bikes and bridges

10:13 8 October, Blue Star Guest House

Yesterday, after leaving the coffeehouse, I wandered around for a bit looking for the least expensive means of transportation that would safely get me to the bus station. My deliverance came in my first ride on a songthaew. Songtaews are converted pick-up trucks with two benches in the back and a metal frame and roof. The ride to the bus station cost me only 60 baht, compared to the 150 baht I had paid for a private motor scooter (or the 500 baht the fixed-price taxis were charging). It was actually a great way to get through town, I sat in the back and watched as we drove along the coast and in through the jungle. I remember thinking how in less than a month I'll be back in comfortable familiarity, and reveling in how foreign everything around me was as watched street vendors drive around in their motorized booths and palm trees whisk the tropical air.

I arrived at the bus station at 17:00 to discover that a bus for Bangkok was leaving at 17:30. The trip takes about 12 hours (give or take an hour) and so I had no real interest or motivation for getting into Bangkok at 5:30 the next morning, but I couldn't establish when the next bus was leaving, or if there even was another bus. Not wanting to risk it, and figuring that I'd be waiting around in bus stations one way or the other, I bought my 700 baht ticket and climbed on board. Having worshiped the ground they rode on last time, I was somewhat less impressed with this particular version of the VIP bus. A lot of it had to do with my seat, which because of the disorderly arrangement, had far less leg room than the other seats. Changing seats is strictly verboten (believe me, I tried) and so I had to slug in out in somewhat more cramped quarters. Still, it was only disappointing in contrast to the buses of Egypt and Nepal, and had I come across such a set up anywhere else, I would have been ecstatic.

Cruising through town on the bus, limestone outcroppings looming in the background.

The in-ride entertainment was somewhat more entertaining than last time. For the first two hours we watched karaoke-style concerts of famous Thai performers, before moving on to "Only Seconds to Spare", which I can only assume was a B movie produced and shot in Australia before being dubbed over in Thailand. The music videos were kind of fun if you could just switch your brain off enough to appreciate them. Each song followed an elaborate plot between two singers, and their epic tale of love and despair. First the girl would get a brain tumor and they guy would see her through it, then the guy would go brain-dead trying to save the girl from drowning and the girl would see him through it, then the girl's tumor would act up (I swear to God I'm not making this up) but through it all, their love, and their songs, would carry them through... until (and I'm still not making this up) the girl dies from the brain tumor at the end.

It seems like pain and unhappy endings are somewhat of a theme in Thai pop music, or at least that's what I noticed in more than half the music videos we were shown. There were a few upbeat songs, like the one about the wacky hi-jinks a group of Thai pop stars would have gotten in if they were poor and drove around in a beat-up van, or the outhouse adventures of three poor friends (poverty is another big trend) but mostly it was just depressing in an over-the-top way that made me keep furtively cracking up.

Midway through "Only Seconds to Spare" (which I'll be IMDBing as soon as I have a wifi signal) we stopped for dinner. This pleasant surprise involved everyone filing off the bus, and being shown to a small roadside restaurant where we were served, family-style, a Thai meal. I was the only Westerner on the bus, and the people at my table treated me the way you would treat a confused child, pointing at different dishes and nodding their heads in a quizzical way. In truth, I didn't really have a handle on family-style table etiquette in Thailand, so I appreciated their tolerance, and enjoyed the meal beyond simply eating the food.

We arrived in Bangkok early, pulling into the station at around 4:30. There was a surprising amount of activity going on at the bus station in the early morning hours, and I started to hope that I might be about to find a place to grab coffee. Unfortunately, the food court was closed, and the pink and orange sign of a Dunkin Donuts taunted me with its lack of illumination. Despairing of caffeine options that didn't involve Nescafe or Coke, I instead bought a ticket for the 5:30 bus to Kanchanaburi, and grabbed a croissant and juice from a 7-Eleven. The bus ride was uneventful, I mostly slept, but when we pulled into Kanchanaburi two hours later, I set out on a renewed quest for coffee. Scouring the town, I was disappointed to find that most restaurants, even the chains, don't open until 9:30 or 10:00. Beaten once again, I called the guest house that I had booked, and they came to pick me up at the bus station.

When I was young, I remember trying coconut "milk", and finding it rather gross... after trying this local refreshment, it seems nothing has changed, but at least the bananas were good.

The grounds of the guest house are quite nice, motel-style rooms lead down to the river bank, where bamboo bungalows are held above the water by stilts. I am in such a bungalow, and since I'm paying only 200 baht a night, it's hard to complain about the austere interior. But never mater that the toilet "flushes" right into the river (by the use of a pale of water you pour into the bowl) or that the mattress is unable to hide the impolite acts committed on it, I'm not here to stay in a resort, I'm here to see the town. And since I just got in, took a shower, and had a hot meal, I think it's time that I see about renting a bike or a scooter and doing just that.

19:02 9 October, Ali Bongo Indian Restaurant

I'll admit that I was a little worried about driving around on a motorbike in Thailand. Not only would it be my first experience driving on the "wrong" side of the road, I'd also have to contend with the chaotic, and at times aggressive Thai driving conditions. Assuring myself that I could handle it, I found more than a few rental agencies willing to rent me a motorbike for around 200 baht, no drivers license required. That last bit, though alarming, was actually fortuitous, as though I had a copy of my drivers license, the original was lost in my wallet in Israel. So, after signing my name on the dotted line, and selecting a helmet that fit, I was handed the keys to a baby blue motorbike, and was on my way.

Driving in the city was a bit nerve wracking, and I started off by driving slowly on the side of the road. After a while, once I had the hang of it, I was a little more adventurous, but still maintained safe speeds, and yielded to any traffic wishing to pass me. After an unsuccessful attempt to locate the post office, I took a turn that led me led out of traffic and out of town. Here, driving was a joy. Making my way along the scenic, yet surprisingly well paved back roads, I breathed the fresh country air and cruised along wherever the road took me. I drove along winding river roads, and though towering limestone outcroppings; made my way passed thick jungle forests and rolling grassy plains.

After stumbling onto a rather surprising expanse of horse corrals, I stopped at a local temple to look around. It was a very peaceful setting, a place completely devoid of tourist amenities, and I enjoyed a brief walk around the grounds before remounting my motorbike and quietly driving off. After leaving behind the temple, the roads became somewhat more rugged as pavement was replaced with well-packed dirt. I drove through a small village that was home to the (locally) famous "Giant Monkey Pod Tree". The tree was quite a spectacle, its leafy branches reaching out beyond my ability to crop them into a single photograph. Motoring on, I came to a long dirt road that cut through the middle of a national park. The road was bumpy, but navigable, and the ride reminded me of clips I've seen of rally circuits through Africa.

Riding through the countryside.

Emerging on the other side of the park, I continued through the countryside until I saw a rather jaw-dropping sight on the horizon. Towering over the rice fields and plains rose a massive temple complex built upon a limestone outcropping. Resembling St. Basil's Cathedral in St. Petersburg in the way its several towers clustered together in a display of vertical grandeur, the temple complex was too tantalizing to pass up and I began making my way toward it.

The temple complex, from afar.

Parking at the base of the complex, I walked up the long and ornate staircase to the top of the limestone outcropping that formed the base of the temples. A truly massive Buddha, the largest I've ever seen, sat in a half-lotus amphitheater looking out over the farms and villages below, while all around him towering temples pierced the horizon. I was the only Westerner around - this temple, I would later find, was astonishingly omitted from the guidebooks - but there were a few Thai tourists mingling with the monks. After taking in the view from the base, entered the main temple, and followed a twisting staircase to the top. The view from the top was spectacular, as I could not only appreciate the landscape, but I could also look down on the entire temple complex. It was an unforgettable stop, made all the better by my chance discovery of the temple, and after making a donation towards its further construction, I returned to my motorbike and began retracing my route back into town.

Looking down at the massive Buddha .

I didn't head head straight back, however, and instead followed a promising sign toward the "Crystal Caves". Limestone lends itself to cave formation, so there are a myriad of caves scattered across Thailand. Some of the more impressive of these have been established as Buddhist Temples, as was the case of the Crystal Caves. Taking their name from the astonishing crystal formations in two of the three main caves, the site is well maintained by the Buddhist monks who live there. I was shown around by a young monk-in-training, and both the caves and the monastery grounds, located high atop a sloping limestone cliff, were an excellent diversion.

My young guide, leading me through the monastery grounds.

After leaving the caves behind, I slowly made my way back to Kanchanaburi. The sun was still reasonably high in the sky, but it was on its way out, and I had no interest in navigating the city in the twilight. With this in mind, I tried to find my way back to my guest house, but seeing signs for the city's most famous attraction, I instead veered off for one last stop.

During World War II, the Japanese, with who Thailand sided, marshaled a force of 60,000 P.O.W.s and 270,000 civilian slave laborers to construct a railway that would serve as a supply route through the jungles of Burma and Siam. The railway made many water crossings, but none more famous than the at the bridge on the River Kwai. Immortalized by the book and 1957 movie of the same name, the bridge was bombed by the U.S. Air Force before being reconstructed for modern use. With the exception of the repaired middle section, the bridge that exists today is the original structure built by the P.O.W.s and civilian slave laborers living and dying in the Kanchanaburi P.O.W. camp. 12,399 P.O.W.s and approximately 90,000 civilians laborers perished in the construction of the "Death Railway", which means that approximately one man died for every railway tier laid between Burma and Siam. There are 686 railway tires on the bridge alone, I counted.

The arched portions are original, the midsection was repaired after the bombing.

The bridge would have been more moving if there weren't quite so many tourists packed on it, but I made the walk across nonetheless, vowing to return early the next morning when I hoped there would be fewer visitors. Returning back to my guest house, I had a light dinner before slumping down onto my bed and falling into a restless sleep.

I woke early the next day, as planned, and motored back to the bridge. I was happy to find it nearly deserted, and as such I was able to better reflect on the extant structure as a memorial to those who had perished in its construction. As the sun rose higher, the tourists began to descend on the bridge, and I left it to the camera-toting hordes. I headed back into the country for a short ride along the river.

Coming across a local road, I decided to explore it as a diversion, and I slowly motored down the dirt path passed bamboo huts and cattle pastures. Often when I visit a new city or country, I find myself asking: "is this a place I could see myself living?" Not even taking into account that this would mean leaving behind New Hampshire, for one reason or another, the answer is usually "no". But as I drove down this local road, I realized how infrequently I actually visit the residential and rural areas of the places I travel. I don't know what it was about this country lane, with its simple houses, dirt roads, and tire swings, but there was something very appealing about the prospect of living there.

Even though I never had one, there's just something nostalgically appealing about a tire swing.

I stayed just long enough to daydream about what it would have been like growing up in a place like this, before looping back around into town for a visit to the J.E.A.T.H. Memorial Museum. An acronym Japan, England, America and Australia, Thailand, and Holland, the museum is constructed in a replica of the bamboo buts used to house prisoners of war. Today, it houses photographs, prisoner artwork, and press clippings relevant to the construction of the railway and the bridge. Many of the pieces on display, especially the artwork, were horrifically telling of the brutality and hardships borne by the prisoners. It helped to bring to life a history I had only seen through the soft lens of 50's-era Hollywood.

Inside the J.E.A.T.H. Memorial Museum.

The museum was my last real stop of the day. I returned my rented motorbike, and I've spent the rest of the day walking around town and reading. I've been camped out in the Ali Bongo Indian Restaurant for nearly four hours now, enjoying a few courses of rather excellent Indian food, and sipping on tea while I use their internet. A rather heavy rainstorm picked up just a few minutes ago, and I'm glad that I only have a short walk back to my guest house. And before I overstay my welcome (probably not possible, I've become rather friendly with most of the staff here at this point) I think that it's just about time that I do just that.