I caught the train up to the difficult to pronounce, Phitsanulok today. It was a pleasant six hour train trip and got into town in the afternoon. Maybe it is a cliche but I think Thais are pretty friendly not just to foreigners but to each other.
When you are travelling most of the people you meet are the ones who deal with foreign travellers day in day out, so catching a train and meeting people who you would not ordinarily get a chance to talk to can be fun.
Many Thais speak English well enough to have a basic conversation. I lived in Japan for around 10 years and found so few people who could or were willing to speak English, so it makes a nice change.
