Check out before leaving to make sure your destination hotel and restaurant accept pets.

Pack a travel kit for your pet.
Stock yourself with the pet’s regular food, water, milk, and food dishes. If your pet is big in size, manage car space before leaving. Plan stops at regular intervals to let your pet defecate, and go for a short run.

Do not feed or give water to your pet one or two hours before the start of your trip to avoid defecating during the ride. Do not feed the pet too much during the ride too as they may get carsick.

Don’t forget your pet’s favourite toy or two, a leash, regularly used cage or carrier, identification tags, including the pet’s name, your name and destination address in case the pet get lost, clean-up equipments such as plastic bags, cleansing liquid, towel, and spray-type room deodorant or air freshener if you will be taking your pet into a motel or hotel room.

Taking your children upcountry will make them healthy and give them a good opportunity to have new experiences.
One of the most important jobs you have as a parent is to keep your child safe when riding in a vehicle. Proper use of additional safety equipment helps keep children safe in case any accident happens because safety belts and airbags are made for adults and not designed for children.

An important thing for travelling with children is the “car safety seat”. Thai law does not require use of the car seat but it is a law in many countries.

There are different types of car safety seats. The type of seat your child needs depends on its age, size, and type of vehicle. To make sure your child is using the most appropriate seat, read on.

1 Infant car bed: Its shape looks similar to a basket. The infant car bed is designed for babies, especially babies who are delivered ahead of schedule. Car beds allow babies to lie down while travelling. Position your baby’s head toward the middle of the car and away from the door.

2. Rear-facing infant seat: It is designed for children younger than three years old. Place a rear-facing car safety seat in the back seat of a vehicle and never place it in the front seat that has an air bag. All infants should always ride rear-facing. Infants are at greater risk of injury in crashes because their heads are fragile, their neck bones are soft and the ligaments that help support the neck are stretchy. A rear-facing seat will support your infant’s head, protecting his or her head, neck and spine ­– and spreading the force of the crash across the back when there is any hit in the front of the car.

3. Forward-facing child seat

It is designed for older children who have outgrown their rear-facing car safety seats. Place a forward-facing car safety seat in the back seat of a vehicle. It is best to ride all children forward-facing. This type of seat may be designed to convert from rear-facing to forward-facing seats.

4. Booster seat

Booster seats are for older children who have outgrown their forward-facing car safety seats. Booster seats are designed to raise the child up so that the lap and shoulder seat belts fit properly.

With so many vehicle and safety seat models available, you may be confused about choosing a child safety seat correctly. You should ask sellers to install the seat in your car before making any decision. If possible you should have your child sit on it to check if it fits his or her weight and height.

Most mothers in Thailand carry the children on their lap and sit alongside the father, who drives the vehicle. If there is an accident both mother and child will be in danger. Unexpected incidents can happen anytime, during short or long-distance drives. Using car safety seats will help fathers drive comfortably and confidently without worrying about safety.
All children should ride in car seats from the time they are born.
Children under 10 years of age must always ride in the back seat. Also never allow two children to share seat belts.

Travelling long-distance may affect the eating, sleeping, and even defecating habits of your child. But do not be worried. They will adjust within a few days and return to their usual habits when they arrive home.

You should not forget to take along your child’s favourite toy, blanket or towel. Prepare some activities or toys to play with them during the ride. It can prevent them from disturbing fathers’ while driving.

Also be well-prepared with food and defecating equipment for children, especially wet tissue.
When your child reaches an age where he or she can be responsible, you should buy a bag or backpack for the child to manage his or her belongings. This will reinforce a sense of responsibility and ownership.

Pregnant women must avoid travelling on long trips or undertake primitive rucksack or too adventurous journeys in the first and last three month of pregnancy.

Try to limit the amount of time you are cooped up in the car. Keep travel time to around five to six hours. Use rest stops to take short walks and to do some stretches to keep the blood circulating and prevent cramp.

Pregnant women, who are driving, should keep your seat as far back from the steering wheel as you can and allow your feet conveniently put on the brake and the accelerator.

For the best protection in a vehicle wear a lap–shoulder belt every time you travel. The safety belt will not hurt your baby. You and your baby are far more likely to survive a car crash if you are buckled in.

When wearing your safety belt always wear both the lap and shoulder belt. Buckle the lap belt low on your hipbones, below your belly. Never put the lap belt across your belly. Place the shoulder belt across the center of the chest (between your breasts)—never under your arm. The upper part of the belt should cross your shoulder without chafing your neck. Never slip the upper part of the belt off your shoulder.

Safety is the most important thing whenever you travel with children and pregnant women. If you are careful and have proper planning it can prevent you from unexpected incidents.

For tourists who do not want to go on a long drive or whose car is not ready for a long trip can rent a car from car rental companies. There are many car rental companies in tourists’ attraction|:

• Avis Thailand: Car rental service for travel in Thailand. Make a reservation at 022511131-2, 0-2255-5300-4  or  click www.avisthailand.com

• Krungthai Car Rent: Offers various types of car with good service and special price. Call head office 0-2291-8888, 24 hours Call Centre 0-2246-0089, or click www.krungthai.co.th

• Budget (Thailand): Car-rental service for travel and business in Thailand and international, short-term and long-term. Budget has 26 locations throughout Thailand and over 3,000 locations in 130 countries.  Domestic call 0-2203-9222 and international call 1-800-283-438 (toll free) or click www.budget.co.th

• VR Car Rent:  Largest wide range of selections of cars as requirements.  Company’s offices are in Pattaya, Rayong, Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi Airport. Free delivery and pick-up service at your company or residence. Call 08-9931-5577, 08-6336-0080, 08-6329-0512, 08-9802-0220 or click www.VRcarrenT.com

• Pattaya Car Rent: 24 hours service and free delivery and pick-up service. Call  08-9802-0220, 08-6336-0080

• Songkhla Car Rent: New sedans, big vans, buses, and pickups for rent in Songkhla, Satun, Trang, Patthalung, and   Nakhon Sri Thammarat. Call 08-1276-0137, 08-1128-8464 or  click www.songkhlacarrent.net

• Krabi Car Rental: Offers various brands of sedans, pick-ups, and jeeps for rent in Krabi. Call 08-1895-5138 or click www.krabicarrental.com

• Phuket New Car Rent: Car rental service for travel in Phuket. Call 08-6951-1117 or click    www.phuketnewcarrent.com

• Hua Hin Car Rental: Car rental service with various vehicle choices in Hua Hin. Short-term, long-term, and monthly car rental. Call 08-6006-2924 or click www.huahincarrental.com

• Cash Car Rent: The leader of car rental service in Chiang Mai with more than one hundred of cars. Call 08-0032-2522 or click www.cashcarrent.com

• Northern Car Rent: Car rental service in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provides many vehicle choices such as sedans, pick-ups, jeeps, vans, and SUVs at various prices, including first-class insurance, and with or without drivers.  Free delivery and pick-up from Muang District. Call 08-1716-1211, 0-5380-6696 or click  www.northerncarrent.com

• Mae Hong Son Car Rent: Offers car rental for travel in Mae Hong Son and other provinces in the north. Call 08-6183-5401, 08-4151-3725 or click www.maehongsoncarrent.com

When preparing for travel you have to be ready for unexpected incidents. That’s where travel insurance comes in. There are two popular types of travel insurance:

• Accident insurance, which covers funeral expenses for preparation and return of the insured’s body to hometown.
• Accident plus medical health insurance, which covers hospital and medical expenses too. But insurance premium is higher than for accident insurance.
The insurance premium depends on benefits and risks of each journey.

How to purchase travel insurance

After checking information and choosing an insurance company then make a phone call to the company. The company will ask for personal information such as name, surname, and address. You may be asked to send your identification card too. You should tell the company details of your journey such as where and how you plan to go, and how long the trip would last. After that the company will send an official acknowledgement signed by an authorised person and a receipt to you. You have to keep the documents as records.

Suggestion: Frequent travellers should buy travel insurance coupon from the company you are in contact with. It is more convenient and cheaper than buying per trip.

Most of the travel coupon is valid for one year. When you want to travel you just inform your name, surname, and age, plus your coupon’s number to the company. The company will contact you and ask for details of your trip. You then wait for an official acknowledgement signed by an authorised person and a receipt. You have to keep the documents as records.

The most important thing in purchasing the travel insurance is the accuracy of your name and surname as it is needed for verifying when an accident takes place during your trip.

These days national parks are popular tourist sites. Urban people go back to nature and love to travel to the parks. In the past, it was a bit difficult to travel to the national parks. Nowadays many parks offer facilities such as food shops and accommodations though in limited numbers. So tourists who plan to stay overnight in any national park, should make a reservation for the accommodation.

An accommodation reservation must not be made earlier than 60 days prior to check-in date. Each reservation cannot be booked for more than three consecutive nights. After getting the reservation, you have to pay an accommodation fee within two working days.

How to book an accommodation reservation

1. Online booking at www.dnp.go.th

1. You can directly contact by telephone, mail or personally at a park’s reservation counter and online service. Below are the reservation counter services

• The National Park Office of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department at Pairotesuwannakorn  building (+66 2562 0760)
• Bureau of Protected Area Management 11-16 and its branches
• National Parks (only Internet service provided)

3. Making a reservation online first and then submitting a   permission request and other details to the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department at +66 2579 5269.  Tourists who do not want to stay at the national parks’ accommodations can go directly to the parks without making any contact in advance.  But you have to pay an entrance fee and bring your own tents and bedding accessories.

Entrance fee for tourists

The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department has set new entrance fees based on the environment, and facilities of the National Park, as well as public utility.

• Entrance fee for Mu Ko Surin and Mu Ko Similan National Park, Phang Nga, is Bt80 for Thai adult, Bt40 for Thai children, Bt400 for foreigner adult, and Bt200 for foreigner children.

• Entrance fee for the national parks below is Bt40 for Thai adult and Bt20 for Thai children. Fee for foreigner adult is Bt400 and for their children it is Bt200.
Doi Phahompok National Park, Chiang Mai
Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai
Thung Salaeng Luang National Park, Phitsanulok- Phetchabun (Thung Nang Phaya, Thung Noan Son)
Khao Yai National Park, Prachin Buri, Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok, and Nakhon Ratchasima
Mu Ko Lanta National Park, Krabi (every island)
Hat Noppharat Thara
Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park (every island)

Fee for all other national parks is Bt40 for Thai adult and Bt20 for Thai children. Fee for adult foreigner is Bt200 and for their children it is Bt100.

However some small national parks may charge an entrance fee of Bt20 for a Thai adult and 10Bt for Thai children, according to the announcement of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.

Tourists who travel with their own cars have to pay the entrance fee for driving their cars into the parks too. Entrance fee for cars, pick-ups and vans (not exceeding 12 seats) is Bt30 per unit, except at Khao Yai National Park where it is Bt50.  Fee for cars not exceeding 24 seats is Bt100 and more than 24 seats is Bt200.

During normal use, you should regularly make simple examinations of the radiator, engine oil, battery fluid and water for the screen wiper. This should be done at least once a week, and particularly before every long trip.

Water in the radiator should be at the maximum level required.

• You should check the battery’s fluid level. For the wet type, the fluid level should not exceed the ceiling, which is the lowest level of the plastic part that is connected to the top cap. Overflowing fluid will release a corrosive acid that can damage the battery’s poles and the engine’s metal parts. All of the battery’s openings should be equally filled with distilled water.
• Check the level of the engine oil. You should have a one-litre can of engine oil in your car in case it is needed. Engine oil is likely to be reduced in off-road or tough driving conditions.
• Water for the windshield wiper is necessary, especially when driving during the rainy season. Wet roads tend to cause water to be splashed on the windscreen, and wiping the windscreen can ensure proper visibility.

These are simple checks that can be done regularly in our everyday use of car. However, before your long trip, you should have your vehicle examined. New cars or ones with a few years of use may not pose serious problems.
But older cars need to be carefully examined, particularly when you are about to travel on difficult roads with a lot of bends and elevations. If that is the case, you should have your cars examined at service centres with the focus on brakes and the clutch.

Clutch: In cars with automatic transmission, clutch is not much in use. However, clutch is still in need for vehicles with a manual shift system. You should have it examined when there are problems like difficulty in pressing the clutch lever, in putting the clutch in its position, or in shifting the gear. If you have the device checked regularly, there is no cause for concern.

Braking system: For modern-day vehicles, motorists can rest assured that their wheels will not get locked for sudden braking. Almost all vehicles of today are fitted with an ABS (anti-lock braking system). However, you also need to have it examined for the sake of safety before travelling on a route that has many curves and goes into a mountainous area.
For those who have 4WD vehicles modified for off-road drives, you should pay attention to the braking system. Opt for quality brake oil and brake pads that can withstand heat. You should also regularly examine the brakes. The more powerful your car is, the better brakes you require. This is particularly true for off-road driving, where there is no room for a mistake.

Tyres: They are like the feet of the vehicle. With bad feet, it is difficult to travel. A simple way to take care of tyres is to fill them with air.
Many people are unsure about the appropriate level of air to for the tyres before a long trip. You should consult the vehicle handbook. Air-filling should be done when the tyres are not hot or after a drive of no longer than two kilometres. Before a long trip, you should add an extra 3-5 pounds/square inch. Also, you should check the spare tyre and fill it with extra air.
Passenger cars and pickup trucks require different levels of air for their tyres.
For passenger cars, the tyre’s air pressure should not exceed 35 pounds/square inch, depending on the size and type of the vehicle.

• In small passenger cars, the tyre requires air pressure between 25 and 30 pounds/square inch.
• In middle-sized and large saloons, the tyre’s air pressure should range between 30 and 35 pounds/square inch.

For pickup trucks, the tyre’s air pressure should not exceed 35 pounds/square inch. But for trucks with heavy loads, the tyre’s air pressure can be added up to 50-60 pounds/square inch.
An over-filled tyre:

• is prone to cause the middle outer surface to wear down;
• leads to reduced flexibility and resistance to pressure and can cause an explosion due to a heavy load or an impact;
• leads to poor stability and contact with road surface.

An under-filled tyre:

• causes the tyre’s shoulder to wear out faster and more easily;
• makes it more difficult to turn or control the steering wheel;
• leads to reduced stability of the vehicle

Lighting system: Make sure that the car’s lamps, tail lights, turn signals and reverse lights are all working. If any of them is not, you should have it replaced, for your safety. You may do it yourself or have a service centre do it for you.

Windscreen wipers: Many motorists neglect or take windscreen wipers for granted. They find out that the device is not fit for use only when they need it. Raindrops on the windscreen can reduce visibility and as a result can be perilous to the driver and fellow motorists. This can be the case on a trip that passes through different areas where abrupt changes in the weather are common.
Regular maintenance of the wiper’s motor, joints and other parts can lengthen its life. The joints should be oiled, preferably with a waterproof lubricant. The wiper’s arm is the most ignored part, possibly because it rarely causes damage. You should check to see if the nuts that hold the joints are firmly in their place. The most important part is the wiper blade.
Do not buy the wiper because of its low price alone. It must suit your use. You should change the wiper every year and opt for a replacement blade with the same length as the old one. A shorter wiper blade means a shorter wiping radius, and a longer blade will rub against the windscreen’s rubber edges and damage itself. Stains on the windscreen may reduce the wiper’s effectiveness. You should clean the blade with damp cloth, rubbing lengthwise. You should do it every time you clean your car even though the wiper has not been in use for a long time. Remember to avoid detergent; it can deteriorate the rubber and damage the car’s paint.

Advance planning

could be the key to a wonderful journey.  This is especially true if you intend to be at the steering wheel. Good preparation means knowing when you plan to go, having all the required information, getting your baggage and vehicle right.

First of all, you should look for information to decide where you want to go. We’ve made it easy for you. Just check out chapter 4 onwards in this book.

You have to think about the most appropriate time to travel. For instance, it is not the right time to travel out into the sea, jungles, and caves during rainy season or spring. If you choose the perfect timing, you would be taking a big step towards having a memorable trip.

• Rainy season: Avoid travelling to islands, jungles, and caves particularly in areas where there are heavy rains. There is always the risk of flash floods and mud slides rushing down the snaking road. Rainy season, mostly, comes first to the northeast and north regions, then the central and the south. In the south, it tends to be windy and rainy.

• Winter: Most tourists love to flee the hot weather and travel to the north and the northeast in winter. There, it is the best chance to experience fog and the cold weather. Flowers are in full bloom in winter. Pink Sakura or “Phya Sua Krong” always bloom in very cold weather. However, the blooming time depends on the weather. The earlier the winter comes, the faster it blossoms. Mostly, “Phya Sua Krong”
blooms between mid-December and mid-January. Even in winter time, the south often gets rains.

•  Summer: Most people may dream of wonderful beaches, jungles, and waterfalls. If you are a backpacker and love jungles, summer is the best time to explore the south. There is no shortage of water and the weather is cold in the night. The temperature is below 20 degrees Celsius. It is also interesting to go for a dive and enjoy the coral reefs since the sea is quite tranquil. But you should go before April because the monsoons start to come after that. Many islands with famous diving sites will be closed due to heavy winds and waves.

• Transitional period between the rainy and winter seasons: This is also a great time to travel. The rains have ceased and all nature is reviving. Tourist spots are fresh. You can get a better view of sea fog than in the winter months. But rain continues to fall throughout the south.
When you have made your decision regarding when and where to go, it also important to decide the length of your stay. The more time you have, the further you can travel and the longer you can spend in one place. However, irrespective of how much time you have, it is important to prepare your baggage, your car, and yourself.

Preparing yourself and your car

You should not be too nervous if you want to enjoy your trip. Get yourself physically ready, and also your travel stuff for your adventure.

Clothing: You should take only necessary clothes. Take your pajamas to make you feel comfortable. In addition, you should carry…
• Raincoat – You will have a chance to use it often as you can expect rains everywhere in Thailand.
• Windcheater – It can help protect you from sunlight too. Wearing a colorful windcheater will also make you look smart when taking a picture.
• Coat – The weather in Thailand is hot so you should take a coat along only when travelling in winter.
• Towel – If you stay in a camp or tent you should keep a towel. A light towel is better than a heavy one. The heavy towel will easily become damp and smell bad. “Pha Khao Ma” or thin bathing cloth is very popular among jungle-loving tourists because it is light and comfortable.
• Lingerie – You should have enough for the whole trip.

Personal belongings
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, and comb
• Small pack of shampoo and liquid soap
• Body lotion
• Sun block
• Sanitary napkin (In addition to being useful for women during menstruation, it can be used in emergencies such as accidents, especially if you are far away from a hospital or town.)
• Cap and sunglasses
• Small umbrella
• Sleeping bag (If you are staying in a camp, you can rent it from any national park).
• Slippers

Tent: A tent for three persons is the perfect size because it won’t be too big, and would be easy to set up. You should bring a ground sheet too. It is multi-purpose. You can put the tent on the ground sheet or use it as a mat. Throw it in your trunk. It doesn’t take up much space.

Medicine: You should take along some necessary medicine such as paracetamol, muscle relaxant analgesic, medicine for stomachache, inhaler, balm, tincture, plaster, and bandage. You should put them in a small bag and keep it in a place where you can lay hands on it easily. Also add a small scissors and a pocket knife to the medicine bag.
You should also take some snack and water in your car in case you are hungry though it is very easy to find convenience stores at petrol stations along the road

Falling for Erawan

With electric buggies to ferry you round the woods and waterfalls, getting back to nature is easy at Erawan National Park

Phoowadon Duangmee
The Nation

Everything goes down at a National Park, except for the entrance fees. More often than not, visitors are left stranded at the visitor centre without a ranger in sight – let alone a map to reach for. Bad goes to worse for the poor soul who has to brave the toilets. The pungent smell, and then the sight that greets you, are obvious signs that a hiker has passed this way, marking his territory with more than just a footprint.

Tales of misadventure in Thailand’s national parks have been an endless source of entertainment for visitors huddled around the campfire over the years. For anyone who has just returned from Erawan National Park however, the story might be different.

A 550-square-kilometre area of wooded mountains and valleys in Kanchanaburi province, Erawan National Park is only a three-hour drive away from Bangkok.

“We have been very successful in tackling the pollution problem,” says Surachai Ajalaboon, the chief ranger. “Cars, for example, are prohibited from rumbling through the park – drivers have to leave them at the carparks provided. This policy has been extremely successful in reducing noise and air pollution.”

Named after the triple-headed elephant Erawan, the mount of Indra in Hindu mythology, the area represents a kind of living museum, preserving the flora and fauna of a tropical rainforest. The centrepiece, however, is the Erawan Waterfall where seven cascades sweep down with a rush of white water over the course of two kilometres. No matter how many times you’ve been before, it’s always hard to resist stripping down to your shorts and plunging in.

“Erawan Waterfall is one of the best natural spots to swim,” says Surachai. “The crystal-clear water gushes in to hundreds of pools and there are no jagged rocks to worry about thanks to the limestone geology.”

The park gets more than 100,000 visitors each year, taking a dip or just enjoying the laid-back hike over the waterfall trail.

The park is “zoned”, with separate areas set aside for car parks, restaurants, accommodation and conservation, in order to manage the flow of visitors.

“Food is banned from the second cascade onwards to avoid the litter problem,” adds Surachai. “As other vehicles are prohibited, we provide electrically-powered golf carts for travel through the park.

Apparently, the cart preserves the environment as much as the tempers of visitors who don’t fancy walking the eight kilometres from the visitor centre to the waterfall.
Weekenders can pitch their tents at the campsite, where clean, modern toilets are just a stone’s throw away.

Alternatively, they can rest their weary heads at the riverside lodge, where accommodation starts at Bt800 per night. The lodge is well equipped, with standard single beds, a refrigerator (a real fridge – not a mini-bar) and a microwave oven, making it ideal for a family outing over the weekend.

“Visitors can make reservations for the lodge on the Internet before paying through an ATM machine,” says Surachai.

Whether it’s a relaxing hike over the five natural trails that wind around rainforest and waterfall or something more adventurous like mountain biking, kayaking or simply swimming, there are plenty of things to fill a weekend.

HOW TO GET THERE

At only 129 kilometres from Bangkok, Kanchanaburi is well served by Highway 4. From Bangkok, keep going westwards by first crossing either Phra Pinklao Bridge or Rama VIII Bridge and then following Borommaratchachonnani Road, or Road 338, which ultimately connects with Highway 4 (Phetchakasem Road) in Nakhon Chaisi. Turn right into Road 323 that runs via Ban Pong to the heart of Kanchanaburi’s Muang district. For the drive to the Erawan National Park, take Road 3199 and Road 323 for Sangkhla Buri district and the Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai-Burmese border.

WHERE TO STAY

Khao Laem National Park
Thong Pha Phum District
Tel: (034) 532 099
www.dnp.go.th
Price range: Bt900-Bt1,800

Great Lake Resort
Si Sawat District
Tel: (081) 845 8686, (081) 856 8539
www.GreatLakeResort.com
Price range: Bt1,300-Bt12,000

Kao Nam Na Resort
Sai Yok District
Tel: (034) 654 072, (086) 163 1139
www.KaoNamNaResort.com

Kring Kravia Resort
Sangkhla Buri District
Tel: (081) 816 2429, (034) 52 1553
Price range: Bt600-Bt3500

Soom Kasalong
Thong Pha Phum
Tel: (081) 294 9520, (089) 803 0450
Price range: Bt1800-Bt2,400

Baan Had Rim Khwae
Sai Yok
Tel: (089) 048 4970, (089) 057 6832
www.RiverKwai2.tripod.com
Price range: Bt1,000-Bt1,800

Ek Pailin River Khwae
Erawan-Lad Ya Road, Muang district
Tel: (034) 587 555, (02) 385 8858-9
www.AekPailinRiverKwai.com
Price range: Bt1,800-Bt10,000

Phorn Pailin Riverside
Sangkhla Buri
Tel: (034) 595 275, (034) 595 322
www.PPailin.com
Price range: Bt1,000-Bt3,000

WHERE TO EAT

The Resort Restaurant and Bar
Mae Nam Khawae Road, Muang district
Tel: (081) 847 9227

Nitaya River Khawe Terrace
Song Khwae Road, Muang
Tel: (081) 447 8767,(034)515 896

Santi
Behind Nam Tok Railway Station, Sai Yok
Tel: (034) 634 275, (081) 942 5419

Khiree Dhara
Mae Nam Khwae Road, Muang
Tel: (034) 624 093, (081) 847 9227

Sabai Jit
Sang Xuto Road, Muang
Tel: (034) 511 931

River Khwae
Mae Nam Khwae Road, Muang
Tel: (034) 512 540-1, (034) 624 221–2

Phae Arharn Rim Khwae
Rim Nam Na Muang Road, Muang
Tel: (034) 511 897

Ban Pa Rim Than
Lad Ya-Si Sawat Road (km 29)
Tel: (081) 213 3726, (081) 763 1601

Khrua Siang Phai
Sang Xuto Road, Muang
Tel: (034) 513 197

Of orchids and guns

Tom Vater
The Nation

The village of Ban Phra Chedi Sam Ong – which is attached to the Burmese frontier by a five-lane road – has a school, electricity and a sprawling market selling teak furniture, jade, orchids, cheroots and lots more from the other side of the border.

The market is clustered around three small pagodas, which give the border pass its name. Literally and metaphorically, this is the end of the road.

A convivial Thai customs officer tells me there’s a market on the other side, but beyond that nothing – no road, no way to proceed. A sign at the gateway reads, “Welcome all visitors, no video cameras!”

A few trucks and motorbikes cross back and forth. Burmese with painted faces, dressed in sarongs, scuttle about, looking dejected and harassed. Thai soldiers linger in the shade, their gleaming guns casually strapped across their shoulders.

The immigration officer launches into a favourite story.
“A few months ago the KNU [soldiers of the anti-Rangoon Karen National Union] came out of the hills and tried to kidnap the staff here.” He shrugs coolly and smiles.
“What happened?” I ask.

“They wanted to exchange us for some of their people who got caught in the area recently.”
“Was there any shooting?”
He shakes his head, no.

I’m left wondering what, if anything, really happened. Did the hardened guerrillas just march up here and demand that the Thai customs officials give up their guns and come with them? And why, then, did they just go away empty-handed?
The Burmese let in foreigners for a day at a time and only one kilometre beyond the border. At Burmese immigration, I’m accosted by a gang of motorcycle-taxi boys and arrange a lift to the nearest village, Payathonzu.

Life is different behind the bamboo curtain. The infrastructure is basic, the landscape seems wild, unmanaged, illusive. The hills are covered by disorderly fields, broken by brush and naked eroded earth.

Payathonzu market is a haphazard sprawl along the main road. Tough-looking men wearing the sarongs they call lungis sit in the shade smoking cheroots. Trucks are unloaded and children boil up palm oil and sweets.

“Orchid, orchid, you want beautiful orchid?” chant young girls. The plants they’re touting are more or less the same as on the Thai side.

Notable additions among the vast array of shops selling wooden furniture and knick-knacks, instruments and cheap jewellery are several stalls offering animal skulls – bears, monkeys, wild boar and the dried beaks of the rare giant hornbill. Huge vats filled with goats’ heads stand in the sun – the oil derived from the heads is said to have medicinal properties.

And of course, orchids are available everywhere.
As I sit talking to Win about his blooms, an old man approaches and shakes my hand emphatically. San Thein is from Mawlamyine, a town in Mon State. The dapper 68-year-old is on a pilgrimage.

“I’m getting old and I feel that this is my last journey. At home I mostly stay at our monastery now, Pha Auk Jawya, to assist the monks,” he says in fluent English. “But I wanted to see the chedis here. I will visit several monasteries before returning home.”

San Thein wants to travel to Bangkok and see the Emerald Buddha. “I was a school headmaster,” he continues. “I remember the British here in the ’40s, and then later the Japanese. I think it must have been 1942 when the Japanese turned up in my village and 50 soldiers moved into our house. We had to leave and moved into a shack in our paddy field. Then one day, news came that a hole had been blown into the world. Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been destroyed – the Japanese were stunned. Some threw their weapons into the river, others fled. A few days later the British turned up and disarmed the rest. We moved back into our house.

“The abbot of Pha Auk Jawya wrote a speech for the UN, entitled ‘Eternal World Peace’. This is what we need. We need peace in Burma. But how to achieve it? Many nations are at war. Inside nations, people are at war.”

San Thein laughs disarmingly. “Even married couples are sometimes at war.”
The old man steps back into the sun to make way for a group of Thai orchid buyers. He shakes his head at the market bustle and waves. “I hope to see you in Bangkok. Let’s meet to see the Emerald Buddha.” And he’s gone.

In the shadow of the Three Pagodas

Too quiet to truly be the ‘wild west’, the outposts on the Burma frontier trade in orchids, teak and stories of rebels with guns

Tom Vater
The Nation
SANGKHLA BURI

Win sells orchids. “We go into the jungle and get them by the sack-full. It takes a long time these days, so I sometimes get kids to do it. I pay them between Bt100 and Bt300 a sack depending on what species they get.”

Win sits in a small hut surrounded by a dozen different species of beautiful epiphytes. The fence out front, draped with hundreds more orchids, divides Thailand and Burma.
Different countries, different worlds.

Thai tourists crowd the makeshift shops and buy bags of flowers. The sellers, mostly young Burmese girls with their faces covered in yellow paste, are armed with books of orchid photos and know their rare species from the common ones.
The prices are low. Single flowers cost anywhere from Bt20 to Bt200.

The hustle and bustle of central Thailand yields to a more languid quiet beyond Kanchanaburi. After Nam Tok, the modern terminus of World War II’s “Death Railway”, rolling hills give way to limestone mountains and the Khao Laem Reservoir, dotted with the floating houses of fishermen.

During the dry season, the hillsides are set afire, which makes for hazy views, but at night the burning patches of land are visible from far off, giving the entire province an otherworldly remoteness.

The border town of Sangkhlaburi looks a little like it belongs in the American Wild West, but the surrounding hills and the lake are utterly serene.

A few backpackers mingle each afternoon with the crowds of Burmese, Karen, Mon and Thais.

From a pair of wooden bridges spanning a reservoir local Mon teenagers show off with dives, while below, villagers tend their raft gardens.

Armin, the Austrian owner of the Burmese Inn’s guesthouse bungalows on the reservoir, has been in town for 15 years and remembers the bad old days of cross-border tension.

“There has been no fighting around Sangkhlaburi and the Three Pagodas Pass since 1995. I remember the last time Karen rebels and Burmese troops exchanged mortar fire across the border. Some landed around here, close to the lake.

“Now the Karen appear to be signing some kind of cease-fire deal. What can they do against a standing army of 450,000 soldiers and 30,000 secret police? Burma is incredibly repressive and brutal. The ethnic minorities don’t stand a chance of achieving autonomy by military means.”

Hence the area remains in an economic limbo – peaceful but not quite at peace.
A surfaced road leads through unruly brush and rocky hills to the border, which is closed to foreigners – almost.

Several roadblocks manned by Thai soldiers keep a lid on the smuggling of timber and drugs.

The soldiers look bored but friendly. There is no other traffic. Twice my vehicle almost flattens long black snakes that sun themselves on the hot tarmac.

The living Death Railway

Drawings by Pows and the remains of rails and rusting locomotives in Kanchanaburi and Ranong recall a horrific chapter in World War II

Oliver Hargreave
Special to The Nation

Imagine you are weak, weary and dispirited, but desperate to avoid a severe, life-threatening beating. How long could you hold a heavy rock above your head?
The image of a prisoner of war doing just that as a punishment meted out by Japanese guards for not working hard enough is one of Jack Chalker’s stark drawings of life on the Death Railway in Kanchanaburi during World War II.

This prisoner and other slave labourers would likely be surprised if they could look into the future and learn that, in less than 50 years, much of the railway would become defunct. Some parts have returned to the wild, and some are now a tourist attraction.

Construction of the 415-kilometre line began in June 1942 and ended when the lines from Thanbyuzayat in Burma and Nong Pladuk, via Kanchanaburi, met at Konkuita on October 17, 1943. Konkuita is now under the lake formed by Khao Laem Dam.

Taking a train as far as Nam Tok may seem straightforward enough today, but reopening the line after the war was not. The allies had closed the railway before selling it back to the Thai government for ฃ1.25 million in 1947. That sum bought Japanese locomotives, bridges and what remained of the rail bed.

The line was in such poor condition that less than a third, 130 kilometres, was reopened. The first section, from Nong Pladuk to Kanchanaburi, was not ready until 1949. It wasn’t until 1958 that the third and final section of the line, from Wang Pho (where the famous trestle still carries the line above the banks of the Khwae Noi) to Nam Tok, was reopened.

Thirty-six kilometres west of the terminus at Nam Tok is the Konyu Cutting. This is where Pows worked day and night to make a cut for the line. The haunting image of prisoners working by the light of flames gave Hellfire Pass its name.

A steep path up a hill links the cutting with the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum, located close to Highway 323 near Kilometre 46. The museum contains memorabilia and paintings by prisoners who worked on the line. The paintings include a few by Chalker, as well as by Ronald Searle who was to become a prominent political cartoonist in Britain.

The Konyu Cutting itself is the start of a 4.5-kilometre memorial walk which follows the old rail line west to Compressor Cutting. Signboards give explanations of such landmarks as the “pack of cards bridge”. To go on the walk without a large bottle of water isn’t advisable, although it gives some insight into the privations the Pows had to face.

Another sombre memorial lies further west. At Kilometre 61 on Highway 323, a narrow lane descends to the Home Phu Toey Resort. Located at a particularly picturesque spot in the Khwae Noi Valley, the resort also has a memorial park honouring Weary Dunlop, the Australian doctor who helped many other Pows survive the ordeal.

Next to the park is a gallery which houses a comprehensive collection of Chalker’s drawings. Many depict how Dunlop and his team improvised facilities to fight the horrific tropical ulcers and other maladies that plagued prisoners.

A long, careful look at these images will deeply impress viewers. Few photographs recorded the conditions on the railway at that time, so the artwork by the POWs bears witness to the horror of its construction.

More than 90,000 Asian conscripts and more than 18,000 Allied Pows died building the line.

Near the gallery is a section of reconstructed track complete with an old steam locomotive and rolling stock.

Other engines commemorating the line can be found at Kanchanaburi, but these are not the only locomotives to commemorate a death railway in Thailand.

Fast facts

The Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum is near Kilometre 46. Run by the Office of Australian War Graves, the museum is open daily (9 am to 4 pm) and is free of charge. The Home Phu Toey Resort welcomes visitors who call in advance (call Khun Achara at 01 880 8971) if they want to see Jack Chalker’s drawings.

Websites www.travelmallasia.com provides a description of the resort and www.hotel-thailand.com offers special rates for Internet users. For more information, call Home Phu Toey Co Ltd (02) 621 1510-3.