Rural Amenities

During my Christmas break this year, I decided to stay close to home and enjoy what Thailand has to offer. From trips to remote villages in the mountains to visiting historic sites, I got to learn more about the Thai people, their lifestyles and traditions. Since the big city can take on a life of its own, it was interesting for me to head to the country and contrast the differences from city life.

One of the things I found: country-folk are generally more respectful when greeting one another. While I'm used to nodding and slightly bowing to others when greeting in the city, I found it is actually impolite not to Wai someone you know when greeting them in the country... just make sure you do so with hands at the proper height or you could be the recipient of a questioning look! For instance, be sure to place your hands together (in a prayer-like fashion) with index fingers higher than the tip of your nose to show respect to someone older or higher in social status, or place tips of fingers at chin level when greeting someone around your age and social status, or at mid-chest when returning a greeting from someone younger.

One would expect rural living to offer fresh air, plenty of nature and random roadside stops, which we found in abundance. The country also offers opportunity for locals to produce food in just about any location that will allow; this observation hit me while driving for miles along a banana tree-lined highway and seeing vegetable gardens on just about any patch of ground regardless of slope.

I was in an area of rural Thailand where teak forests and other hardwoods prevail. Needless to say, the locals have some fine wood to craft furniture and build homes. Our driver stopped at his friend's home who creatively used varying sized tree trunks to form the structure and tree roots for railings. As with most rural homes in this area, some walls exist for privacy but most living areas remain visibly open to the elements. Apparently the wood used in this part of the country is so hard that termites can't eat it and therefore are not a problem for the residents.

Other stops along our drive included a typical roadside stand with villagers selling handwoven garments.

A little further down the road, we entered a farm where the owner (apparently a district politician) breeds and sells pets that appear to be a cross between a hedgehog and very large guinea pig. Let me know if you want me to order one for you =)

Here are a few other photos I took that remind me of rural life in Thailand. While homes on stilts are typical in most south-Asian countries to avoid flood waters and unwelcome guests (such as snakes and wild boar), this was the first time I saw a rooster perched high in a tree or pigs being transported via motorbike!

Hey, whatever works.

The Big Tree

We weren't planning on hiking through a forest while touring the mountains but sure glad we did! I am used to deciduous forests in Ontario and forested areas of Aspen and Pine in the mountains of Colorado, but the forest we witnessed in the western part of Thailand was unique to me with its unbelievably tall thin palm trees and one of the largest trees in Thailand.

Sure enough, we found the huge hardwood named and advertised as The Big Tree. Needless to say, it has a dominating presence in the forest. A person could almost hide in the root system and we figure it would take about 8-10 adults holding outstretched hands to measure the diameter at its base.

It came as no surprise that a spirit house was located nearby to appease the spirits residing in the tree with offerings such as grapes, apples, bottled water, candles and flowers. Buddhists often believe trees house tree spirits that can offer blessings by giving fruit in abundance. In this case, the trees in this forest produce a fruit that is similar to what westerners know as the pomegranate.

Once again for me, God's glory is revealed through the nature He created and controls: so spectacular and diverse, from one part of this planet to another!

Resorting to the Idyllic

When planning my get-away from Bangkok, I decided to venture from the typical beach vacation in Thailand to an area I had never been before. Friends recommended I travel a couple hours west of Bangkok to visit the historical sites at the River Kwai. It was great having ICS co-workers (Aaron and Lily) join me for the first part of my time there.

When possible, I like to find accommodation that has interesting architecture in building and landscape. In fact, you might say that I appreciate where I stay as much (if not more) than the advertised tourist attractions that draw me to an area. My stay at the Felix River Kwai Resort was no exception. It's difficult to know what to expect when booking a room online but the 50 acre riverfront property adjacent to the River Kwai Bridge definitely did not disappoint.

Christmas decorations made it extra warm both inside and out. I can see why this resort is a popular spot for conferences and a place to go for local celebrations.

An added and unexpected benefit for me was having the place almost to myself because tourism is taking a hit in Thailand due to the protests going on in Bangkok. As much as I enjoyed the added attention from the staff, hopefully the protests will be short-lived and Thailand will once again become what it is known as: the land of smiles.

Bridge On River Kwai

I heard about the 1957 Oscar-winning movie The Bridge On The River Kwai (starring William Holden and Alec Guinness) but did not watch it until I was staying at a resort roughly 1 km from the actual bridge. The city of Kanchanaburi is a couple hours west of Bangkok and its life-blood depends on tourists (like me) coming to see the bridge that Allied forces were forced to build during the Second World War.

I must admit this part of Thailand is beautifully serene which makes it difficult to imagine the constant military bombardment and thousands upon thousands of soldiers who died here some 70 years ago.

The actual bridge was within walking distance from the resort so one afternoon I decided to take a personal tour; it didn't take long before the bridge came into view as I walked a nearby trail.

When reviewing its history, you learn that after the Allied forces built the bridge in 1943 they then bombed it two years later to deter the Japanese from transporting war goods! We also learned the outer curved spans of the bridge were part of the original structure while the middle section had to be rebuilt.

The rail line that allowed transportation from Thailand (Siam) to Myanmar (Burma) is not in use anymore but one of the trains that carried war supplies for the Japanese is on display at a local museum. Today a modern train carries tourists over the bridge.

About 2.5 km from the bridge is a cemetery donated by the people of Thailand to honor the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives from disease, exhaustion and war crimes while building the railway and bridges. Let's just say that I spent a few hours touring around and understand how easy it is to feel the effects of extreme heat when not careful. I can't imagine what the prisoners of war went through working 10-12 hours a day in similar temperatures without relief. Hence the name Death Railway attributed to the war-time project.

On my way to the cemetery I met an older gentleman from Holland and a couple from the UK and then it dawned on me that most tourists I had encountered that day were from these and surrounding countries. No surprise since Kanchanaburi War Cemetery represents over 1,800 Dutch and 5,000 soldiers from the Commonwealth.

Visiting the cemetery was definitely a moving experience, especially when reading the ages of most of the fallen soldiers: 22, 27, 23, 21, 34, 22, 37, 23 and so on and so on. A sobering reminder of the travesty of war.

Right next to the War Cemetery exist an old Chinese cemetery with a city road through the middle of the property. This cemetery hosts varying styles of tombstones from elaborate granite to simple raised boxes to high-reaching spires. I imagine the design of tombstone is indicative of social status and perhaps religion of the deceased.

I noticed many of the tombstones had three columns of Chinese text and later determined: the larger text in the center displays the name of deceased, with date and place of birth and age of deceased usually inscribed on the right, and the date and time of death found on the left (or on the eastern side) which often symbolizes new beginnings and a future.

Today was definitely a day of reflection, not only regarding historical events that occurred in this part of Asia but also thinking about those who lived these events some 70 years ago.