A Day in Greater Bangkok

We spent Wednesday with Mr. Boonya (the same fellow who picked us up at the airport) who took us outside of Bangkok to the southwest.  Our first stop was at the market at Maeklong Station in Samut Songkhram, where the vendors display their goods right up against the tracks, and thus move everything forward and back because of the trains 4 times a day. 

 We arrived just as a train was leaving and so missed the transition.  That's Mr. Boonya in the background buying vegetables.

Morning glory vines--yum!

The array of eggplant available--the smallest are the size of large peas.

Some merchants have their goods on tables which can be pulled back and forth quickly on rails.

Next stop was the floating market at Damnoen Saduck, a community that still lives in a network of canals.  The commerce is strictly aimed at tourists however--lots of women paddling boats and selling fruit and cooking food on board (it was only 10:30 so we didn't feel like eating), and many canal-side stalls all selling the same cheap and cheerful souvenirs.  We think our boat driver was sad that we didn't buy a thing...

Drinking coconut juice straight from the fruit at the roadside.

The tallest stupa in Thailand--at Nakhon Pathom

We finished that day as we do everyday with laundry!  We've become adept at washing even our pants and shorts in the sink. This is the kitchen window of the condo.  I was able to take this picture by leaning out the window of the elevator hallway.  

We spent Thursday rambling around the big sights in central Bangkok (the Grand Palace, etc.) with the hoards of other foreigners, most of whom we think are amazingly inappropriately dressed for both modesty and sun protection!

And then at 7:30 PM we climbed aboard a VIP coach for the overnight trip to Phuket.  The seats reclined to about 175 degrees, just enough to get comfortable and then stiffen up because of the inability to shift around too much!  For a side-sleeper it's not the best.  But oh well, we arrived 12 hours later...  There was a stop at 1:30 for a complementary meal at a huge very commercial rest stop.  It was a welcome meal of congee and accompaniments.

Our hotel is in the outskirts of Phuket, about 3 km from the town centre.  We were able to check in early, had a shower and snooze to revitalize, and then hailed a cab to explore the town for the afternoon.  I'll download those pictures later--there's some very interesting architecture here called "Sino-Portuguese" which is a hybrid of Asian and European styles.

We're now off to find some breakfast and catch a local bus to the beach.  Might even go to one of smaller islands too.  It's now 8:15 AM Saturday and already hot and steamy--close to 30 degrees.  My Pi shawl is coming along nicely, and I'll take that to the beach with me.

More from Kanchananburi

Yesterday I posted images from Lloyd's camera.  I've now downloaded my pictures, and what follows is a random selection.

Our room at Apple's Retreat--a king sized bed on a platform--very comfortable.

Coconut palms

Waiting for the train at Nam Tok Station.  

Sugar cane being harvested.  We've seen lots of big trucks on the road loaded w

Knitting and surfing in the garden.  My pi shawl is coming along beautifully.  I now have 576 stitches on the needles so lots of good knitting still to come!

And here's the peace vessel again so you can see the attribution.  I was very moved by this bowl--that a man who worked with his hands to build a railroad under extreme duress found his calling in working with clay, and then has his work displayed in a very meaningful way.  That it's filled with fresh flowers every day is also special.

Kanchanaburi, Day 2

We hired a car and driver from our guesthouse for the day, and he drove us north about 60 Km to "Hell Fire Pass".  This was part of the "death railway" constructed in WWII by POW (mostly Aussie) and conscripted Asian labour.  They had only simple tools such as picks and shovels and hand drills plus dynamite to cut a pass through rock about 25 meters deep and 500 metres long.  And they did this in 6 weeks because they were forced to work around the clock on very limited rations of rice and vegetables, using torches for light (hence the name Hell Fire).  There is a very good museum at the top of the pass built by the Australian gov't about 20 years ago.  There aren't many artifacts because the POWs didn't have much stuff with them, but some very good photographs, models of the railway, diary and sketchbook excerpts, and maps.  I found one part of the museum particularly poignant:  there is a cantilevered deck out the back of the building overlooking the pass, and at the end is a beautiful blue pottery bowl created by an Australian potter who had been one of the POW laborers.  He survived the war, and later studied ceramics in Australia.  There is a bamboo frame floating in the bowl to support fresh flowers.  

Overlooking the Hell Fire Pass.  The Burmese border is on the edge of the distant peaks.

We then walked down the trail to the pass itself, and walked for about 40 minutes on the original rail bed. The rails were lifted about 50 years ago, and the rail bed was restored again with Australian financial support in the last 30 years or so.

Hell Fire Pass

And then for a complete change of pace, we were driven to Sai Yok Noi waterfall where many white tourists were cavorting in the water in their bikinis (and some definitely should have been wearing more clothes...)

And then to Lawa Cave with some spectacular chambers:

Lawa Cave:  Hot and humid, not cold!

We were a bit surprised at how warm it was in the cave--not at all like European caves which are cold.  And there was not a lot of oxygen--there was a sign at the entrance warning us to "take note of your body condition.  Oxygen levels are low."

We finished off the day by being dropped by our driver at the Nam Tok railway station to return to Kanchanaburi by train, a journey that took over 3 hours but very scenic.

A Third Class train meaning hard seats and no air conditioning--windows wide open...

And we've wrapped up the day with another wonderful meal here at our guesthouse (Apple's Retreat).  And I enjoyed 2 glasses of Thai white wine--a little weak but wine none-the-less!

We've Arrived in Kanchanaburi

We caught the bus to Kanchanaburi from the Southern Bus Terminal in Bangkok at 9:45 AM and arrived in this bustling city on the River Kwai around noon.  We took a mini bus or "songthaews" (a small pick up truck like our old Toyota with bench seats in the box) for 20 baht (66 cents) each to what we thought was our guest house, only to find that we had booked the sister facility across the river...  

Lloyd in the back of the songthaews

Janet up near the front

Relaxing on the patio at Apple's Retreat and Guesthouse, overlooking the River Kwai

We think we'll be happy here!  We can hear birds and smell beautiful scents from the tree blossoms.  We're waiting for lunch--I've ordered "morning glory vines" which I've had elsewhere, and I've decided this is my favourite vegetable for the moment.  Imagine eating morning glory!  From what I can tell, it's a totally different plant compared to the weed we pull out of the garden at home.

A Visit to a Silk Village in NE Thailand

The Mulberry Plantation

A sheet of silk worm eggs--they'll take about 9 days to hatch into worms.

Silk worms feeding on mulberry leaves for 3 - 4 weeks

When the worms are ready to start spinning their cocoons, they're removed from the leaves.

The fat wriggling caterpillars are sprinkled into rattan trays and then covered with netting.

Starting to spin their cocoons

These cocoons are just about ready for the bath...

A full tray of cocoons--this took from 2 - 7 days.

The cocoons are dropped into simmering water, and the seracin (the gummy yellow substance) softens.

The fibres from several cocoons are "reeled" into a single thread.

The moths inside the cocoons were cooked by the boiling water--the women snacked on these.  We were offered them as a treat but we declined!  I wished I had been brave enough...

This was the only man working in the process--he was creating skeins of "raw silk" from the dry fibre created above.

Skeins of raw silk--still full of seracin...very stiff and coarse.

Our guide in the village--the leader of the silk workers--at work on her loom.

The warp is pink and the weft has been dyed both pink and grey.  She adjusts the weft to get the  undulating pattern

I bought this scarf--very similar to what she was weaving above. 

Our driver's wife was also a weaver in the "Mudmee" tradition which is  where the weft threads are tied and dyed.

Her dye studio

At our driver's home--a traditional Thai house on stilts which is nice and breezy.  I was using his broadband internet connection.

Happy New Year from Thailand

The very welcoming sign

We arrived just before midnight Dec. 31 after almost 24 hours in transit.  As soon as we stepped off the plane we knew we were in the tropics—hot and steamy!  We were met as planned by Mr. Boonya who was holding a lovely sign with our names—very welcoming.  He very thoughtfully took us to a 7-Eleven enroute so that we could buy a few groceries for the next day.  (7-Elevens seem to be everywhere here.)

Our home base in Bangkok is a studio apartment owned by a friend’s brother and his wife.  It’s in a northern suburb called Nonthaburi which is the terminus for the river boats.  The river boat pier is about 2 km from the condo, a short taxi or bus ride away. 

Our home away from home in Bangkok

Mr. Boonya picked us up at 9 AM for a first day of sightseeing on New Year's Day—he drove us south of Bangkok to “Ancient Siam”, a very large open-air museum of traditional Thai buildings, both reconstructed and original moved from other parts of Thailand.  This was an excellent introduction to the variety of architectural styles of houses, temples, palaces, and gardens.  One of the best parts was that admission included a bicycle rental, and we contentedly cycled around the place on creaky old bikes.  

Lloyd's bike is sized for a person half his size!

My bike fit me a bit better but was very rusty

It’s lucky that we arrived when we did, in the midst of a four day holiday for New Year’s.  As a result, the Bangkok traffic has been comparatively light because those people who can get out of the city did so.  January 4 was the first day back to work for everyone and we could see and hear an immediate difference—rush “hour” lasts at least 12 hours, 7 AM – 7 PM.

Lloyd gazing out over the river from the boat

A long boat on the canal

So far in the three days that we’ve been here, we have experienced most forms of transportation in this hectic city and our favourite is the river boat.  Yesterday we caught the express boat from Nonthaburi pier and travelled about an hour south to N1 or Oriental pier.  From there we wandered the back lanes and streets before venturing onto the Metro (underground) and then transferred onto Sky Train (very similar to Vancouver’s).  We also took a long boat on a canal—now that was quite the ride!  The two attendants wore motorcycle helmets with good reason—for protection against the low bridges just in case they don’t duck in time!  The canopy of the boat was also dropped as we approached these bridges.  We’ve taken a few rides in “tuk-tuks” and that is the most uncomfortable especially for Lloyd.  He can’t sit up straight, and even slouching in the seat has no room for his legs.  And coming back from Nonthaburi pier we caught a “hot” bus (meaning not A/C) to the condo.

The setting sun

We enjoyed a beer at a floating restaurant near the pier and watched the sun set at about 5:45.  Easy to tell that we’re not too far from the equator because there is very little twilight and dawn, and the days are just a little shorter than the nights. 

We’ve experienced hectic street markets selling all manner of things, from household goods and clothing to food.  Surprisingly, there seem to be more fish and meat stalls than fruit and vegetables, however we have been able to buy bananas, mandarin oranges, and green mangos.  We’ve eaten lunch and dinner “al fresco”, either in little sidewalk stalls where you can see the food being prepared a few feet away or in restaurants near the condo.  I think it might be difficult to be a vegetarian here—so far the menus are heavy with meat (pork or chicken) or fish and seafood. 

On January 4^th we rode in a luxurious express coach to Ban Phai in the north-east—comfy seats that recline with foot-rests, a uniformed attendant who handed out blankets, water, juice and cookies, and lunch (a cooked—tepid—meal of rice, vegetables and spicy pork). 

We have been very well looked after—what we’ve experienced of Thai hospitality so far has been absolutely wonderful.  Our hosts have lent us a cell phone, and keep in touch with us to make sure that all is well.  We’ve been equipped with written instructions to show taxi drivers to ensure we don’t get lost.  We were met yesterday afternoon in Ban Phai by our local guide and driver, Mr. Pao, who phoned us while we were on the coach and talked to the attendant to confirm where and when to pick us up.  Mr.  Pao took us to his own home to use the washroom and to see his wife’s work—she is one of many women working in the silk trade—and today we  visited more weavers and dyers.  I'll save that for the next post!

Preparing to Travel...

Lloyd and I are getting ready to travel in SE Asia and India January to March, and my big decision has been what knitting project to pack. I normally consider socks the ideal take-along project--small, lots of stitches, and wearable when finished. However that works for a three week trip, but what about 2 1/2 months? A knitting friend suggested E Zimmermann's Pi shawl, and sure enough I have the book on my shelf:

She called it the Pi shawl because it's based on the geometry of a circle--the relationship of the circumference to the radius.

One other restriction is that I want to use only materials in my stash, and to that end I've chosen a yarn purchased in China 5 1/2 years ago plus some handpainted Koigu.

Isn't this a lovely label?

But unfortunately I can't quickly figure out how much yarn I have--apart from seeing that each ball is 125 grams. I could measure off a certain length, knit a swatch and calculate the area to figure out if I'll have enough, but I can't be bothered!

I have knit a swatch to see what size needles I'll use, plus I wanted to see how the combination of Koigu and Chinese yarn would work. Okay I think...

Interesting how *YO, K2tog* slants to the right, and *K2tog, YO* biases to the left...

Maybe I'll find some lovely fine yarn along the way that I can incorporate as well.

The idea is to knit until I run out of yarn--ideally this will make a nice big circular shawl which will be useful at some point during the trip.