Cambodia Visa

Cambodia Border, April 18, 2006

So here I am heading to Cambodia to renew my Visa for Thailand. I took a luxury bus to the boarder. I thought it would be a boring trip but when I sat down in my seat I found that the man beside me was a friend I met last year at the Bridge on the River Kwai.

This is Henry from Holland. He has been travelling around the World for several years. He gave me great tips on travelling in Vietnam. I promised to email him when I get there.

This is the Cambodia Boarder at Poi Pet. It reminds me of a refugee path as I see the people heading along on this rough dirt path.

One of the most amazing sights I saw, was this group of men hauling an enormous rice cart across the border.

The border crossing itself, is a modern building. The officers here all wear military uniforms but unlike the border crossing at Pnom Penn, they do not have machine guns.

The whole trip took 15 hours from Khao San Road to Cambodia and back again. This is how our whole group felt by the end of that journey.
The secret to having an enjoyable trip like this is the reading material.

I'm reading Wilber Smith's 'Monsoon'.

Kanchanaburi 3

Here are a few other shots of our Trekking team. We were met by three Aussies; Tim, Michael and Craig, who represented their Country well. They made evenings at the camp a real pleasure.

We rode to our adventures in what we dubbed the Japanese Elephant because it was a Honda.

Alex and Jude, our British Team mates, riding the elephants. They are both Teachers who are volunteering in China for eighteen months, teaching English.

Eri san and Iako san, students from Tokyo Japan, and the only two brave enough to go swimming in the River Kwai the first day.

This is Mauke. Mauke is from the Cooke Islands. Remember the Movie: 'Whale Rider'? Those are his people. Mauke is married to a woman in Vancouver Canada and is teaching in Korea. We had a great talk about his traditions and I just received an email from him a few minutes ago. Happy travels Mauke and perhaps we'll meet up in BC. You never know when I might be there.

Major Noon was our host while staying in the Jungle Huts on the River Kwai. He is 68 years old and retired about 7 years ago from the army. The major took two tours in Vietnam from 68-70 and has seen things you and I don't want to ever even picture. The year he retired, after 40 years in the service, his wife died. Now he runs this camp. The last night we were there, he announced he was making 'oord-erves'. He came back to the circle of chairs at the beach with a small bowl of salty seeds that turned out to be popcorn. Unfortunately, Noon probably has never seen popcorn so he may not have realized you're supposed to pop it. We enjoyed the gesture just the same and at the end many of us gave him a hug and promised to send pictures of our journey back to him.

Hellfire pass. Ted Heller saw this a couple of years ago and recommended I see it. When the Japanese supply lines were cut off by the American blockade in 1941, that led to the attack on Pearl Harbour, Japan ordered the 'Death Railway' to be built. What you see here is the 'Hellfire' section that was built in six weeks of back breaking work, by hand picks. The prisoners worked by torchlight, at night, which led to the nick name 'Hellfire'. Seventy thousand men died from rock slides and cruelty during the building of this pass. This was part of the railway line the runs across the 'Bridge on the River Kwai'. It was only in service for 21 months and then abandoned.

We did this picture to show you how narrow the pass was. Imagine how close to the rocks the train must have run. That's Henry, by the way. Henry is a retired teacher from Holland who travels all over the world. He plays a mean guitar too.

This is our Team at Noon's camp on the last morning before we left for Bangkok. I have tried to include pictures for my team mates to download for themselves later. I have always found that the real journey is not the places you visit but the beautiful Souls you encounter along the way; and how they influence your life.



And that ends this portion of the program. Please exit by the rear.

Kanchanaburi 2

On the second day, we went to a sacred cave where we found a statue of Quan Yin. I just remember the name because Mom had a porcelain statuette on her coffee table of Quan Yin. Her version had a hand that detached. Jude knew the story and told us that Quan Yin was so giving that she allowed her hand and her eye to be removed to save others. She was rewarded for her noble act by receiving a thousand hands and a thousand eyes.

When we got to the bottom of the cave, one of our team; Eyelet (whom I remembered by thinking "I yell it", looked at the statue and said Quan Yin reminded her of her homeland Israel and the story of Lot's wife who was changed to a pillar of salt for daring to look back rather than continuing with her journey on faith. I took this picture of Eyelet by the statue. Eyelet is a brave woman. She is travelling for three weeks in Thailand, alone, and she misses her daughter very much. She told me she cried for the first three days and was thinking of going back early. I meant to tell you this Eyelet. I have never thought of going home early but I didn't realize what a shock I was experiencing in this exotic land until it occurred to me that I was having trouble chewing. It suddenly occurred to me that I was so tense for the first three days that I was clenching my teeth in my sleep and my jaw swelled up. We all have our ways of dealing with our fears and finding our way. Shalom my dear friend. I wish you well on your journey.

As we were leaving the cave I took this picture of the wall near the statue. I liked the formation of rock but I never saw this image until I looked at it on my camera screen later, nor did the others who were there with me. Before I tell you what we saw in this image perhaps you could tell me what you see.

Kanchanaburi

Wed, 6:45am Feb 9
Last night, sitting at a line of picnic tables talking, I realize the openness of travellers and of our host, Major (retired) Noon, a 68 year old spry man who produces a guitar and Michael (one of our Ausies) leads us in a singsong. There is not the usual suspicion when it's travellers. As one of my dear English friends; Jude, says: "We're all in the same boat".
When I got on the minibus the first two people I met were Jude and Alex, who are Teachers from Britain working in China. I had a very interesting experience when I first said hello. As I looked into Jude's face her face lit up with white light as if a flashbulb had burst. They were my constant companions on my Trek to Kanchanaburi and they took very good care of me, making sure I didn't get lost (since I am world renowned for my lack of sense of direction.)

Canoeing along the River Kwai, Jude and Erin san.
As I write this, I am sitting on a plastic deck chair on the rocky shore of the River Kwai, listening to the roosters crow and the lapping of the waves and the sound inside my own consciousness of the high tension wire sound in a world without electricity.

The best picture I never took yesterday; a little girl who came padding along the parking lot at Ewan Falls carrying two large plastic cups of juice in her hands. She suddenly stops and carefully puts down the cups. I think she is finding it too much and is abandoning her task but I'm wrong. She stands back up facing us and puts her hands together in prayer position and bows to Jude and Alex and me. Then she crouches back down, carefully pics her cups back up and continues her Journey. This is a picture of her with her mother, just after she picked up her cups again.


The Seven Step Falls at the Seventh Level; Ewan Falls.


Lower down on one of the levels of Ewan Falls; watching the fish.

My Dinner With Sanga

So, I'm just back this minute from my dinner with Sanga. When we last left our hero he was taking the break neck tour of Bangkok, led by his faithful tuk-tuk driver, Joe. I got back to my hotel at 2:40. I immediately came here to the Internet cafe and started downloading the eighty pictures I took since 9am this morning. I finished my last post just after 4:30. I then found a Thai speaking man to help me make a phone call to Sanga. Sanga arranged with my friend here to write down the directions to the Phon Pier. I was told to pay only 30 baht. I found a driver and headed off. Only, this driver said he would only do the trip for 30 baht if we could make a stop. So there we were heading the wrong direction so he could take me to a TAT; a tourist place to try to sell me tickets somewhere. We arrived there and I told the proprietor I wasn't interested. So now the price was 80 baht. I finally agreed to pay 40 if he got me there fast! And he did. So now I'm hoping Sanga is still there, and he is. We got a couple of drinks (I had Thai Ice Tea- no alcohol) and we sat and talked by the river.

I told Sanga my dilemma about Armani so he went with me there and I negotiated a new deal for 16000 baht for One Blue suit and two pairs of pants, 3 shirts and 3 ties. I go back on Friday for the second fitting. So now I treated Sanga to dinner at a sidewalk cafe. (290 baht)

He ordered a fish called 'Plachon' (if it translates into something horrible, maybe don't tell me...vivyan...) Sanga offered to help me find travel arrangements for Chiang Mai when I get back from Kanchanaburi on Thursday. He also offered to let me stay at his place when I'm here.

We took a taxi back and here I am safe and sound and one Armani suit richer for my troubles. Now I'm going to get some rest so I can take off for the Bridge On The River Kwai Trek tomorrow. Oh, and Sarah, I saw another display of flip flops. see anything you like?

Suits Me

My sleep patterns are messed up from the travelling. I had a siesta this afternoon and almost had a full night's sleep by mistake. I create my own world here in Bangkok by making a task list and then going on mini adventures to complete the tasks. One of those tasks was to start looking for a suit. My buddy Ted, in Calgary, bought a couple of silk suits in Thailand that were a great price. I met 'Sunny' who helped me out.

He offered me a suit made from Italian cashmere with two cotton shirts for 5000 baht. ($160) I liked him and I think he would do a good job for me but Ted suggests I go north to Chiang Mai and look at the silk suits.

I saw some kimonos that I thought were very nice too. They are selling for 1800b ($60) Is that a good price?

The clothes are generally very cheap when it comes to shirts blouses and dresses. I thought some of these were pretty. They cost about 150b ($5).

Task 2. Book an Elephant Trek. I went to a travel agent and booked a trip Ted recommended. It takes me Kanchanaburi, where the Bridge on the River Kwai was built. It's a 3 day adventure including an elephant trek, a ride on the infamous railway, some rafting, and all the travel and accommodation for 1500b ($60) It's cheaper to go on this trek than to stay where I am.
As for tomorrow, I'm thinking of doing the Tatanakosin Temples and River Walking Tour that is outlined in my 'Lonely Planet' Book. I would just take a cab to 'Tha Tien and start from there.