Thailand – Bangkok – Days Out

Sorry folks, I’m always a bit behind in my writing and I’ve had a few issues with the website, hopefully it’s resolved now.

I wanted to go on the Death Railway!

Now that sounds gruesome and the history is horrible but, it is meant to have a spectacular rail journey and it terminates near a National Park. All sounds good doesn’t it?

So to start with a little history. The Burma Siam railway is 415km was built 1940 to 1943 and some 100,000 people died building it during the Japanese occupation. About 12,000 of those were prisoners of war, many of them British. The conditions were appalling and although many were moved to ‘rest’ camps after the war, some British Citizens were still there in 1947, after surviving the forced labour they died in the camps suffering malnutrition and disease.

The rail only runs from Bangkok Thonburi Station to Nam Tok now and we took the train with a view to an overnight stay. The station at Thonburi is probably unchanged since the war and I suspect the train carriages are too, so that gave it an authentic feel. The start of journey was extraordinary with houses and trees virtually up against the rail track. Can you imagine living in one of those shacks?

The other thing was, we have become braver with our food choices. Tatjana bought us some green mango ready prepared with chillie sugar salt (to dip) from one of the many food vendors wandering the train, it was really good!

The journey out was rather disappointing although the scenery was quite nice and I’m not really sure why. The interesting bit only seemed to last 20 minutes as we approached the River Kwai and I think the heat played a part in our mood. There was no way we were going to be able to enjoy the national park, it was just too hot! Neither of us wanted to visit the museums so we took the next train back!

Weirdly that was a much more interesting ride.

For those who are WW2 buffs, we took the bridge over the River Kwai that has so famously been dramatised (incorrectly) in a 1957 blockbuster! Apparently there were two bridges, one of wood and one of metal. Both were partially destroyed. The iron bridge our train used has been rebuilt.

It was a long day to be sat on a train!

The Ashram Visit

The next trip out was to the INEB (mentioned in the previous post) English Course, graduation at the Ashram, which means broadly speaking hermitage or monastic community. We had been invited as friends of Tospi although she was not present and one of the organisers could see that Servas aligns with INEB’s values.

This was held in a sort of Retreat outside Bangkok. The whole area seemed dedicated to growing trees and shrubs for landscaping, it was a completely flat landscape. The retreat itself had rooms and a library as well as meeting spaces, meditation places and a food hall.

This event was interesting and inspiring to me. A group of about 14 people of all ages had taken this three month English improvers course.

The students had to give a short speech and it became clear that this course did so much more than just help with English skills, it inspired, it improved confidence and in some cases started the healing process (for a few from Myanmar in particular). A holistic and transformative way of teaching it and not only for the students because some of the assistants also seem to have had an amazing experience too! The course is not just about English language, but about broader subjects, a global view of politics, social equality and ecological issues and bridging gaps that are created by racism, sexism etc

It was lovely to hear their speeches, some had dressed up in national costumes, which they had then swapped about, so Tatjana got a blank look when she spoke Japanese to one of the students in a Japanese yukatta, only to find out later he was from Myanmar!

I have to be careful with my photos here as some from Myanmar could be put in danger so, you only get the group hug at the end.

They are always looking for native English speakers to support the Teachers, hmm food for thought!

In the grounds we saw this (see below)!

At the lunch afterwards we got talking to a woman from Myanmar who is part of the Civil Disobedience Movement (worth looking it up) and working to better the lot of those under military rule. She was very passionate about what she does. I got talking to her on the bus back and felt she was really struggling, being safe when so many she cares about are not. What do you say to someone who has lived (and continues in a way to live) in hell? I hope I made appropriate remarks.

I know I’m truly privileged to live where I live and in the kind of world I live in.

Next, Ayutthaya a City of Temples