Thailand!

A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy.

In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. Thailand is currently facing armed violence in its five Muslim-majority southern provinces.

Not pleasant on the streets are women selling birds in tiny cages. The tourist pays to have the birds "freed". However these creatures are fed well by their captors and return to their tine prisons. Hill tribe people are also very visible on the market streets. Dressed traditionally, they sell their hand-crafted jewelry.

And what is a trip here without a Thai Massage. I was in agony with my first (one hour for 120 Baht or $4.00) but I am becoming very addicted to them.

Another day saw us climbing into the hills to visit a hill tribe. The evening before Heather and I had bought a substantial amount of school supplies for the village, so we were looking forward to seeing the school. The winding road was difficult enough but then, as the Australia saying goes, we hit the end of the bitumen. The road (??!!) was so bad, so steep that in the rainy season cars and trucks must use chains to negotiate.

We were first disappointed when we arrived at the village, as it was the monks' New Year and there was no school. Then the impact of the day hit us. We were suddenly surrounded by dozens of children dressed in traditional costume. The kids were playing a traditional game of catch, some men and boys were participating in a mean game with large spinning tops (imagine playing lawn bowls with tops) while the important men of the village were participating in a day-long celebration of eating and drinking - no women allowed (except, of course, to cook the meal).

The teachers were overjoyed with our donation, thanking us over and over again.

On our way home we stopped at the pagoda of the White Elephant. Legend has it that a monk traveled here from Sri Lanka with an ash from the body of Buddha. the receiving monk anointed the ash with water and the tiny remnant swelled and broke into two. The monk then decided that a pagoda would be built on the site where they stood for one ash and that a white elephant would decide the site of the other. The relic was placed on the elephant who then roamed the surrounding mountains for many years before he died at a spot overlooking the city. The ash of Lord Buddha and the elephant are buried under the temple that sits on that spot.

We flew to Mae Hong Son (may hon sonn) for two days in lieu of traveling to Phuket. Had I known the treasures of this town it would have been my choice, anyway. A tiny city in the mountains, just kilometers from the Burma border, this is the home of the Karen, hilltribe refugees from Burma. But more of them later.

We actually visited three tribes. One was a Chinese community - descendents from the army fighting against Mao. They were granted permission to stay in Thailand provided there was no fighting and no heroin. (The government seems to have eradicated much of the poppy growing - and the hill people now grow carrots, cabbage, tea, radishes, watermelons.

Another village was of strong Burma ties but were unwilling to risk their lives amongst the fighting that takes place in their homeland (though many slip across the border during the rainy season when the fighting stops).

Today we drove a little way into the hills and took a one hour trek by elephant, followed by a long-tail boat to the village of the Karen. We were at our furthest point away from Guelph at that time. The women born on the Wednesday of the full moon are those who have the honour (if they so choose) to wear the neck rings. At the age of 5 the first coil, weighing one kilogram is wound around the child's neck, and eventually there are five kg of the metal that pushes down on the collar bones. Long eared tribespeople also live in the village (we found the deformation on the ear lobes to be quite gross), they being Christian, the long necks being Buddhist.

Again we visited the school and talked with children, some of whom had remarkable English. However, others, rather than speaking the language we're learning to spell!

So we are back in Chiang Mai ready to fly back to Bangkok tomorrow and then immediately on to Singapore.

This is a beautiful country. We both want to return.

Jan 5 - Thai markets and the River Kwai

January 5 saw us on a tour of the floating markets in Damnoen Saduak. These markets were originally in Bangkok but as the canals began to be filled in (it was known as the Venice of the east), the trade moved away. We traveled first by bus then by long-tail boat. The latter needs an explanation: imagine a sanpan with a weed-eater hanging out the back. However this weed-eater is five times longer and has a 110 horsepower motor, along with a propeller on the end. That is a long-tail boat. They move at incredible speeds and are more maneuverable than a boat with a rudder.

These took us down several large canals to the market where we transferred to a smaller boat that was rowed through the incredibly crowded market. Hawkers came at us from all directions, selling everything from foods, souvenirs, spices - food was even being cooked on board many. Bargaining is the order of the day. Prices drop dramatically once disinterest begins to appear. They hang on to your boat and almost plea for a sale. We obliged with several items.

Following that we were shown a gem factory where Heather and I both bought rings at a wonderful price. The fact that I rarely wear a ring is quite beside the point. Also bought some Thai goblets and other trinkets.

On to the Rose Garden for a display of Thai boxing and sword fighting. To see that stuff in the flesh is quite an experience. the boxers take quite the hammering. The swords were real for their display and it must have taken a lot of concentration to remember the choreography - there was no cute moves - the woman and the man wielding the weapons were sparing no energy.

Then we began a highlight for both of us: we set off the the west to where many of the allied soldiers and many slaves from South-East Asia died at the hands of the Japanese. Our first stop was the War Museum and Cemetery where thousands of Australians, along with British, Dutch and others perished while building the Burma Railway.

This has special significance to me, and being a storyteller, I shall relate that interest:

My oldest brother (20 years my senior) had enlisted during WW2 and had served in the Middle East (Syria) for quite a while before coming back to Oz for R&R and retraining for the Far East. When being shipped out a truck filled about 6 soldiers in front of him, so he was on the next truck. That truck in front was the last to fill a train, and that train was the last to fill one of the two ships being used to transport the troops. Vince therefore was one of the first to board the second boat and survived the was by fighting in New Guinea. The first boat was either captured or sunk by the Japanese and all survivors ended up on The Burma Railway. Somewhere in that cemetery lies the soldier who was seven ahead of Vince when he was embarking back to war.

The bridge itself was an awesome experience. With the exception of the two middle spans the bridge is the same that was built by POWs (the center two were bombed by the allies). We walked across that structure, realizing that every bolt in that bridge represented 500 lives lost. I found it very moving.

The bridge used in David Lean's movie was not this one. He had a replica built in Sri Lanka for his production.

Later we walked over another viaduct built around an impossible cliff. I was shocked to find that one of the old timbers on which I stood beside the track was originally cut and placed by the POWs. A ride on the Death Railway completed the experience.

The track no longer travels to Burma. The government of Siam (Thailand) decided it was too expensive to repair the bombed out sections. Add to that the uneasy relations between Burma and Thailand, there is little impetus to ever lay the tracks again.

While we were staying on the river we took a boat to the Lawa limestone caves. This included a climb of several hundred steps to some unspoiled caves in which we were the only visitors. Inside the cave was a large chamber that was devoted to a altar for Buddha.The Thai take their religion as seriously as they take their devotion to their king (Never "the king" but always "Our king" when talking about him).
Our walk through the caves was an experience with nature, our only source of light was a string of occasional light bulbs powered by a small generator.

Back at the "restaurant", a shack half-way up the mountain we were delighted to see the use of energy-saving bulbs, not so at the monkey tethered to a pole.

Further up the river (we were mere kilometers from the Burma border) we stopped at the site of the beautiful Sai Toke waterfalls where we transferred to a covered bamboo raft that was guided to the very base of the falls. We ate our box lunch in the serenity of the area - the only sound was that of the water falling over one end of the raft.

The silence was broken by an invasion of Russian tourists, their raft being towed by a long-tail boat. I did not understand why our Thai guide was bristling at their appearance but soon understood. When their raft was fastened beside our little structure they clambered aboard, ignoring the fact that we were eating. One male actually dumped his cameras and sun glasses in the middle of our table setting. I wondered if this was done in complete ignorance or whether he trusted complete strangers over the 40 odd members of his group.

Our indignation at this loss of solitude was somewhat compensated by the amusement of the thong-clad group, both male and female, posing for photos under the falls. Really, there were people there who should NOT be seen in thongs!

Eventually they tired of this, donned life jackets and jumped into the river to be taken by the current downstream.

Left to our solitude we climbed to the top of the waterfall, crossed a suspension bridge and Heather enjoyed the pools atop the falls (Master planner having left his bloody bathing suit back in Bangkok!).

Filled by fresh clean air, we slept well that night.

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Jan 1 - Toronto to Bangkok

The weather is perfect, if one thinks that 38 celsius is perfect, as was our first full day in Bangkok. But first things first.

Our trip out of Toronto was uneventful except that Air Canada sprang for bottles of wine to celebrate New Years. We tried to use our upgrade certificate to that leg but were unsuccessful. Offered the upgrade on the next flight but that was cutting the connection just a little too fine.
The Vancouver staff at Air Canada was much more accommodating and we ended us flying the 11 1/2 hours in Executive. Coupled with being New Years Day it was quite a ride. We rarely drink on flights, especially of duration, but we let loose and celebrated the commencement of our trip and the new year. What demeaning comments have been made about Air Canada were unfounded by us on these flights.

Osaka was a little confusing. Passengers are literally trapped at the airport - scooped out of the bottom of the bay and linked to the mainland by a long causeway.

Taking the airport bus meant a wait of over an hour so we decided to use the train. So far so good. However after disembarking at the designated station we were totally confused by the directions given to us. Our last enquiry was to a young girl on a bicycle. She tried to explain the way and we set off, not feeling very confident. Surprisingly she followed us and proceeded to take us down dark streets and threatening alleys. We thought we were being set up for something, such was my prejudice. The child was being totally sincere for there in the midst of a mayhem of alleys and older building was our hotel. She rode off wishing us a happy new year.

Our stay was as short as our room was small and by 7 am we were on a shuttle to the airport for our leg to Bangkok. I must admit that the Osaka airport is a feat of engineering. Viewed from the air I was confused by the scale - it looked more like the island airport in Toronto - something for small aircraft. So I was startled when the plane banked and headed towards it. The runway is still short and I think that aircraft ensure against overshooting by burying the nose into the tarmac - at least that's what the stop felt like.

The service on Singapore Airlines was again impeccable and our arrival in Bangkok was without incident. I was taken by our path over Vietnam where I could have headed had I not emigrated from Australia those many years ago. Was the well established road below me the Ho ChiMin Trail?

Arrival in Bangkok was confusing. There was a mix up with our guide who, to cut a long story short, didn't show up to collect us. We sweated for a half hour while the very helpful staff at the airport located him. He was quite shocked over what had happened at Phuket and thanked us for going there. We had made up our minds about that destination before we left, and the photo on the front of last Saturday's Globe and Mail confirmed our decision.

We spent Wednesday doing the temple tour: The Marble Temple [image at left], the Royal Palace, the huge sleeping Buddha and the emerald Buddha. The Thais are very religious and are shocked when their god is not given the respect he should receive. When a couple of (half-stewed) German tourists climbed up onto a temple wall for a Kodak moment our guide was close to tears when she tried to get them down. They ignored her and continued with their oafish shenanigans for their spouses' cameras.

Bangkok is a dirty city. The pollution seems to keep the sun from shining through and we can feel the impurities after two days. In a city of 13 million people, all clamouring to rise from the level of riding motor scooters to owning a car, the streets are clogged from morning to night. You just don't get anywhere unless you take tremendous risks, as our driver did today. Last night we sat for twenty minutes without even getting to the offending traffic signal before our guide made the best suggestion that evening: we jumped out, manipulated through the bikes and scooters who have laws unto themselves, and took the skytrain to our destination. The train was clean, full but not uncomfortable, and safe.

Yet the city continues to acquiesce to the automobile. Once touted as the Venice of the east, Bangkok is filling in its canals for development, and that means more space is needed for traffic. The fabled floating market has been moved 100 km from the city.

We are enjoying the city. We look forward to visiting the floating markets, then two nights at the River Kwai before flying north to visit the hill tribes.

That is the side of Thailand that I really want to see.

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