At first, I thought that I had misheard. The train ticket from Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai cost about the same as a plane ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. As I inquired further, the teller explained the reason for the hefty price tag; it was for a first class ticket. I explained that a normal seat would do and proceeded to pay. I boarded the arriving train. "Same song and dance," I thought to myself. Little did I know that this ride was to be a rough one.
As he reached me, the train controller explained that I was sitting in a third class seat, whereas my ticket read second class. He mentioned that I would have to move if someone else came to claim that seat; the teller at the station had done me dirty. Clocking me as a Farang, the teller knew how to upsell me and get away with it.
It is with pride that I call myself an Australian. Unlike true blue Australians who earnt their nationality by virtue of being born there, I earnt mine by virtue of hard work and sacrifice; this probably makes me twice as proud to be a citizen of the lucky country.
I was born on the island of Mauritius. Growing up there, I witnessed all the tricks to charge tourists more than the locals, and I used to think that it was fair enough. Tourism being the backbone of our economy, and our Mauritian rupee being very weak compared to the Euro, it felt like a win-win; tourists won't feel the sting that much, whereas every bit counts towards our developing economy.
Now the roles were reversed. I was a foreigner who, whenever asked, would proudly state his country as Australia. The very night that I landed in Thailand, the taxi driver had drooled over me like I was fresh off the boat; at least behind his joke of a poker face. "Ar nou non!" as we say on my island. The Mauritian had landed too.
I looked over my shoulder. From my vantage point in third class, I could see the second class. For more than twice the price, the only thing that seemed special about it was its individual seats. Though already paid for, I did not upgrade to the second class wagon. The teller had taken away my choice of tariff, I wasn't about to let him take away my choice of seats too.
