Well, the journey began late Saturday night (November 23rd). After waiting for a good hour on the road for the taxi to show up (apparently he was lost), I was off to Thailand! It has been almost exactly a year since my last visit to Thailand and hallejuah I was excited. Well, like all journey's, leaving India was not as easy as entering the country. Apparently, if you don't add the preceding letters of your flight to your flight number on the exit card, the crazy Indian immigration official will yell at you!
But, as luck would have it, the rest of the journey to Thailand was pleasant. With my new friend from India (priyanka), the both of us got upgraded to first class. OH YEAH BABY! Can you hear the champagne flutes and glasses of wine along with an assortment of desserts coming my way. Life is GOOD! I know at this point most of you must be cursing me on my good fortunes. But remember, I do live out of a room that has a bed and a outhouse type toilet that works when it feels like it. So, I think I deserve the good treatment.
Watching the sunrise in the plane and landing in bangkok was stunning. Have you ever been in love with a city? Well, for some reason no matter how many times I come back to this city, I seem to fall in love all over again. After Cambodia, Thailand is my favorite country and well Bangkok my second favorite city. After a quick exit from Suvarnabhumi airport (now infamous for being shut down for close to a week), we were off to the Royal Princess Hotel on Lang Luang road. The Thais can't pronounce “s” properly so, we were constantly asking for the Princep hotel.
Priyanka had decided to sleep off all the jet lag she was facing. I on the other hand had other plans. One of the things I had regretted on my last visit to Thailand was that I hadn't been to the Bridge over the River Kwai in Kanchanburi. After a quick google search, I found a mountain biking company that actually took you on a 10km ride around the river. Well, I signed up for it.
Can you hear the pain? Well after practically suffering through breathing issues, stomach flu and fainting spells in India, but my body was screaming bloody murder. I hadn't been on a bike since June in Uruguay and I am totally out of shape. The 10 km bike ride up and down hill nearly knocked the wind out of me.
It was completely worth it. I discovered underground caves built in the 13th Century by the different Siam Kings and of course Ganesha. No matter where you are in Thailand, you will find the Ganesha Idol and is also revered by the Thai people.
Standing on the Bridge
Cycling over the railway tracks made me feel numb. These were the very same tracks which the prisoners of war from Australia, Canada, India, Philippines were all interned and forced to create a network connecting Burma and Thailand. Japan's great vision in 1944 was to also conquer India and the route chose was through Burma. Seeing the tracks and the crude tools used, I was in tears. Nearly 5000 POW's died during this period to build the system. Cruelty was the norm, food supplies were covered in maggots and bodies were pushed beyond the limit of rational understanding. All in the name of a dream- conquer Asia pacific for resources.
The saddest point for me was visiting the POW museum and seeing the reality of it all. I cried reading the letters these soldier wrote back home, was inspired by their courage to communicate their whereabouts through tin radios, knowing that death would be certain if they were caught and felt utter sadness as I stared at the cemeteries across the road.
What was the point of such cruelty? All in the name of power and conquest? Time and Time again I kept thinking back on everything that has happened this year. Bombing across India, terrorist attacks and more insanity....where is the love?
We say “never forget, never again” but sadly, people forget forget and never again is made mockery off on a daily basis. All I kept asking myself on the ride back to Bangkok...where is the love?
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