Chiang Mai

After calling in to meet an old friend of Oui’s at Uttaradit we headed off for Chiang Mai in North Thailand. They behave a little like Queenslander’s and think they’re another country, not another state or province. The trip itself was uneventful until the last 1.5 kilometers. We got caught in day three of Songkran and it took us over 2 hours to get to our hotel. Goggle sent us in the wrong direction and we had to fight our way through the hordes armed to teeth and ready to kill with all manner of water pistolry. To bring matters to a boiling point we got trapped in a street that was shutting for a market and with incredible efficiency they shut it with traffic still in it forcing us to back out through the mayhem. I shared my opinion of the idiot in charge letting him know his obvious character deficiencies in no uncertain terms. 

There are plenty of things to do here, sadly most of them involve the abuse of elephants in some way. But first off we headed to a night market to my ultimate surprise I managed to find a t-shirt in my size. We enjoyed an extremely overpriced dinner at the hotel and went to bed hoping tomorrow would be a better day.

Despite my previous experience we jumped in the car and headed to the hills to visit Phuping Palace and then Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The palace wan’t really a priority and we expended 70 Baht looking around the gardens and viewing a seemingly modest building and hall from the exterior. It was perfectly lovely but really only visited due to its close proximity to the temple.

The temple dates back (allegedly) to 1383 and contains an “alleged” relic (being the shoulder bone of The Buddha). It has been added to and enlarged and is now a quite garish and extravagant affair. It is located about 15 kilometres out of town however the road is so steep and windy it takes about an hour to reach by car and then you have to park. Once you have negotiated these hurdles you are offered a choice, 309 steps to the top or for a small fee a ride on a funicular to the top. We went with option two. 

There are so many temples here that the novelty starts to where off. I’m told over 31,000 temples can be found in the country. It was impressive and displayed an awesome view of the smog choked city. However tomorrow is the day I am looking forward to. I have blown the budget and we are going on a personal elephant encounter with some rescue elephants. I hope the experience matches the hype. 

Sukhothai & Songkran

I have mentioned already the Songkran festival that was the old Thai new year. Today I got to experience a small taste of it. Each province seems to have its own things but the one constant is the water fight. We drove into Sukhothai and were greeted this most surreal view. Firstly there was a parade, lots of traditional Thai dancing, rock bands, concert bands, beauty pageant contestants riding old rickshaws and school kids all done up to the nines. That was the closed right hand side of the road, the open left hand of side was handling traffic in both directions, even with the help of the local police it really wasn’t coping. This is where it was really interesting. The water fight was in full swing on the main road and when I say on the road I mean on the road. 

Kids, some no more than six, were weaving in and out of the slow moving traffic upending buckets of water on all and sundry. Some were supervised, some were sort of supervised, others were clearly in charge of their own destiny. It was very good fun but I would hate to work in the casualty department of the local hospital. Some of the adults were clearly alcohol affected and the driving, which can be erratic at the best of times, gets demonstrably worse. Utes loaded with people sitting in the tray (sometimes more than 8) along with barrels of water (and any paraphernalia suitable for drenching) are driving up and down dowsing all and sundry. If you drive near a river, creek or other source of water the more enterprising will have set up pumps for sprinklers, hoses and refuelling stations for the utes. One bridge we crossed had us totally soaked in water as the hoses were set up for the Queen Mary was arriving and we drove through the water arches that ran for a good 200 meters. If you are on a motorbike you are a shot duck. It was clearly duck season. 

So that was Songkran. From the madness of new year to the amazing history to see. We headed to a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site containing the ancient ruins of the Sukhothai Kingdom, dating from the 13th &14th century. It has the remains of 26 temples and the royal palace. It is going green and no carbon using vehicles are allowed entry. There are 193 different sites spread over 70km2. The main ruins however are held in a 2 by 1.6 kilometre walled enclosure.

To get around it you can either walk (not an option in this oppressive climate), hire a bike and just enjoy the same problem as walking while moving at a slightly faster pace, hire a tuk tuk to drive you around, get on a hop on / hop off shuttle with a guide explaining things (in Thai) or hire an electric buggy and drive yourself, using Google and reading the signage. We went with the last option so Oui can say she has her own Tuk Tuk driver. We spent a very pleasant an extremely pleasant two hours tooling around, went back to the hotel for a dip and then enjoyed a Thai meal that was out of this world.

Riding The Rails

We went to a spectacular waterfall today, we got there by car, then train, then car and finally golf buggy. What a day.

There were a few sore heads when I awoke this morning and I was horrified to hear that two of our party didn’t present for work. We are days away from 13th April which is Songkran Day, the old Thai new year. Traditionally families return home to honour their ancestors and the young and old are purified with water. Those massive water fights you occasionally see on TV are part of the day. A visit to a temple to feed the monks is also part of the day and depending where you are in the country there are a variety of other ways to recognise the event. The good thing about this is that the absences can be hidden under the Songkran festivities. 

Did I mention that we had to take a train. This was ordinarily just going to be just Oui and I, but I think the novelty of having a big farong around has turned everything we do into an adventure. The trip to the waterfall was now a massive undertaking with seven of us now in the group. I love it. 

We headed out to the Kanchaburi train station for the 10.55am train to Nam Tok, one of our party Yei wasn’t up for another trip on an untested method transport (i.e. the train) and drove to the other end to meet us there. This turned out to be a blessing. Another of our party skipped ahead to purchase the tickets. It turned out for a Thai national the return trip was 16 Baht (about $0.80) for the big farong the cost was 100 Baht (about $5.00). Oui was not satisfied with these arrangement and spoke to one of the many uniformed men patrolling the train and got us an upgrade. For the princely sum of 700 Baht ($35.00) we were put in first class, given cool drinks, a souvenir ticket and the big farong got a gift box of goodies including another water, a Pepsi, a lemon tart and some Oreo cookies. 

Why do I keep banging on about this train? Well it runs on part of the old Thai / Burma railroad. You cross the bridge over the River Kwai. This was built by the Japanese during their occupation and repaired by them in 1947 as part of the war reparations following the damage caused by allied bombing. I got to cross it by train, you go through a very small cutting, cross bridges, see a massive viaduct all while following the beautiful River Kwai itself for much of the trip. 

We arrived at Nam Tok and Yei met us and I took the wheel for the drive to Erawan Waterfall. After about 50 km’s in the car we arrived, paid the farong entrance tax fee and 730 Baht later we were in. It is about a one kilometre walk from the car park to the first of the seven tiers of the falls. Or for a further 150 Baht you could be driven there in a golf buggy. We went with option two. The falls were stunning, the fish were startling and it is obviously much loved by the locals, it was packed. The water was refreshing and offered much needed respite from the 40 degree day that we were enjoying here along with the raging humidity. 

We drove back to Bo Phloi feeling cool and content. Tomorrow is Songkran Day so I am looking forward to seeing what that brings. 

It Floats

In the normal course of events I would travel miles to avoid a supermarket, any sort of market really. Today I drove for close to three hours to go to one. I didn’t buy anything but I still managed to drop over 1,200 Baht. It was an absolute hoot. 

We tried to set off at 8.00am but as our touring part kept expanding and we didn’t get away until close to 9.00am. Our first duty was to call in to one of Oui’s cousins who had just had a child. It has been really interesting to see how the local population lives. The family compound had three or four homes, a communal garage and their bread and butter, the piggery, all behind a secure fence with lockable gates. These guys were doing well for themselves and even though I don’t speak the language I caught a whisper of snobbery here. 

Our family duties done it was time for the floating markets. We pressed on and in about 30 minutes time we swung the Toyota into the car park of the Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets. More seasoned travellers would actually know what they are in for, me I had not a clue. Basically it a whole bunch of shops on the water’s edge and the only way to get to them is by boat. To add more colour there are long boats circulating along the canals offering their wares as well. The family was horrified that it cost 1,000 Baht to hire a long tail boat to traverse the markets so they negotiated the price down to 800. 

Oui and her family is not much used to the water. No one can really swim and the prospect of taking to an unsteady boat didn’t thrill them. The little fella who is not yet two kept on saying in Thai “Nutty scared, Nutty scared”. Grandma, who is 84, said this would be her first and last time. Me? I was having a riot. For a good hour we traversed up and down the canals looking at shops that had everything from tourist items, to food and drinks along with some genuine goods that you would find at a traditional local market. From there we headed into what is essentially a suburb populated by the local Chinese community, who live their lives here. I saw the washing getting done, someone bathing, the dishes being cleaned and what is no doubt essential if you choose to live your life this way, swimming lessons.

Once safely back on dry land we turned the car for home. That night we hit one of the local bars where a very indifferent band were working the crowd. The local constabulary turned up to try and shake down the operators and parked about eight of themselves out the front to scare off business. After about 45 minutes of this they either got paid or got bored, moved on and the drinks kept flowing. All in all a very satisfying day. 

Hellfire Pass

It is hard to put into words this experience. We drove for about two hours to reach our destination. From within the confines of our car the scenery was gorgeous. On arrival it was a stifling 41 degrees however in the shade of the beautifully manicured grounds of the Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre they were doing everything they could to shroud it. 

There is a simple but affective museum and display leading to gorgeously constructed pathways that take you to a place that once witnessed immense pain and suffering. There is an excellent audio guide and the staff at the centre are softly spoken, kind and polite as they gently immerse you in one of the true horrors of World War Two.

Upon descending some tastefully crafted hardwood walkways and stairs you are, without really knowing it, on the old rail line. The tracks and sleepers have long been removed. A bed of newly laid rock forms your path and then subtly the tragedy of the place emerges. Next to a bench that lets you take in the view are some of the original spikes that held the railway line to the sleepers. You move a little further along and a cutting appears, more construction paraphernalia is present. You look up and the top of the cutting is 23 meters above you, you forward and you look back and it is 75 meters long. On your right is an old drill bit that broke off as they tried to make a hole big enough to drop a stick of dynamite in to blow apart the granite. It is still embedded in the rock.

You reach then end of the cutting. It is just a minuscule part of the 415 kilometres of railway that was ultimately laid. There is a understated memorial, they are getting ready for Anzac Day. You are covered in sweat for your 30 minutes of exertion. The men who worked on its construction endured 17 months of this, through the wet and dry seasons, with just about nothing to take away the misery. There was never enough food, poor access to clean water, no medical supplies, no clothes (the ones they arrived in rotted in the tropics and they worked in makeshift loin cloths often without boots), no tools and no basic sanitation. The lives lost ran into the tens of thousands with 12,000 plus among the POW’s and perhaps more than ten times that by the forced labourers known as the Romusha.

It is frightening to see what man can inflict on his fellow man. It is a lesson I trust the entire world will learn and may it never be repeated again. 

Colonel Bogey March

This one will be brief. We spent the day catching up with Oui’s family and just doing the general running around that large busy family do. Anyway we had to go in to Kanchanburi for a number of reasons and out of the blue Oui said do you wan’t to go to the bridge over the River Kwai? I said “sure, how far is it?” thinking we had some ways to travel. The answer however was if you take the next left its at the end of the street.

So I found myself walking across the River Kwai bridge made famous by the David Lean film. If you think I could stop myself from whistling the Colonel Bogey March you would be wrong. I should say the film is basically a fiction. The prisoners were treated in a far worse manner than shown in the movie, the British didn’t collaborate on building the bridge faster, in fact they actively sabotaged it. The final insult, the bridge used in the movie is actually in Sri Lanka and not Thailand at all. 

Tomorrow I will actually get to walk in the footsteps of hero’s as we head to Hellfire Pass. I spent a good deal of my early career helping veterans commemorate what they went through ensuring our freedom and way of life. I had the privilege of knowing Mr Joe Coombes a prisoner of war who worked on the railway. One day he honoured me by sharing some of his memories of his life there. He was even incarcerated in Japan and saw one of the atomic blasts. He has no doubt now left this mortal coil but I will be thinking of him as I walk in his footsteps.

The Giant Prawns of Ayutthaya

There is a local delicacy. It’s a giant prawn. They are found near the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya and like the name suggests they are huge, about the size of your forearm. These are not cheap, even by western standards so it is something of a treat to be eating them. 

However before we got to lunch we checked out an ancient temple dating back to the 1357, the Wat Yai Mongkhon. It has a giant reclining Buddha and a number of Stupas containing different relics used for various acts of worship or meditation. It was pushing 38 degrees when we got there with a relative humidity of 65%. I felt like I was walking in a hot bath. The tourists were fairly thin on the ground but a healthy swath of locals were in attendance. The interpretive signage was is in Thai and English but the calendar they used was the Buddhist one so a little tricky for me to figure out on the spot. I didn’t get anywhere near the feel for the place as I did in Angkor Wat but it was definitely worth the visit. Like Cambodia there are temples scattered all over the place in various states of ruin. Fortunately unlike Cambodia the fear of setting off an old land mine was not ever present. 

From the heart of Ayuttaya to the banks of the Chao Phraya River where we went to dine on the aforementioned giant prawns. We got a little lost trying to find the place, also it didn’t help that one of us used a Phnom Penh address in the sat nav. Before long we found ourselves on the edge of the river elevated over the water watching jet skis, river barges and an assortment of aquatic activities taking place as we feasted on these fresh water crustaceans. I could smell them as we walking in from the car park, just like barbecued prawns back home and yes they were massive. This is one time a picture does paint 1,000 words. 

We still had a little under two hours to go before we hit our destination Bo Phloi in the Kanchanaburi province and guess what the province is famous for? No less than the Bridge Over the River Kwai, made famous by the William Holden and Alec Guinness. Can’t wait to get there.