me of movie advertisement billboards. A giant framed portrait of the king hung above the exit to the train platforms, the exit that I had entered through.

Here's a pic of the portrait of the king. You can see the banner of the prince in the far background (left side of picture in the middle)

After I sat a bit, I turned to look at the jumbo screen. The programming had switched to highlights of bloody Connor McGregor UFC fights. I've never really watched UFC so I became enthralled. I turned back and noticed the chair where I'd remembered setting my daypack was empty. Panic exploded inside of me. I looked down to my other bag and saw both my larger pack and my day pack safe on the floor in front of me. Now relief fell upon me, I wrapped one of my shins through the shoulder loop of each bag and went back to watching the fights behind me.

A red light began to blink from somewhere, everyone in the hall stood in unison, they faced the doors to the train platforms, above which the portrait of the king hung. When in Thailand, do as the Thai do, so I stood and faced the king as well. I peered around, trying not to look too obvious. A very official sounding song played from the public address system, apparently the national anthem. After only about thirty seconds the song ended and everyone in the place sat back down in unison, resuming whatever kind of waiting they'd been doing.

How often did this happen? I looked at my phone, it was six o'clock. Did they do it every hour? Or only at six? Did they do it in all government buildings or only the train station? It was so surreal to me. I wanted so badly to take a picture while it was happening but I didn't want to be rude or disrespectful. Not everyone shared my sentiment.

While the anthem played, I'd noticed a female backpacker standing in the center of the hall holding out her phone filming a video clip as she slowly turned and aimed it at everyone in the place. All I could think was, "Please, don't be American! Please, don't be American!"

After it was over I also mused about how hilarious it would have been if I had arrived twenty minutes later through those doors, at the exact moment when everyone stood to face the portrait of the king above me and the doors. How weird would that have been? "Please, that's very kind, but sit. Please, oh, and a song as well? Well, thank you! But really all this pomp and circumstance really isn't necessary for little old me. I am but a simple traveler with a back pack and a sense of adventure..."

Anyhoo. The time came, the train arrived, the digital arrival board blinked a notification of its arrival, I got my bags, walked out and boarded the train. My first ever sleeper train!

Here's some pics of the station...

And turned around facing the trains...

The photo of the female royalty on the wall in the background, the one of the prince is obscured...

The Jumbotron with Thailand's version of home shopping...

The monks had their very own VIP lounge. I wondered if they had to show a members card upon entering...

An advertisement in the cafeteria I found amusing...

A Buddhist shrine near the entrance...

You know, it was just a gosh darn train station but I found everything about the experience fascinating. I'm guessing if I'm there again it'll just be another plain old train station. "Oh we're standing, we're doing the anthem thing again, okie-dokie. Is it over? Can I go back to fiddling with my phone?"

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