Thailand Part 2: Bridge Over the River Kwai to Chiang Mai

Our journey northward from Bangkok got off to an auspicious start when we learned from our son Jake and his wife Isa on Valentine’s Day that they are expecting our first grandchild in August!  They were even able to send a package to our hotel in Thailand with a memento of the event (a feat in and of itself).  Certainly the most memorable highlight we’ll have on this trip!

Having now departed Thailand for Vietnam, I can return to the topic that, out of an abundance of caution, I had avoided delving into during my previous post - reports of scandals in the Thai royal family that would make eyes roll even in Buckingham Palace (well, maybe not this past week….).  And for those of you who may think I was being overly cautious (not a trait I am often accused of), bear in mind that since 2020 nearly 300 people have been charged with insulting the monarchy, with some individuals receiving 50-year prison sentences for social media posts deemed insulting to the monarchy!  I don’t like Thai food enough to risk spending the rest of my days in a Thai prison…

In recent years there have been scandals involving the Royal Consort (the King’s official mistress), unpaid taxes, allegations of “extremely evil behavior” and the like - pretty much run of the mill stuff for royal families.  My favorite, however, by far was the scandal centered on the then Crown Prince appointing his pet poodle as an Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force.  

It gets better and better, but just in case my iPad is reading this and informing on me even before I post, I’ll let you do some Googling on your own.  Suffice it so say, you can’t make this shit up!

On a more serious note, our first stop heading north from Bangkok was in Kanchanaburi, where we stayed a 5 minute walk from the Bridge Over the River Kwai - made famous by the 1957 movie of the same name (historical aside: the bridge wasn’t actually built over the River Kwai, but the movie was so popular that in 1960 the Thai government renamed the river to match the movie!).  

The bridge was built as part of the Thai-Burma railway (also known as the “Death Railway”) constructed by the Japanese during WWII using forced labor from Allied POWs as well as Southeast Asian civilians.  We visited both the Death Railway Museum and the Hellfire Pass Museum which commemorate the deaths of an estimated 12,000-16,000 Allied POWs and between 80,000-100,000 Southeast Asian civilian forced laborers (known as the “romusha”) from malnutrition, physical abuse and tropical diseases.  The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery contains the graves of nearly 7,000 Allied POWs

No such memorial exists for the romusha, whose remains were largely left in unmarked mass graves along the tracks.  If you’re interested in the real story of the building of the Thai-Burma Railway, skip The Bridge Over the River Kwai, and instead read Railway Man - the autobiography of Eric Lomax, a British Army officer who worked as a POW on the railway, and later reconciled with one of his Japanese torturers (it was also made into a movie starring Colin Firth, though I haven’t had a chance to see the movie yet).  One of the best books I’ve read in a long time….

Thankfully, our trip hasn’t been all depressing.  We’ve had a chance to visit some of the most important historical sites in the country, including Ayuttayah, the capital of the Siamese Kingdom (modern-day Thailand) from the 14th-18th century.  The ruins of Wat Mahathat, the temple built in 1374 that served as the religious center of the Ayuttayah Kingdom, still stand. 

By 1700 Ayuttayah was one of the world’s largest cities with an estimated population of 1 million (by comparison, in 1700, London was the largest city in Europe with a population of about 550,000, and New York City’s population was roughly 5,000) and was known as the Venice of the East.  In 1767 it was destroyed by the Burmese Army, which decapitated many of the Buddha statues located in the city.  

One of the heads ended up entwined in the roots of a bhodi tree and became the iconic image of the city

From Ayuttayah it was on to Sukhotai, the first capital of Siam, dating back to the mid-13th century, and the ruins of more Wats.  “Wat” means temple in Thai, though we’ve seen so many of them that we’ve started calling them “Wat chamacallits” (a term coined by one of our trip mates; no disrespect intended)….

In Sukhotai we had the opportunity to participate in “alms giving”, a daily Buddhist tradition where members of the public donate food to Buddhist monks, allowing them to focus on meditation and study, while the givers “make merit” (gain karmic benefits). 

Our trip leader on our journey through Thailand is from an indigenous northern tribe and grew up in a small farming village.  While no longer a practicing monk, he spent 12 years studying to be a monk (primarily because, being from a poor family, it provided him with the opportunity to continue his education).  He has provided us with fascinating insights into Buddhist beliefs and traditions that we otherwise would never have learned (for example, the fact that Buddhist monks aren’t allowed to pee while standing; and that statue of the smiling fat guy with the “Buddha belly” is not actually the Buddha, but rather a 10th century Chinese monk).

Our trip has also featured some great cultural experiences, including visiting a village that specializes in the production of ceramics, another that is known for its weaving expertise, an organic farm run by people with disabilities which among other things raises crickets (for snacks - yum!), a traditional Thai cooking lesson, a visit to a really impressive elephant sanctuary, and even a brief Thai language lesson.

Suffice it to say that Thai would be a ridiculously hard language to learn.  Not only do they have 44 consonants and 32 vowels in their alphabet, but on top of that there are 5 different intonations, each of which can give a word an entirely different meaning.  For example, as we learned, if you don’t get the tone right you might ask a girl if she wants you to be her sugardaddy, but instead have it come out as you asking her if she wants you to be her fish! 

I used a pandan leaf weaving lesson to fulfill Melanie’s oft stated desire to renew our vows.  Romance is not dead…..

Our final stop in Thailand was Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand, often called the “Rose of the North”.  Chiang Mai is the home of a temple (Wat Phra That Doi Suthep) that houses a Buddha relic (a portion of the Buddha’s collar bone) that was brought to the temple in 1368.  It is widely considered the most important temple in Northern Thailand and one of the country’s most revered pilgrimage sites.  Melanie and I were pleased to receive a blessing string (called sai sin) from a monk there that is intended to bestow protection, good health and fortune upon the recipient.  We’ll let you know how it worked…..

Unfortunately, we only had one day to explore the city of Chiang Mai and its myriad bars, restaurants, street art and massage parlors, but we loved it and will definitely make a point of coming back for a longer stay next time we are in the neighborhood.

I’ll be back at ya in a week or so when we wrap up the Vietnam leg of our journey!