Oct 2007

We arrived in Kanchanaburi, Thailand early in the morning after a few days decompressing in Bangkok. We decided to take the third-class, hard-seater train, which turned out to be wonderful- with no A/C, there were great opportunities to gaze out the gigantic windows, watching Thai life fly by. The best part of the train journey (this being Thailand,) were the food vendors who would slip on the train and ride for a little while, selling their goodies. Sate grilled chicken and little baggies of steamed rice- absolutely heavenly.

The Lonely Planet, ever our trusted guide, promised that Kanchanaburi would be a convenient "catch basin" for travelers over-whelmed by big sister Bangkok, with plenty of historical and cultural sights to keep us busy. Kanchanaburi is also a good jumping off point to enjoy the "softer side" of Thai trekking and outdorsy activities, with plenty of forests, waterfalls and (sadly) elephant trekking opportunities within a stone's throw. Perhaps the town is most infamous, though, (aside for being The Place for loud, obnoxious, unbelievably decibled karaoke for Bangkokians on weekends) for being the eastern terminus of the notorious "death railway," a demanding, deadly rail route that was constructed to link Thailand with Burma/present-day Myanmar as a Japanese supply-line during the second world war. The railway was built by captured Allied POWs and conscripted Asian laborers and it is estimated that almost 100,000 prisoners and forced laborers died at the hands of their brutal Japanese captors. The story of the death railway was immortalized in Pierre Boulle's book "The Bridge Over the River Kwai" and a movie of the same name. The bridge itself, several museums, and some respectfully maintained cemeteries are all popular sights associated with the railway. Another big draw for Kanchanaburi is the nearby "Tiger Temple." More on that, later.

Upon arrival at the train station, we immediately sensed a noticeable downshift in pace and stress level. Cyclo drivers peddled by, fruit vendors lazed under umbrellas, half-heartedly calling out "buy something?", and the motorbike traffic was sporadic and casual. Per usual, we had no destination in mind, so we just started walking in the general direction of downtown and waited for fate to intervene. It eventually did, in the persistent and kind form of "Jon," an elderly cyclo driver with a brochure for every guesthouse in town. It is quite an art, as a cyclo driver, street vendor, or taxi driver to be able to nab a customer. Typically we are untrusting and just keep walking, but we liked and trusted Jon instantly. He wheeled us (and our packs) on his bike to Blue Star, a great guesthouse on the riverside with bungalows and rooms on offer. We dug it, and voila- home for the next few nights. We immediately set about arranging activities for the rest of the afternoon and first on the list was a visit to the controversial, unique, bizarre Tiger Temple.

The Tiger Temple, or Wat Luang Ta Bua Yanna Sampanno, has an interesting story. Paraphrased perhaps most accurately from the guidebook, "what could quite possibly be one of the worst tourist traps in history is actually an incredible photo opportunity." This couldn't be further from the truth. This forest monastery, about a 45 minute drive out of Kanchanaburi is a veritable petting zoo for, you guessed it, tigers. The temple adopted its first tiger cub 8 years ago after discovering that its mother had been killed by poachers and soon other orphan tigers were brought to the monks for care. Currently 10 tigers live at the monastery. In the afternoons, the tigers are released from their cages for exercise and napping in the shade of the canyons on the premises. Visitors are unbelievably allowed to be photographed up-close with the unrestrained tigers while they nap and rest in the shade, and touch and pet them as well. This is not without controversy, though- although the temple has been lauded as a wonderful outreach effort for these endangered big boys and featured on Animal Planet and National Geographic, critics speculate that the price for admission is too high and whisper that the monks are using the money on superfluous purchases for themselves. Regardless, an opportunity to take a photo and meet a tiger up close? Not an experience we wanted to miss:

the main monk who works magic on the tigers...

sleepy

almost looks like a house cat, eh?

Megan and Catt walking with the tigers

Catt and the tiger

Megan with the tiger cub

okay, it was a little bit scary. just a little.

the canyon, where we visited the tigers

After the visit, we felt a little bit conflicted. True, it had been amazing to see the giants up close. But we worried that the repeated impact of subjecting them to hundreds of tourist visitors, day after day, could have a toll on the psychological well-being of creatures that are intended, really, to be left in the wild. In an imperfect world, though, this seemed like a better solution than most. The monks also claim to be constructing a "floating island," where the tigers will be able to live without cages in the future. We discussed this, and more, with new Kiwi friends Pascal and Sandra over beers that night. They have been travelling for three months and normally work for a kayaking company near Able Tasman National Park, in the northern part of the South Island (nearish to Nelson.) It was great meeting you guys, and can't wait to catch up in NZ this summer!

The next few days we mostly devoted to visiting sights associated with the Death Railway, which was an emotionally steeling experience. There are some very well-preserved museums in Kanchanaburi- namely, the Thailand-Burma Railway Center and the JEATH Museum. Both museums succeed in offering unbiased, historical background on the construction of the bridge, and its role in the greater context of WW2. After the museum visits, we rented bicycles and took to the countryside to check out the Allied War Cemetery, the Chung Kai Allied War Cemetery and Wat Tham Khao Pun. The War Cemetery was formerly a POW camp and the plaques bear short epitaphs for the Dutch, British, French and Australian soldiers that perished during the construction of the railway. All of the American dead were transported back to the US at the end of the war for burial at Arlington.

The bike ride was great- flat road, mostly through sugarcane fields. We had a chance to see village life, and the weather was beautiful. Wat Tham Khao Pun was interesting, as well- apparently this quiet cave temple played host to a violent murder of a British tourist in 1995, when a drug-addicted monk murdered the traveler in the cave passages. It is said that the cave was also used by the Japanese to torture and imprison Allied soldiers during WW2. Knowledge of this background makes the journey through the subterranean passageways, filled with Buddha images, a bit harrowing.

Last of all we visited the Bridge itself. The little railway bridge is actually quite small, and mostly a reproduction- the Allies bombed out the first version in 1945. Parts of the bridge are still from the original construction, though.

Here are some pictures from Kanchanaburi:

"Ahh, the perfect souvenir... megnets...

Local Bar, Kanchanaburi

maintaining the Allied War Cemetery

Blue Star Bungalows

Memorial at the Bridge over the River Kwai

A poster depicting Thai massage techniques, or "the beat down" massage, as Catt likes to call it. Ouch!

After Kanchanaburi, we headed back to Bangkok to catch our flight to one of our favorite spots so far, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Stay tuned!

After fleeing the rains of Southern Thailand, we found ourselves on another sleeper train- this time, the 12 hour stretch between Surat Thani, and Bangkok. We had a major splurge and got a private sleeper for two, comfort the likes of which we hadn't seen yet in a guesthouse, let alone on a train. Kind of.

Beware the trains of Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok early the next morning well-rested and ready to do some sight-seeing. We were greeted by a brilliant blue sky, hot weather, and bright sunshine.

Based on stories we had heard, we were braced to dislike Bangkok. The hawkers, the prostitutes, the general seediness of the place- not our style. Actually, though, we found it to be a great place for convenience, unbelievable fruit shakes, fun souveneirs, and beautiful wats. We had a hassle-free cab ride to our guesthouse near the Kho San Road backpacker haven, New Siam I, and set out to explore some of the well known sights of the city: Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho, the Amulet Market, and the Jim Thompson House.

Wat Phra Kaew was our first stop. Lonely Planet dubs it "an architectural wonder and home to the venerable Emerald Buddha. Adjoining the temple is the former residence of the monarch, the Grand Palace. The grounds were consecrated in 1782 and today is a pilgrimmage destination for devout Buddhists and nationalists." The Emerald Buddha has an interesting history. Despite its small size, it holds a prominent and venerated position in Thai Buddhism. Actually composed entirely of jasper quartz and jade (not emerald), it was just another Buddha statue until the plaster protecting it was cracked in a fall in 15th-century Chiang Rai, revealing its luminescent green interior. The Buddha was stolen by Lao invaders in the mid-16th century, only to be retreived and taken back to Thonburi and later Bangkok when Thailand's King Taksin waged war against Laos in later years. We actually saw a temple (now empty) that had been built to house the Emerald Buddha in Luang Prabang, Laos when we were there. Seems like insofar as Lao-Thai history is concerned, the poor Laotians usually got the short end of the stick.

Despite the interesting history, it is a bit difficult to understand the hype of this diminutive statue when compared with the larger, grander sculptures.

Here are some pictures of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace:

Megan with newfound favorite animal, Thai elephants

Megan and Catt at the Grand Palace

Devotees burning incense at Wat Phra Kaew and applying gold leaf to Buddha images

Extensive murals of the Ramakian, the Thai version of the epic Ramayana, grace the interior walls of the compound. They were being restored when we visited. Here are some photos:

After Wat Phra Keow and the Grand Palace, we headed to Wat Pho to check out the highly impressive, massive, gold-plated reclining Buddha housed there. The grounds of Wat Pho contain over 1,000 Buddha images, many from the former Thai capitals of Ayuthaya and Sukothai. There were also some great sculptures of Buddhas doing different yogaic poses used for instruction for the monks in the wat for their self-practice. Here are some pictures of Wat Pho:

the reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Buddhist Yoga Sculpture:

After Wat Pho, we headed over to check out the famous teakwood home of Jim Thompson, the American known for bringing Thai silk to the rest of the world. He has an incredibly interesting life, and an architecturally fascinating home as a hybrid of Western and Eastern structural and design concepts. He disappeared without a trace (no one knows how he died) in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia- which we visited in August- in 1967. Here is a quick bio from the website for the house, www.jimthompsonhouse.com:

Jim Thompson was born in Greenville, Delaware in 1906. He attended public schools in Wilmington, went on to boarding school at St. Paul's and attended Princeton University, the family university, from 1924 to 1928.

Although Thompson had a keen interest in art, he chose to become an architect and went on to study architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a practicing architect in New York City until 1940.

During the Second World War, Thompson was assigned to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a move which offered him an opportunity to see more of the world.

However the war ended abruptly as Thompson and the other OSS men were en route to Bangkok. A few weeks later, he assumed the duties of OSS station chief. In late 1946, he received orders to return to the States to receive his military discharge.

Thompson was confident that with peace restored and the expansion of air travel, there would be a significant increase in leisure travel to the Far East. Upon their arrival in the capital, these travelers would need acceptable accommodation.

Few hotels in Bangkok could then even be considered of international standard. Only one had an ideal location -- the old Oriental, a former palace overlooking the Chao Phraya River that flowed through the capital.

It was a meeting place for travelers and a social center for the foreign community. Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward and Somerset Maugham were just a few of its famous patrons. Excited by the prospects presented, Thompson became actively involved in the reorganization of the Oriental Hotel.

By this time, Thompson had developed a certain fondness for the country and its people. He began to seriously contemplate settling down and going into business in Thailand. He foresaw a promising future for the country and wanted to be a part of this process. He decided that upon leaving the service, he would return and take up residence in Thailand permanently.

Soon after his return to Bangkok, Thompson turned his attention to Thai silk.

With his natural flair for design and color, and driven by his single-minded dedication to reviving the craft, Thompson soon gained worldwide recognition for his success in rebuilding the industry, for generating international demand for Thai silk and for contributing to the growth of the silk industry.

During the Easter weekend in 1967, Thompson disappeared while on holiday with friends in Cameron Highlands, a northern Malaysian resort. An extensive and extended search failed to reveal any clues about his disappearance.

The house itself has not really been changed since Thompson occupied it 40 years ago. It consists of a complex of six traditional Thai-style houses, all teak structures that were purchased from several owners and brought to the present location from various parts of Thailand to be integrated into one home for Thompson. The tour was very interesting- our guide pointed out funny details, like the frog-shaped chamber pot hidden in one of the bedrooms, and the elevated doorframes to "keep out ghosts" from certain rooms. It was not allowed to take pictures inside the house, but here are some we snapped from the surrounding gardens:

Evenings in Bangkok we would stroll around shopping for necessary items like fisherman pants, funky tee-shirts and dirt-cheap jewelry. Here are some random shots:

Catt going for the chop in Bangkok. Hellooo, monkhood!

The infamous Khao San Road, perhaps the biggest backpackers' haunt in all of Asia

The Thai King is everywhere... and every Monday, the entire country wears yellow polo shirts to celebrate his birthday. No kidding.

[i]Massage chair at the VIP movie theater in Bangkok. Unreal.

Our favorite thing about Bangkok was definitely the food. Each night you could easily wander the streets and get delicious, freshly cooked-up pad thai chicken for 70 cents, mango and sticky rice for 50 cents, lemon and mint shakes for 50 cents, freshly squeezed bottles of OJ for 30 cents, and green coconut curry with rice for $1. The Thais are a culinary people, and the pride they have for their food is obvious. And we are just fine with that, especially after shovelling down plate after plate of uninspiring nasi goreng and bakmi goreng in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Perhaps second to the food were the movie theaters. As a splurge activity (and because we had been waiting to see a pirated version on one of the many bus rides we took in Malaysia, but that day never came,) we decided to go see Bourne Supremacy at a posh "VIP" movie theater. We thought this meant A/C and reclining seats. Apparently it also meant a complimentary "welcome drink" in a lounge that trumps Lima Lounge and ESL in DC, a 15 minute massage by a weirdly accurate chair (see Catt's pic above) a private, enclosed leather "love seat" that reclines to a bed for usage during the film, and gourmet popcorn. The experience cost 2 or 3 bucks more than a typical ticket in the USA. The best part was having to stand for the Thai anthem at the beginning of the feature. And everyone thinks Americans are patriotic?!

Funny things about Bangkok: the "nana" couples. A "nana" couple is a couple that is ethnically blended- one older (and usually kind of unattractive/"can't put your finger on it" creepy) Western dude, with a younger, tiny little Thai woman. They are everywhere in Bangkok, to the point that it actually becomes strange to see an older Western man with an older Western woman. Also for some reason there is a strangely high number of young Korean tourists. Catt was able to spy on everything they said. Usually it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Lastly, the activity that every backpacker seems to go for is the dreaded hair extension look- no pun intended. Tourists of all ages can easily be seen roaming the alleyways of BKK with crazily coulored, frayed tresses sticking out in every which way. This look, coupled with sunglasses at night is really a winner. One night while sharing a jug of beer we had a competition to see if there were more Koreans, nana couples, or ridiculous looking faux-rasta tourists. I think the tourists won by a hair

Anyway, all in all we had a ball in Bangkok. Next up, Kanchanaburi...

We crossed the border into Southern Thailand with high expectations. Everyone had told us that this was where we would find the tropical beaches of our dreams; emerald waters lazily lapping the feet of soaring, limestone rock formations, friendly, smiling locals, delicious eats, and fun fellow travellers. A land where adventure sports like rock climbing and kayaking are almost as plentiful as rock-bottom priced beachside bungalows, fire-sticks and buckets of cheap, Thai whiskey mixed with coke, ice and redbull. In reality, southern Thailand held a lot of adventure for us. Just not all the good kind.

We arrived by overnight train from KL to Hat Yai, a city in Thailand's "deep south." The sleeper was comfortable enough, though we had a particularly loud snorer in the bunk below Catt. Given that we only buy our Lonely Planets after we enter countries, we hadn't really educated ourselves on the ongoing Islamic extremist insurgency that the deep South has suffered for the past few years. According to the guidebook, bombings and attacks in southern Thailand- even at the border checkpoint train station we used- have been common in the past few years, and almost 1,000 people have died:

In 2004, long-simmering resentment in the southern-most Muslim-majority provinces burst into violence in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces. All are off the beaten tourist trail, although the eastern rail line from Hat Yai to Sungai Kolok (gateway to Malaysia's east coast) passes through the area and has been disrupted several times by attacks.

Hat Yai (Thailand's largest city after Bangkok and its Nonthaburi suburbs) in Songkhla has also been hit by a series of related bombings. In September 2006, three foreigners were killed in bombings in Hat Yai. Some rebel groups have threatened foreigners, but while targets have included hotels, karaoke lounges and shopping malls, westerners have not been singled out for attacks.

I suppose ignorance was bliss, as we passed overland customs without incident. It may have helped that we were dressed in dowdy, boring train clothes- according to a prominent sign displayed in the train station, entrance to Thailand can be refused to travellers because of a "hippy-like" appearance that includes sporting "wooden shoes," "sleeveless shirts," and "dirty" hair. Just sounds like bad fashion to me.

The Train

Choo-choooo

Once we arrived in Hat Yai, we linked up with a younger British guy, Matt, and set out to find a bus to Krabi. Krabi region is on the Adaman Sea coast of Thailand and became world reknowned when Ko Phi Phi, close by, was chosen as the beach used in the filming of the movie "The Beach." Looking for our bus in Hat Yai, we had our first experience (of many) with transport scams. Vendors smilingly quoted prices notched up by a figure of almost 500% to our faces. I'm well-accustomed to and accept the reality of the two-tiered pricing systems of developing countries, but this was on a whole new scale. We finally found a bus that only cost twice as much as it should have, and were on our way to Krabi.

Karaoke could fly as the national pass-time of Thailand, and our bus journey served as a good introduction to this. The coach was decorated like a little girl's nursery-cum-funhouse on wheels: pink and pastel green, lacey curtains bedecked each window, stuffed animals crowded the front dashboard, a cutesy, big-faced clock hung on the wall, and mini-chandaliers hung at an interval of about every three feet from the ceiling. The bus crowd was 95% locals (not counting Matt, Catt, and Megan), and as soon as we revved up, a TV was unveiled from behind curtain number 1, and the karaoke videos began. For four hours we were assaulted with top volume Thai pop hits, accompanied by the cheesy, seizure-inducing, B-grade karaoke videos that any of you who have been with us to noraebang in Annandale have surely come to recognize, love and loathe. The Thai men on the bus were mostly clapping and singing along, which was highly entertaining.

We arrived at Krabi after nightfall and tucked into a great little guesthouse, Chan Cha Lay, a steal for 200B (abt US$7) a night with pristine rooms, tidy shared bathrooms, and helpful, gracious staff. Matt in tow, we headed to the corner bar where we befriended MoTow (or Motown, as we called her), a Thai waitress who insisted on playing no less than 8 rounds of Jenga with us, while we guzzled poisonous mystery brew she conconcted behind the bar (she was tipsy and not following the bar recipes correctly). We had a four-way tie in the end. It was a great time.

The next day we went through the usual bargaining and slight scamming experience of hiring a boat to Rai Leh beach, and were off. It was a gorgeous, sunny day- the last, actually, we were to have for another two weeks. We settled on splurging for a promotion at a small resort on West Rai Leh, and lay on the beach in the sunshine for a brilliant afternoon. Here are some pictures of the beauty queen, Rai Leh:

arrival at Rai Leh

Megan enjoying a day of sun

Catt at Rai Leh

The next day, we awoke to threatening skies in the distance. We lounged on the beach until about 10:00 AM when the rains seriously moved in, along with a pretty intense wind. Coconuts were raining from the palms like bombs and the pool turned into a leafy mess. We braved the storm and actually swam in the warm water of the sea in the pouring rain for about an hour. Then we retired to our room and soaked in about 45 hours of repetitive, uninspiring CNN news coverage over the next few days. We also played about 12 rounds of Egyptian Ratscrew. We really need to learn a new card game...

While we were bunkered down riding out the storm, we heard about the plane crash on Phuket, a very popular vacation island only about a stone's throw from Krabi region. Thankfully we were not travelling during the monsoon during the storm we experienced in Krabi- it was truly frightening. Thanks to all who sent concerned emails, and we are so sorry for the scare. Due to high winds and rain, internet was knocked out for a few days all over Rai Leh.

Finally when we could take no more rain, we bailed out and headed back ashore for a bus trip to the opposite coast, and the famously beautiful islands of the Gulf of Thailand. Often the gulf side isn't as badly affected by the monsoon as the Adaman. After some quick guidebook research, we picked Ko Pha Ngan as our island destination of choice, a still-cheap beauty famed for the "Full Moon" parties. We didn't want to hit the moon party, but did want some relaxation on a sunnier beach at a cheaper price. After getting ripped off- excruciatingly- we got a bus/ferry package to 'Pha Ngan. The tour company lied to us and said we'd arrive by 8:00 PM. We actually got there much later- 12:30 AM- hungry, tired, and generally grouchy. Lacking the initiative to search around, we settled on a flimsy bungalow at Hat Rin Beach, the only place a saengthaw (pickup truck tuktuk) would drop us. The bungalows we ended up at were where Full Moon actually started: Paradise Bungalows. We tucked in for a night of intermittent sleep, and paradise it was not-- electronica pounded until 5:00 AM, mystery stains graced the walls, and the bathroom looked like something from a prison movie scene. Drunk and high English kids on their gap years chased each other drunkenly around the premises, some guys wearing the string bikinis of their female pals. We felt old and lame, but this was definitely not our scene, so we bailed out as early as possible the next day for the peaceful beaches of the north coast.

Finally a score- we ended up at a great little place called Ocean View Resort (really more of a bungalow operation) tucked into a little beachside cove with a peaceful beach run by a great young woman named Bovi. We got a great place with a large teak deck for sunning and enjoyed the delicious food and slow pace. The weather was still pretty grey, but the rain was less frequent, with patches of sunshine. Here are some pictures:

Our bungalow at Ko Pha Ngan

storm coming

Catt gets hit by a palm branch while snapping pictures of the storm

palm tree swing

writing the menu at Ocean View restaurant

More to come on adventures in Thailand!