Night Train to Chiang Mai

I arrived in Chiang Mai at midday Sunday 3^rd June. I took the overnight train from Bangkok. The train was due to arrive at 8.15am- but at 6am the train stopped, reversed for 20 minutes and then remained stationary for 2 hours. Once on the move we gently rolled towards Chiang Mai arriving 4 hours late. Thankfully the journey was kept interesting by the mountainous jungle landscape and the crossing of several bridges over deep ravines with nerve tingling drops either side of the carriage. It was an interesting night too. I had a Korean businessman in the berth next to me and two Spanish backpackers opposite. The businessman looked bored and disgruntled sighing frequently and crossing his arms in abject boredom. He disappeared and reappeared a few hours later obviously the worse for wear. He was on a roll. He cajoled the Spaniards and me until we eventually relented into returning to the restaurant car with him. He spoke virtually no English. We had some beers with him. No idea what he was talking about and he held court for a good hour or so.  Even better the restaurant car turned into a tacky kind of nightclub. Disco lights and trashy 90s pop. The waitresses stood up in the aisle between the tables to perform the Macarena in cowboy hats. I bet that doesn’t happen on the overnight from London to Edinburgh.  Anyway it was fun. Next morning as we crawled towards Chiang Mai the businessman began huffing and puffing again; he had his first beer at 9.