She hailed a tuk-tuk and they set off. The sun was still rising and Bangkok was quiet, which meant Harry was able to enjoy the city, with its miscellany of colonial architecture, wooden shacks and Thai-style houses. He only wished he’d had the physical stamina to explore more of it. They arrived at the railway station, which was a hive of activity. Ancient trains stood in sidings, covered in rust produced by many years of unrelenting rain in the monsoon season. Lidia bought their tickets, refusing to take money from Harry, and walked down the platforms until she found the right train. They climbed into an already packed carriage and chattering locals stared at Harry in fascination as he and Lidia made their way down the narrow aisle to a free bench. Harry had looked at the map in Giselle’s office and knew they were travelling east down the coast, to a region called Trat. Koh Chang, a tiny dot suspended in the sea, was presumably reached by boat. ‘How long is the journey?’ Harry asked.‘It take four hours to Chanthaburi, then we change.
