Aerial view of collapsed Bangkok building courtesy: Bangkok Post
The news out of Thailand
is horrific. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit central Myanmar has killed
over 3,000 people in that country. Relief efforts have been hampered by the ongoing civil war.
In Bangkok a building under construction
collapsed killing 29 workers with 77 still missing.
We were just in
Thailand, and I was beginning to write about Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai that was part of our “Discover
Thailand” excursion with Overseas Adventure Travels company (OAT), when the
earthquake struck.
Sadly, whatever I write
about our experiences in Thailand now needs to be tempered with the realization
that what Janet and I have seen may have been damaged in the earthquake.
Two good sources of
information about the current situation can be found at The Nation Thailand an
English news website for breaking Thai news and the Bangkok Post. Today the Post is reporting that in Thailand there are 34 badly damaged buildings.
Southeast Asia is
considered one of the world's most geologically "active" areas in the
world. On Boxing Day, December 26, 2004, an earthquake even more powerful than
last week’s, struck off the island of Sumatra triggering a tsunami that killed
230,000 people.
damage from the Mae Lao quake
On August 3, 2014, the Mae Lao earthquake struck, the epicenter
a few miles away from Chiang Rai and near the airport there. Chiang Rai was
another destination on our Thailand road trip. Just one person was killed in
that quake, though the Mae Lao earthquake caused USD $61.8 million in damages.
Fingers crossed things
are okay at least in Thailand. We contacted our trip leader for our Discover
Thailand excursion via WhatsApp and he was already on another tour in
Sukhothai, though his wife was still in Bangkok. Details about further damage
in Thailand, other than what occurred in Bangkok are sketchy. The U.S. State
Department as of March 31st has said the aftershocks (which are
typical) have only affected Myanmar, but not Thailand.
If you are considering
travel to Thailand, or any foreign destinations follow the U.S. State Department
on Facebook or Twitter for updates on fluid situations or enroll in their Smart
Traveler Emergency Program or STEP program. This free service allows U.S.
citizens to enroll their trip abroad so the Department of State can accurately
and quickly contact them in case of emergency.
If you care to donate, the Red Cross and Red Crescent are providing aid as well as Bangkok
Community Help. They are accepting money and second hand items not just for Bangkok, but for Myanmar as well.
Having just returned from
Thailand a little more than a week ago, the horrific news about the 7.7
earthquake whose epicenter was in Myanmar, but toppled buildings in Bangkok, is
especially troubling. The death toll is approximately 1,000, but expected to
rise in Myanmar, a country already in the throes of a civil war.
In Bangkok a building
under construction near the Chatuchak Day Market, which we were at on our
last day in the capital, collapsed and at least 6 people are missing and
presumed dead.
We contacted Sek, our
OAT Trip Leader through WhatsApp and he is safe and already back in Sukhothai
on his next tour, though his family is still in Bangkok, reportedly safe. Sek
is originally from Chiang Rai and says his family there was unaffected by the
quake, although the quake and aftershocks were felt in most of Thailand’s provinces.
Chatuchak Day Market
According to Thai officials,
there was some damage to residential buildings, hospitals and temples in the
north in Chiang Mai. I am currently writing about our visit to this walled
city, once the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. The only human casualties in Thailand
have been at the Bangkok construction site.
Chatuchak Day Market
Not sure if this is the same building that collapsed in Bangkok that's in the background.
THE WORLD RESPONDS
Humanitarian aid from
China, Russia, South Korea, Malaysia, India and the United Nations have either
sent rescuers and supplies or have provided money to help in the efforts. The United
States has said the will help in the efforts as well.
This is still an
extremely fluid situation, if I learn anything more, I will pass it on here.
Everywhere we have
traveled a bit of that destination adds to our soul and it makes our hearts ache
when disasters like this happen, especially so close to our leaving.
We stopped in Sukhothai
for two nights to specifically visit the Sukhothai Historical Park, a UNESCO
World Heritage site, and to visit the Baan Pho Tanod village school as part of
OAT’s Grand Circle Foundation.
รุ่งอรุณแห่งความสุข
Between the 13th
and 15th centuries Sukhothai was the capital of the first Kingdom of
Siam under King Ramkhamhaeng, considered the founding father of the Thai
nation. The King is also credited with inventing the Thai script (using curving
seed pods for accents). It’s called the Sukhothai script, and it is still being
used today.
Here Theravada Buddhism
flourished under the king and many monasteries were commissioned. Theravadan Buddhism
is the predominate Buddhist way in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar and means “the
way of the elders” and has been practiced for millennia.
Sukhothai Historical Park
Subsequent rulers to
Ramkhamhaeng had more temples built. Fittingly Sukhothai translates to “Dawn of
Happiness.”
The kingdom of Sukhothai
was strategically located for trade with China and Japan and had much to offer.
The fertile lands yielded abundant crops, but the land was also rich with gold
and gemstones, and skilled artisans would create Sanghkalok ware ceramics for
export.
There are still ceramic
factories in Sukhothai. They are mostly family operations who have passed down
the business for generations. OAT didn’t take us to a kiln, but here's more
about the ceramics if you’re so inclined to visit.
The Sukhothai
Historical Park is the main tourist draw for the town and on the grounds are several
Buddhist temples with several different representations of Buddha.
We stayed at a boutique
hotel around the corner from the entrance. The rooms of Le Charme Sukhothai overlooked
lush grounds and ponds with Lilly pads and little bridges and flowers
everywhere.
We went to the historical
park twice, once during the day to walk around the well-maintained Buddhist
temples. Then later that evening we were fortunate to see the same temples colorfully
lit. The festive light show was held every weekend in February through to March
2.
The beauty of traveling
with Overseas Adventure Travels is that they have us interact with the
communities that we visit. We’re not just going to gawk at the people who live
there. OAT supports these communities through donations and at times much needed
repairs. In the case of the Baan Pho Tanod village school OAT had come in, before
our visit, and repaired the leaking roof of the school’s commissary. Early in
our trip to Thailand we were asked if we would like to donate $20 pp to
purchase a ping pong table for the school, which we readily complied.
Our guides at Baan Pho Tanod
Paying it
forward / จ่ายมันไปข้างหน้า
The gift was unveiled
when we toured the school the second day in Sukhothai.
We were greeted by two
young girls and a boy who served as translators, although the boy had more fun
kicking stones and bouncing around.
We first visited the kindergarten
class where the children delighted in affixing heart stickers on our clothes
and arms. I got one stuck to my forehead.
We then visited the
preschoolers. School uniforms were not worn by these younger children, but they
pranced around and begged us to lift them, shrieking happily with every ride.
One boy who started crying
when he bumped his head quieted when I put one of heart stickers on his arm. Paying
it forward.
We then made our way to
the pavilion where the ping pong table was unboxed and set up. Everyone got a
chance to play a couple of rounds.
It was a wonderful stop.
THE BEGINNING OF ONE’S
JOURNEY TO NIRVANA / ทางไหนที่จะไปสู่พระนิพพาน
Before we visited the
school, we went pre-dawn to Wat Traphang Thong to give alms to the monks. The temple
is on a man-made island in the middle of a reservoir, the banks were decorated
with colorful lanterns.
Wat Traphang Thong
We crossed the wooden
causeway to listen to the praying monks inside the temple before returning to
the bridge to sit and await the monks. There were very explicit instructions on
how to sit (without pointing our feet at the monks) and when we stood to be
sure our heads were bowed as the monks neared our congregation.
The bridge was
also lit by yellow lanterns, and I felt humble in the cool pre-dawn morning.
waiting on the monks
วัดตระพังทอง
After their morning
prayers these Theravadan monks embarked on their daily piṇḍacāra or almsround, where
they walk through town with their alms bowl covered by their outer robe to make
themselves available to worshipers who wish to contribute food. It is forbidden
in Theravada to accept money.
Almsround is important
to Theravada, as it shows humility and dependence on the community while rejecting
material wealth. As a layperson giving alms is a way of showing respect to the
monks. It’s not considered charity but as a way of beginning one’s own journey
to Nirvana.
OAT provided each of us
a pre-packaged food kit to present to the monks. There were perhaps 8 or 9
monks who shuffled slowly over the wooden causeway and when one of our number
motioned silently to a monk, he would open his outer robe, and we would place
the kit of fruits in the bowl and give a Wai, making sure our fingertips
reached our foreheads as a sign of ultimate respect. The monk then would hand the
kit to a layperson who would place the goods in a larger basket and continue
along.
monk worthy meal kits
Later that morning we
were given 20 Baht notes and a shopping list by our trip leader, Sek, to purchase
ingredients for the lunch that would be prepared for us after our school visit.
Outside of the market there was a monk with his alms bowl. We would see monks
on piṇḍacāra several more times during our tour of Thailand.
We recently went on a “Discover
Thailand” excursion with Overseas Adventure Travels (OAT). Over 15 days we
traveled from Bangkok to Chiang Rai and towns in between like Kanchanaburi and
Nakron Sawan and Sukhothai, were endearing stopovers. We saw much of Thailand,
but we were on the road a lot.
The direct route from
Bangkok to Chiang Rai is about 500 miles, but we also took a lot of side trips.
So doing a quick estimate using google maps and putting in all our
destinations, I figured we drove just under 1,000 miles.
What does this mean?
Lots of pee breaks.
YOU CAN GET THERE FROM
HERE
Though we were on the
road a lot, OAT thankfully broke up the days with plenty of stops at the
seemingly ubiquitous PTT stations located throughout Thailand.
PTT is the largest
gasoline franchise in the country, with over 2,100 stations, but pee stops at a
PTT are so much more. They were a joy to stop at and not just because the
bathrooms were sparkling. Every PTT was like a miniature mall with shops and
restaurants, some brand names like Pizza Hut and some local, and they varied
from station to station. There were also little kiosks selling street food. All
of it was at a very reasonable cost.
Cafe Amazon at a PTT station
There were two constants
at every PTT. There was always a 7-Eleven convenience store (there are over
4,000 of the franchises throughout Thailand. And, there was always a chance to
get great inexpensive coffee at an Amazon Coffee Shop. Amazon Coffee is owned
by PTT.
Now even though at each
stop our trip leader, Sek, would give us 10 minutes for the stop we would
invariably linger over coffee or Sek would get excited about the morsels
prepared at different kiosks. He would engage with the owners, relate their
personal stories to us and then get us to help make whatever it was they were
making, like rice ball confections. Everything was a learning experience for us
and always the proprietors were pleasant and pleased that we stopped by.
Making something we ate
To stop at a PTT
station in Thailand can even be described as pleasant. Some had whimsical
decorative statues and sometimes there were also small, well-attended parks with
koi ponds and bridges. There was even a small motel on the premises of one
station. It’s not a bad place to stop when you need to go.
And, have I
mentioned the bathrooms are sparkling?
OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL
GO
Now just to be clear
OAT didn’t just have us stop at PTT convenience centers to get from here to
there. Here’s a quick list of things we stopped for between stopping for PTT
stations on our way to our next destination. Because, you know it’s not just
the destination but the journey itself.
The Floating Market of Damnoen
Saduak:
overlooking the floating market
Touted as a must-see
experience when visiting Bangkok, Thailand, just under 60 miles away from the
city. The vendors display their fruits and vegetables while sitting in long boats.
It’s a bit touristy, with visitors crowded on similar boats to take a rush hour
cha-cha on the water, but our trip leader delighted in educating us to the
various foods available. We bought some palm sugar for home, but sampled everything
from jack fruit to apple bananas, to pomelo. Pomelo is native to southeast Asia
and is like a grapefruit, but not as tart.
The market was mid-way
between Bangkok and Kanchanaburi, where the “Bridge Over the River Kwai” is located
and where we stopped for lunch.
Harvesting Water Chestnuts
at Wang Yang District in Suphan Buri:
We visited a farm that
grows water chestnuts and were invited to help. Donning waders and long gloves I
was tasked to dig up the mud with my toes and toss clumps of it into a pile so
others could separate the chestnuts.
OOPS
I fell in the mud, as
did another of our group. I’m tall, my center of gravity was a lot higher than
the short Thai woman who was showing me what to do, so that’s my story and I’m
sticking to it.
They hosed us down, fed
us lunch and even washed our clothes.
Visiting
a Lotus Farm in Sawankhalok:
The age-old question is
who is smarter; the guy with a PhD or someone who learns how to do things from
YouTube? We had a very informative stop at the Pirachat Lotus Farm in
Sawanholok.
The owner was running a parking lot in Bangkok and decided to go
for the country life, sort of like Green Acres and started this Lotus farm. The
Lotus flower is revered in Buddhism and his cottage industry is lucrative and
he learned how to tend to these water flowers from YouTube videos.
Turns out the stems are
tasty.
The Lotus Farm
An overnight stop
Nakhon Sawan:
OAT had added this
overnight stop in Nakhon Sawan when driving straight through to Chiang Mai, the
next destination in our “Discover Thailand” trip proved to be too arduous. The name
translates to “Heavenly City”, but there are no tourist attractions in Nakhon Sawan.
Yet, the city was a great stop because after we checked into our hotel for the
night, we were driven over to Sawan Park.
There, we joined countless Thais running
and exercising and enjoying the cooler night air. Janet and several others in
our group danced to music (something we had experienced in Hanoi last year) and
we watched guys playing Sepak Takraw, kick volleyball, and got beaten badly by
a kid we challenged to a game of bocci ball.
Visited a Buddha
sculptor in Phitsanulok:
To visit the “factory” in
Phitsanulok is free. We got a quick introduction to the process of creating
molds and casting Buddha statues, and saw various statues in the workshop in
varying degrees of completion.
Turns out representations
of Buddha can take many forms and you can tell where the statue was made by
certain features. In the area of Phitsanulok Buddha is depicted with a flaming
halo. We were able to buy a small version of Buddha for our “Buddha table” at
home.
Chatted with a monk at Wat
Suan Dok:
Before departing Chiang
Mai, a lively town that brimmed with lots of western tourists, we stopped at
Wat Suan Dok, a Buddhist temple. We walked the grounds, but before we left OAT had
arranged for us a “Monk chat”.
Monk chat
The monk, who wore sunglasses indoors and called
everyone “dear” as he lectured us about Buddhism, wrote out informative
snippets about this peaceful way of life on a whiteboard. He then opened it up
to questions and Janet elbowed me hard in the ribs when I tried to ask about
the sunglasses.
Wat Suan Dok
All kidding aside it
was yet another great OAT stop.
Visited the Kayan tribe
and the Long Neck Village:
The Kayan people are a
hill tribe that has have fled persecution in Myanmar (Burma) and are not Thai
citizens. As refugees they are poor and rely on tourism. They are called Long Neck
because the women wear rings around their neck to give an elongated appearance
and it is this “fashion statement” that brings the tourism dollars they need.
Before we boarded
trucks to take us to the Elephant EcoValley ‘zoo’, where we got to interact with and
bathe elephants, we stopped at one of the Long Neck villages, although we
really only explored a row of kiosks along a 200-yard stretch of a rough road.
We never got to visit the “village” per se.
It was a bit unnerving
for me, it was like visiting a human zoo. The Kayan (or Karen) women posed for
pictures before their wares with no real expectations of sales, their beautiful
faces stoic their eyes looking through us. The kiosks housed various home-made
and mass-produced trinkets and cloth weavings.
Some of the women
steadied toddlers on their knee, some invited our group to pose for pictures
wearing similar detachable neck rings.
We felt compelled to
purchase something to dispel the notion that these people were being exploited.
It is a popular tourist draw though and after reading about their plight we
thought it was a good stop. As refugees, their freedoms are restricted, and employment,
especially for the women, is prohibited. Every Baht is appreciated and a return
to Myanmar for them is out of the question.
Here is an informative
video about why one should visit the Kayan.
Visited the Thai Silk Village
in Chiang Mai:
We got an introduction
to sericulture, the process of cultivating and procuring silk from silkworms at the Thai Silk Village. They demonstrated the process that has been going on for thousands of years. Got up close and
personal to some of the critters and watched some of the artisans getting silk
thread from the cocoons and others weaving it. It was then onto the store where
I had to purchase a silk Aloha shirt….of course.
We knew Thailand’s role
in the Second World War would come up during our travels here and so we did
some research by watching the film, The Bridge on the River Kwai. Starring
Sir Alec Guinness and William Holden, the David Lean film won several Oscars
and was about the British helping build an integral link on the Siam-Burma
Railway during WWII.
The film was slammed by
those who lived through the ordeal as not coming close to the appalling working
conditions and extremely cruel treatment by the Japanese. Australian, British, Dutch
and some American POWs and more than 200,000 indentured local civilians worked
and died building what was dubbed the Death Railway.
bridge over the River Kwai
It is estimated that 20
men died each day, succumbing to malnutrition and disease, exhaustion, no
medical treatment and ferocious beatings by the Japanese guards. Though the
film won several Oscars and was a good start in learning something about this
part of history, it failed to prepare us for the extreme sadness we experienced
on our next stop on our recent tour of Thailand.
DEATH RAILWAY
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
The railway is still
active as a tourist transport from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, where the bridge over
the River Kwai was built. There were two bridges erected at this now idyllic
town lined with cafes and restaurants.
The first bridge was wooden and could carry
light diesel rail trucks to transport construction
materials while a reinforced concrete bridge was built 100 meters away. That bridge used repurposed metal sections the Japanese took from Java.
Both bridges were bombed mercilessly by the
Allies, and despite the cost of human lives the Death Rail, that was meant to
serve as a land route to move supplies as the U.S. choked off sea lanes, only carried
two Japanese divisions and just 500,000 tons of supplies before VJ day ended
the war in Asia.
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
Because of the
popularity of the film though the bridges became a major tourist attraction,
and a tourist train will cross the river and travel to Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi
where it ends. Nearby is the Sai Yok Noi park and waterfall where families come
to escape busy Bangkok and to enjoy nature. In this park there is a replica of the metal bridge that is a pedestrian path and a small market catering to visitors.
The metal bridge itself
is a popular tourist destination and pedestrians can walk on it over the river,
even when the train slowly makes its way across.
AT WHAT COST?
Hellfire pass Interpretive Ctr
It is estimated that 16,000
Allied POWs and over 90,000 civilians forced into labor by the Japanese died in
building the railway. Many were buried near where they fell. After the war the
bodies of Australian, English and Dutch POWs were reinterred in several
cemeteries.
On our way to the bridge where we had lunch at a restaurant
overlooking the infamous span, we first stopped to pay our respects at the
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. There are approximately 5,000 soldiers from the
Commonwealth and 1,850 Dutch casualties commemorated at Kanchanaburi. There are
two other military cemeteries honoring those who perished building the Death
Rail. Chungkai is in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat is in Myanmar (Burma).
HELLFIRE PASS
Hellfire Pass
After the war much of
the railway was abandoned and even ripped up and the jungle took over the
remnants, but in the 80’s veterans returned to the area to look for the sites
that caused them so much duress in their youth. They eventually found the
cutting called the Hellfire Pass.
It was 75 meters long and 25 meters deep
through solid rock. Working 18 hours a day through the night with torches
lighting their work with just rudimentary tools, the scene of the Allied and
indentured servants looked like a scene straight out of hell. It took six weeks to complete and workers died from exhaustion and disease, accidents and
beatings by the Japanese.
One veteran, Tom Morris, who helped clear the Hellfire Pass from underbrush, approached the Australian government so as to preserve this infamous site. Eventually the Hellfire Pass Interpretive Center and Memorial Walking Trail was
created.
Hellfire Pass
It was dedicated on ANZAC Day, April 25, 1998 and the center and
memorial walk are sobering reminders of the horrors the men went through. As
part of our visit, we listened to an audio tour and walked the cutting where mementos
of heroes past lined the steep walls.
To read more about the
Hellfire Pass go here: HELLFIRE PASS
GLAMPING AMID THE
HORROR
Because of the tragic
history of the area, it was almost embarrassing to enjoy luxury “glamping” at
the Hintok River Camp @ Hellfire Pass. We stayed in spacious air-conditioned
tents with private baths and a front porch. There was a coffee shop on the grounds,
a natural spring fed pool, and a floating patio with sunbeds to hang by the
river to enjoy the views. We had buffet-style dinners in the open air and there
was a full bar and staff waiting for our drink orders.
We stayed at the Hintok
River Camp for two days, traveling there afterKanchanaburi and using it as a base for
an excursion to the Interpretive Center and Memorial Walk and then a longboat
ride down the Kwai passing water buffalos and other even more luxurious bungalows
floating on the river to have lunch at a restaurant in Nam Tok where a flaming
dish of morning glory, Thai water spinach, was as entertaining to watch being
prepared as it was delicious to eat.
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