thailand-again – e – Adventure Awaits Blog

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Back in Bangkok

After 3 days in Bangkok, we finally decided to head north.

Finally to Chang Mai, about which we had already heard so many positive things, and the north is supposed to be cooler and therefore preferred by many. But now it seems to be the right time of year and after the coolness in Vietnam, a little warmth is also good. E t w a s warmth !!!! And then around 40° awaited us.

After a bit of research, I came across a really great website from the Thai railroad and information about all the places served, as one could only wish for, except that nowhere was it mentioned that the trains all leave from somewhere else in the meantime. Gerhard then remembered that the beautiful old station had just been closed when we were here. Well, in the end we also found out that the place we wanted to go first departs from another station a little further away. It was very hot and we were glad that there were only single trains on this route, as they were simply more pleasant with their open windows and fans, and a warm train ticket. …-G. )

The train crosses the River Kwai Bridge on the route and tourists flock to this place.

Nam Tok

I still remember the terrible scenes with Sir Alec Guiness. But we rode to the end of the line and had accommodation that was a bit hard to find. Luckily, a woman came after us to put us on the right path, which also took us over these train tracks. The large estate was quite remote and unfortunately without breakfast, but the small cabins were equipped with everything.

Unfortunately, there were also a lot of dogs who wouldn’t let us in one evening when the owner didn’t show up.

The next day we went to the memorial to the many victims of this Japanese madness. And as usual, we found out that the bus goes there „every half hour before the full“ and also the approximate location from where. We met another couple there, so the wait wasn’t so boring as they didn’t know much either. Luckily there was a small market and we got an iced coffee there, then a small tourist information office actually opened opposite and when Gerhard asked when a bus was leaving, after a phone call she said: in an hour (we had already waited half an hour). Fortunately, the other two took this very calmly. And the bus finally arrived and what a great one it was, we would have loved to get something like that on our long tours.

Hellfire Pass

At the entrance to the museum, the man told us that he couldn’t say when the buses would return, but at least every 2 hours !!!! Well, hopefully at all. This memorial to the victims was set up by the Australians, who have probably installed similar ones all over the world.

Das ganze war nochmal sehr ergreifend und man staunt was ein Körper alles ertragen und in der Lage ist zu bewältigen.

We then walked the section that is the worst of this 400 km long route in this unbelievable heat and imagine that we still had to do some hard work…. My hope was that there would be vehicles waiting at the end of the route to take us back. Because we were asked if we had come privately so that we could be picked up there.

They looked a little incredulous, well, we would have to reckon with 3 arduous hours there and back.

On the section that can still be visited today, the remains of the old railroad sleepers can be seen in places. Most of the track is overgrown and no longer recognizable as a track bed.

The Death Railway was built during the Second World War by the Japanese occupying forces from September 1942 to October 1943 on both sides of what was then Burma (now Myanmar) and Thailand over a length of 415 km. The railroad line was to be built to bypass the dangerous sea route to Burma. Of this, 305 km was on the Thai side. The construction was built under inhumane conditions by around 72,000 prisoners of war from more than 5 countries and around 200,000 Asian forced laborers who were recruited under false promises. The conditions under which the people there had to suffer are today clearly defined as war crimes. The people had to toil daily from sunrise to sunset and endure the harassment of the Japanese. In addition, there was the unbearable heat and the monsoon rain. If there were delays, they also had to work through the night. The rations were meagre portions of rice. The so-called Hellfire Pass, with a width of 25m and a length of 75m, as well as 8m and 450m in length, had to be cut through the mountain with hammer and chisel. Work was also carried out at night by the light of oil and carbide lamps. In addition, there were air raids by the Allies, so that some things had to be repaired or rebuilt. Wooden bridges often collapsed again due to the rain. The prisoners also tried to disrupt the work of the Japanese through sabotage and unsuitable bridge constructions. The Japanese responded to these actions by murdering the workers, in addition to the fatal accidents caused by the inhumane working conditions. Operations began in October 1943, but the line had to be repeatedly repaired after bombing. Locomotives from Japan and converted trucks were used. The line was only in operation for a total of 17 months, until the capitulation of Japan. Over 12,600 Allied prisoners of war and around 9,000 Asian forced laborers lost their lives during construction. After the end of the war, the line was taken over by Thailand, but had to be discontinued on the way to Burma due to the poor quality of the line and, above all, the often wooden bridges and supports. Today the line ends in Nam Tok. There are still ideas to rebuild the old line and to better connect the Asian countries. Ironically, there have also been offers from Japan to renew the line. Due to the questionable economic viability of continuing the line to Myanmar, there are no concrete plans.

Links: Hellfire Pass english …-G. )

When we got to the end we were happy to find water there, we let it run over our heads, dipped our hats and shirts in it to make it through the way back, which I was a bit scared of.

But it went better than expected. You also get a WalkyTalky, which is used to call you a few times to check that everything is still OK.

On the way back we didn’t meet anyone either, many probably turned back because of the annoying flies, which don’t harm us, because since Panama nothing works without coconut oil, the Asians had never heard of it, although the coconuts fly around here in huge quantities.

Kanchanaburi ( River Kwai Bridge )

The way back from Nam Tok to Kanchanaburi (River Kwai Bridge) by train went through an interesting area along mountain slopes and over wooden bridge constructions. …-G. )

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On the way back, we stopped off in Kanchanaburi near the River Kwai Bridge, which Gerhard insisted on walking to.

The bridge over the Kwai (today Mae Nam Khwae Yai) was built in 1943 as a wooden bridge for the construction of the railroad line and only later, after material had arrived from Japan, was a new steel structure erected 200m further on. At 320m over the river, the bridges were a good target for Allied air raids, so that the bridges had to be repaired again and again and were alternately kept in place. When the material for the steel bridge ran out, only the wooden bridge was repaired. In mid-1945, operations had to be suspended due to the heavy air raids. After the war, the steel bridge was rebuilt by a Japanese company in 1946. The wooden bridge was also dismantled in 1946. The steel bridge was restored again in 1971. …-G. )

It was just too hot for me. Although I’m a fan of heat, I find it almost unbearable here, this dry heat that makes the skin shrink and dries out the mucous membranes and you can’t pour water in as quickly as it runs out through the pores.

We have accommodation right on the river, very nicely located, unfortunately there is only a fan, which we actually prefer for several reasons, but here, as unfortunately in many accommodations, there is no draught and that was quite intense in this heat.

However, we were able to take beautiful walks along the river, past many temples and pagodas, into the small town where, surprisingly, we were able to get coconut oil again after a long search. We use it not only against mosquitoes, but also for skin care (together with aloe vera) and as sun protection.

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Now back to Bangkok and from another station finally north to Chiang Mai and possibly on to Chiang Rai by bus. We have found a nice little hotel near the main station, as we have to get up very early again tomorrow. We stop off halfway, in Phitsanulok.

Phitsanulok

From there it’s an hour’s drive to an old historic town from the 13th century. As we only arrive in the afternoon, we have booked 3 nights in Phitsanulok. The hotel was difficult to find and the Grab driver was quite annoyed. The problem with all things is that there are several names
for one and the same place in Latin script, then all of it in Thai and if it’s a hotel, it’s only in Thai like here because it’s not a tourist area, but on our booking confirmation from Booking.com it’s in English. Grab can’t find the name, the cab driver can’t find the name and Gerhard has a different area on his cell phone, the hotel had forgotten a small detail in the street name. It worked out after we asked the cab driver to call the hotel, at least the numbers are the same everywhere.

So we went to the bus terminal early, as always far away from the station, and bought a ticket to Historical Town, then 1 ½ hours to Historical Town. The bus made surprisingly good progress and so we were surprised when we were told to get off and we were there. We looked around in amazement and asked where the Historical Town was, you have to take a cab, you’ll be there in 30 minutes. Speechless, we forgot about Grab and believed the cab driver’s bargain and paid three times as much as Grab. However, our reluctance disappeared when we got there, rented a bike and took a look at the area. It’s amazing what still remains in Asian countries despite the destruction.

Sukhothai ( Historical Park )

The Arial was opened as a Historical Park in 1988 and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 together with the surrounding Arials. The ruins and temples date back to the 13th and 14th centuries. The park covers an area of 2×1.6 km, so we decided to hire bicycles. There are a large number of temple ruins and some well-preserved statues, some of which certainly have an important and religious background for the locals. We were particularly impressed by the incredible buildings from that time and how well many of them are still preserved.

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Für uns war die Fahrt durch die Jahrhunderte mit dem Fahrrad auch nicht so leicht.

In the town of Phitsanulok there are also remains of the old temples, as well as other interesting corners. As elsewhere, there are also unusual street lamps to be discovered here.

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Buddha

Despite the heat, I went on an extended „hike“ through the city to visit a Buddha workshop.

Here, the figures cast in bronze are carefully cleaned, all casting residues removed, painted if necessary and polished to a high gloss. It is impressive how many different figures are produced there – and of course offered for sale. …-G. )

Otherwise it is impossible to do anything in this heat. We also found out that the rice fields in Chiang Mai are burning down and you can hardly breathe and then this dry heat….. We decide to turn around and go to our long-term hotel in Hua Hin with its 2 pools. In addition, the weather is changing everywhere and it’s been cooler in Hua Hin for a while than in the north (instead of 40° it’s only 36°!) It’s even too hot for my morning exercise, which I usually never skip!

…and again Bangkok

So back to Bangkok, past – not yet burnt down – rice fields, temples and „wild animals“. Sometimes the train passes so close to the houses that you think you are driving right through them. The „excursion bus“ has probably already done it.

The suitcase accommodation in Bangkok is still paid for for almost 4 weeks. Lugging the big suitcase back and forth is simply uncomfortable and Gerhard has got so used to his rucksack (it’s deceptive, but – shit happens) that I had to use all my powers of persuasion to at least take the small suitcase with me, because in Hua Hin you need a bit more, especially if you’re staying in the same hotel for 4 to 8 weeks. So we go to the storage to change a few things, of course we haven’t necessarily taken what we need with us, but it is so hot in the building that the 40° outside is still perceived as cool and thinking in here no longer works.

Now it’s time for a little break. ( Creative break, because what you’re reading right now is happening… ) We haven’t decided what to do next. It’s too hot at the moment and the pool here is just the thing.

My wish to go to Germany via India has probably come to nothing, Gerhard is happy, he didn’t want to go to India anyway. The visa conditions have changed since Jan. 1, you have to apply for a visa in person (!) in your home country.

We’re in a bit of a mess at the moment. If we had known that we would be staying in Hua Hin for so long, we would have taken everything with us. We miss our little blender to make hummus and the herbal spreads, especially as some of the shelves are now empty for a long time.

Gerhard has now got his ticket to Berlin, but India won’t let me go. I get an address in Bonn from Berlin. After I’ve described my case, I receive the normal visa applications from there. What’s going on now? The applications only go through an agency and not directly. 5 pages, starting with the German passport (who knows where it is), then the passport, which I have almost always used in Germany. Then the grandparents, the father, the mother, (now I remember that they didn’t ask about my siblings, hello, aren’t they important???). among many other things, the list of countries you have traveled to in the last 10 (!) years. With Gerhard’s help, I ended up with 18. There wasn’t that much space. But at the bottom it says that if something is missing or filled in incorrectly, the whole application will be rejected. Does anyone really do the math?

Then you have to pay for the whole thing beforehand. This is then the 6th and 7th sheet with a list of what else could be added, and the short-term visa can then easily come to 400 euros. And of course it says underneath: There is no guarantee that you will get the visa.

But well, it’s all over now anyway, neither mother nor father or grandparents are to blame, but the German identity card, which has now fallen on us and has been expired for 3 years !!!!!

At the moment, our visa is still valid until almost the end of May. We also needed to take a longer break.

I’ve only made so much progress with Buddism that there are probably a lot of different directions there too. You can see that in the temples. The Chinese ones are pretty and incredibly colorful and full of all kinds of figures and you often don’t find Budda at all. Then there are the simple ones with lots of gold and the ones that look like you’re at a fairground. With lots of colorful lights that alternate in all colors.

And the various alignments, of which one curiosity has stuck in my mind: a woman must first be reborn as a man in order to enter Nirvana. Men, do you really want that?

Elephant visit

There are about 8 certified elephant reserves in Thailand, where the animals are allowed to live in a species-appropriate way. A good friend, Christa from Lotoswell, had just brought me a brochure of tours the day before and there was a reserve among them. I went there to find out more and oh – luckily, we could still go right away. I called Gerhard: could you be at the hotel in 20 minutes and bring this and that with you? – We’re going to the elephants. He said yes, completely flabbergasted. I went along in the minibus, 4 other very interesting passengers were picked up from their hotels and we had a very nice long afternoon with a very informative guide who had lived in Germany for 2 years as a child and his German was so admirable that I just had to say once again: Hats off!

The Kuli Buri National Park is the only one where more than 320 protected wild elephants live and we were lucky enough to experience them in this untouched nature.

However, the „flying“ one is not an elephant, but one of the birds that protested loudly against the disturbance. And wild water buffalo were also feeding in the meadow. …-G. )

But not only the elephants were interesting, also the passengers, a German couple who have been traveling for 5 months, an Australian woman who wants to get to Romania, Croatia and Poland in just 3 weeks „because she has never been there“ and an Englishman whose English was comparable to our Bavarian, but our guide had no problems with that, unlike me.

In order not to stress the elephants too much, this national park only opens at 2 pm and closes 1 to 2 months during the main holiday season. Our tour only takes place once a week, so we were really lucky.

Afterwards, dinner was included and the guide once again had a good hand and we were served a delicious, varied meal (we were also very hungry by now).