Kanchanaburi to Phitsanulok Thailand

Saturday morning our group of 16 boarded our 44 passenger bus for our trip north to Kanchanaburi Thailand. Along the way we stopped at a coconut plantation that also offered an in house view of a 100 year old home built of teak wood. The home owner also offered an opportunity to hold his pet python snake. I contemplated taking him up on his offer to hold it and allow it to wrap around my neck, but Michael shared his story of a friend how received a severe bite on his face in a similar situation. If I’d been in Birmingham close to Kirkland Clinic I might have been able to offer a picture, but the risk and reward equation just didn’t work out.

Further up the road we stopped at the Floating Market of Damnern Saduak, the market has changed over the years. Originally it served as a market for those living on the river to paddle up the river to purchase their daily needs. Today the Floating Market serves the tourist busses that bring a steady stream of tourists to buy their souvenirs. As we looked at all the stuff, and we already have all the stuff that we need, we recalled our trips to Florida where we had to have a Coconut Head, a set of castanets, and a rubber alligator. Nothing changes the stuff just changes.
Our next stop was a wood carving studio; the work was beautifully done in teak and rosewood so the prices reflected the quality of the work. Nita and I debated the purchase of a 10 foot teak elephant that would look magnificent adjacent to our back yard patio, but there were so many to choose from and we’re going to a fabulous night market in several days. Confident that we could do better then %8,000 plus shipping and handling we boarded our bus to continue our Magical Mystery Tour.

We’re currently watching an on–bus video about the building of the bridge over the River Kwai. In the summer of 1942 the Allies were cutting off the Japanese sea supply routes to their troops in Burma. They decided to build a railway that followed the River Kwai through the jungle. They enslaved 200,000 Asian labors and 61, 000 Allied POW’s to build the 260 mile stretch of rail. A total of 100,000 Asians and 20,000 POW’s died over the three years of construction.
We walked the current bridge which has turned into a Tourist destination and offered little incite in to the history of the area. We then went to a museum and cemetery that got far fewer visitors that properly portrayed the hardships and perils of the ordeal. The conditions brought to mind the pictures that I’ve seen of the Holocaust.

We checked into our Spa Resort Hotel, a magnificent facility that was built 15 to 20 years ago as a convention center for the local political establishment and Thai travelers. The architecture the grounds and the layout would challenge any resort hotel that you may have stayed in, but as a result of lack of maintenance and repair the hotel has deteriated. Our room was not clean the shower flooded the bathroom floor the food was substandard and the grounds were eroding. Luckily were stayed here only two days then traveled further north.

Our second day in this area started with a boat ride up the river. The boats hold eight people and are powered by a suspended car engine that drives a prop at the end of a 20 foot shaft. We slid through the water for about an hour passing river motels where the Thai vacationers come to relax. Although several looked inviting most had no electricity, cold showers, and plenty of bugs and mosquitoes. Our decaying hotel quickly looked much better. At the end of the boat trip be hoped into the back of a pick-up truck and climbed the hill to the entrance of Hell Fire Pass; a cut through the mountain side of rock to accommodate the railroad tracks laid by the POW’s. It was mind numbing to imagine men cutting through the rock by hand in some areas 50 feet deep. The work was done with hand tools, the heat and humidity was unbearable and the food was mineable. It’s easy to see why the death toll was so high, the bulk of the Allied troops working to the railroad were Australian. We climbed 500 steps up to a museum run by the Australian government that provided a beautiful view of the valley.

We stopped at Salyok Noi Waterfall to find many Thai enjoying the cool water and a Sunday Picnic; we opted for a light lunch at a adjoining restraint that featured a flaming dish of a local vegetable. While eating I heard the first mention of a “Big Mac”.
After lunch we jumped onto a train to travel the rails that we had learned so much about over the last two days. The trains are a free form of transportation for the Thai people while foreigners are charged 100 Baht ($3.00). A half hour on a rundown non air-conditioned train was just enough, 5 hours back to Bangkok would be tough.

Monday morning we’re back on the bus for a five hour journey to Sukhothai the 13th century capital of Thailand. Our trip included several stops along the highway, the first what our tour guide called a culture shock. At this road side stand they were selling the bounty of the rice fields not to include any rice, rats, mongoose, snake, birds. We were lucky to be there while a skinned rat delivery was make, thus be saw before and after BBQ’ed. Down the road a piece we visited a family factory that made painted and fired Benjaron, Srimuck and Raikam ware. A number of the woman purchased candle sticks, while they objected to the men buying a mid morning snack of BBQ rat. (it’s a man thing)

Back on the bus Poupee, our guide, told us we wold be stopping at a local market to shop for our lunch ingredients that we would be having on a rice barge. Each of us were handed a paper with a few basic Thai words and the ingredient that we were responsible for fetching, it was up to us to communicate with the local merchants to find what was on our shopping list. As I stepped off the bus I spotted an elder well dressed lady sitting on a bench outside a store. I went over, sat next to her and said “Tee Nai Bai Kra Praow”, she gave me a questioning look and I repeated, “Tee Nai Bai Kra Praow”. I was able to establish that she understood Tee Nai as where but the rest was falling apart with my translation. I worked on Bai Kra Praw changing the emphasis on different syllables, a light went off, she grabbed my arm and led me from vendor to vendor until she found a lady selling fresh basil, I hugged her as the vendor collected 2 baht for my purchase. Nita had a harder time but did find a “temple offering for 190 baht the we will take to a monk tomorrow. Jerry came back with a live turtle, Michael an eel, Bill a live catfish and Ed two live frogs. Everyone else have things like pumpkin, fruits, and vegetables. Back on the bus we headed for the riverside to board the rice barge and make our meal, but before getting on board Poupee explained that the first rule of a good Buddhist was to never kill a living creature. Understanding that sometimes it’s necessary to kill varmints and pests you can make amends and extend your life by releasing captured creatures, so we released the turtle, frogs, fish and eel into the river before boarding the barge for lunch.

Heading further north we stop at the most elaborate Buddhist temple that I have ever seen. As I understand it was built in recognition of a monk that died about 12 years ago and is now the home of 54 monks from the area.

Our hotel in Phitsanulok is much better than the preceding two nights, we had an extensive buffet dinner including a wide assortment of Sushi and deserts as well as the traditional Thai food.