The following is a recount of the actual events that occured the day of April 5th 2009.
It all began at 3pm. We had taken our cultural day tour of Bangkok with Ashley and team Specticale. Luminous had to back out early, because we would be boarding a sleeper train that evening at 7:30pm. As it got closer to the time we needed to go, we were standing in the temple overlooking the city. I was praying to God that he would do a spiritual cleansing and rain down on the people. So He did. He rained down alright. Thunder boomed and lightning struck. Rain began to pour down. For some of us we were on the roof dancing. God has a fun sense of humour I think.
By 3:45pm we had to say goodbyes. It was wierd saying bye to Ashley knowing she was heading home and it was time to say goodbye to our awesome Squad leader. (miss you girl). We did our hugs and then we ventured out into the weather. The Stairs were allready flooded. All I could do was laugh. The splashing began. 6 drenched world racers stopped for a few photo opp’s, and then found us some tuk tuks.
It was then we realized we have no idea where in the huge city of Bangkok we are. Our tuk tuk drivers may not know the Central Mall land mark we have. We can’t track down anyone at YWAM and we don’t actually have the address. And so the adventure of making it back to the Base and then to the train station begins
Our Tuk Tuk drivers took us to one place near the sky train. It was a big shopping complex. We told them it was the wrong one. They by then were flustered and told us that it was simply to far out of the way for them to go. The clearly would not continue on for the price we agreed on, so we decided to try to retrack our morning route taking the sky train and the same bus in the opposite way. The Sky train was freezing as air conditioning blasted our soaking wet clothing. We definitly were a scene.
It was 5pm when we made it back to the bus stop. We sat and waited and contemplated on taxi’s but again how do we say where to take us without the address. I spotted the bus. 4 of us got on, 2 got on while the bus was moving slightly. Whew finally on our way to something familiar. Oh wait its rush hour and the streets are packed with cars. It was 6pm when we found our stop. We ran down the side street to YWAM rushed upstairs to grab our packs, I ran smack into our locked door. Ran back for all our room keys. Dave tried to secure us some transportation to the train station. One taxi was on the way. We needed to find another. Carrying all of our gear we went to the main street and tried to hail a taxi. Of course there would be a convention that night for all university students and every bus, cab etc would be packed full of students. Benny finally found one for us by running ahead. He pulls up in it, gets out, and the police man guiding traffic yells at us that he can’t stop there. So the taxi drives ahead, we begin to grab our gear and walk ahead…. he leaves. Urgh!
A woman from YWAM finds us and tell us that they have one truck and one taxi for us back at the base. It is now almost 7pm and it took Benny and Jenn an hour earlier that morning to get from here to the train station for our tickets. We are loaded up. I haven’t stopped praying for us since the first minute we left the temple. We stop for gas, and then we are off., Thank goodness for toll highways and fast taxi drivers. We make it to the station at 7:29. Benny runs ahead to try to stop the train. I’m half way out of the cab, when the driver moves ahead and runs over my flip flop that had come a little loose. It gets caught under the tire. (I thank Jesus for my feet)
Guess what? The train is late, we have 10 minutes tops. We get to the platform, the train pulls up, its high fives and thank you Lord all around. What a day. After all this I leave you with a little tip. If you ever take a sleeper train make sure that you in no way put anything on the top bunk or you will have a very grumpy man attack you with a folded bed sheet numerous times (ask Benny) or just hit you in the leg if your in his way (ask me)
