Indiana Jones Adventure

This weekend was a three day holiday to celebrate the birth of the King. Although Thailand is politically a democracy, it still has a monarchy which theoretically holds broad sway. The current king has been in power for ages and is very well loved, mostly because he uses the benefits that accompany his role to do good. There are some crazy rules regarding the king though, like is you step on his image you will go to prison for the rest of your life!

 We heard one story about a teacher being fired after he dropped a coin with the kings image in front of the class and stepped on it to stop it from rolling away. There was also a traveler a couple years ago that spray painted a picture of the king, and was sentenced to life in jail. He was eventually pardoned by the king however, who stated that he hoped prosecutors would relax a little when it came to such matters.

Anyway, thanks to the King we had 3 days to explore this amazing country......



Given our extra day off, we decided to travel farther than we have before, to Sangkhlaburi, a town on the border of Burma. We left after school on Friday morning (we were able to switch our schedules so we have no Friday afternoon classes, which we are super stoked about!) and took a three hour bus to Kanchanaburi. There we boarded another bus that we were told would get us to our final destination. After four bumpy hours, and a gorgeous sunset past the mountains and small sugarcane fields, but still an hour from our destination, we were the only two people left on the bus. This always seems to happen to us, and thus we knew it wasn't a good sign. We were right, as the driver stopped the bus and motioned for us to disembark into the tiny mountain town, which I believe was called Thong Pha Phum. There was some confusion as different people in town told us different answers regarding whether or not there were any more buses to Sangkhlaburi that night. After waiting around for about 15 minutes (and Graham taking a disastrous fall in the slippery mud behind the public bathrooms) we decided that the best thing to do was call it a night and found a guest house. After getting settled in our very simple room, a lady on a moped found us and said there was a bus waiting for us! Again, while it can be frustrating that we can't figure things out as easily as we are used to, Thai people go above and beyond when it comes to helping a stranger in confused need. This lady had hunted us down just to let us know about the bus, which was waiting just for us! We were both insanely tired though and decided to stay, and enjoyed the most delicious Burmese/Thai dinner unlike anything we have had here. Also, the town seemed a lot more vegetarian friendly, which was a really nice change for Natalie.

The next morning we explored the cute, typical town, and admired the mountains from afar. Natalie was happy when we got a bit out of town and checked out the river by going across the rickety wooden foot bridge. A shadow was cast over our little adventure when we came across a seriously mangled dog. I don't want to get too graphic, but it had open wounds, and thousands of larvae eating its poor infected flesh. It was a horrid sight to see, and the poor little guy made our hearts hurt with frustration and confusion that such suffering is seemingly ignored here. Sometimes it is so overwhelming (seeing deforestation, entire fields of sugarcane burning etc etc) seeing environmental degradation and animal suffering here, it can really get to poor Natalie. We felt badly because we didn't even have any food to give the poor little guy. We could only utter a few soft sweet words to him and move on. Sorry to be depressing, but we also want to be honest and paint a realistic picture of what we really see and experience here. Anyways, after a couple full buses/vans passed us by, we finally caught a van to Sangkhlaburi and rode it the remaining fast, bumpy hour through the mountains.

We checked into our guest house, which had a beautiful view of the reservoir and the famous wooden bridge to the Mon village (the Mon are an ethnic group of people who face some problems in both Burma and Thailand, and who are most famous for the spreading of Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia). We were so thankful to have arrived after 27 hours of traveling (not non-stop, but traveling none the less) and Graham took a quick nap while Natalie read and looked out over our amazing view.

Next stops were over the wooden bridge and included the Mon village, numerous stores with adorable puppies, an incredible Temple in the jungle that we explored and contemplated on our own, and a large wat which was just stunning at sunset. We climbed to the top of this look out tower and watched with wide eyes as the swirling sky turned from orange to pink to a deep red, again, the sunsets here never cease to impress! From there we went to a guest house right on the reservoir and dined under the stars, with the moon reflecting its light on the lake. It was so picturesque and peaceful, we really were falling in love with Sangkhlaburi the way so many have before :)

Sunday was definitely one of our favorite days so far in Thailand (and we have been here nearly 2 months the time sure does fly by!) We went to Three Pagodas Pass, a town right on the Burmese-Thai border, which was cool but slightly underwhelming, but the ride there was just so beautiful and fun. We felt like real adventurers. My mind was swirling with ideas about science, sustainability, water conservation, mixed-crop farming etc, but I will save some of those thoughts for another day, when we don't already have so much to tell!

On the way back our adventuring continued as we got lost in a rubber tree plantation while looking for some elusive caves. We had been seeing rows and rows of rubber trees on our ride, but were unsure of what they were until we saw this farm, where the trees had slashes in the trunks. We also rode through a large processing plant, which was very interesting to see. Finally, we found a little wat/temple complex, and wandered in, thinking the caves were somewhere close by. It was perfectly silent save the occasional bird call, and I felt in many ways like I was home. It was just so still and peaceful and picturesque. Our footsteps up a long wooden staircase, leading to where we assumed the cave was (no one was there to point us in the right direction and we did not see any signs) disturbed the silence somewhat, so we unintentionally whispered to maintain the tranquility of the place. Once at the dark mouth of the cave, we were unsure as to how to explore it. It was kinda creepy, actually, being the only people there, about to walk into a perfectly black hole of unknown size and dimensions. Luckily, Graham being the genius that he is, saw a wire leading into the cave and followed it back to find a light switch that illuminated an enormous cave!!!!!!!!

Our jaws totally dropped, we were the only ones there and were free to explore as we pleased. There was the occasional bat that moved the air a bit, but otherwise it was so silent and still, again, a bit creepy, bust mostly just really exciting. I have been in a number of caves around the world, but never have I been in one alone the way we were. It was enormous, with a river going through part of the bottom of it, and we carefully climbed all around it, so overwhelmed with excitement and adventure every moment. We each really did feel like Indiana Jones, especially as we checked out the lonely Buddhist shrines placed throughout the cave. I kept wondering about the geology and history of the place-the plants and animals that had been there before us. Our imagination was further enraptured when two silent women, nuns dressed all in white, silently climbed some stairs and literally disappeared into the cave, no lights or anything followed them. Spooky!

We climbed up and down the mountain checking out the massive network of limestone caves, and when we had our fill we looked out past  the tropical vines growing over the cave openings, onto the jagged hills in the background, and felt so purely alive it was intensely invigorating. From there we headed to the river, where there were lots of Thais frolicking in the water, and eating in the little huts above the river. We had lunch and rented inner tubes to float down the river a couple times. Some of the rapids were pretty fun, and the water was so cool and fresh on such a hot day. Such a cool place, and we were the only farangs there. It is always cool to get off the beaten track, and on this day we definitely had!

We got home after a day of adventuring, then headed out for a drink while we watched yet another rainbow sunset, and had a great dinner at the western bar and restaurant there. The owner/cook/waiter was so kind and talkative and sweet, we were really taken by him and are going to write all sorts of good reviews about the place! Unbelievably, we were treated to a fireworks show (we had the perfect view!) that felt like it was put on just for us, it was so close the booming of the fireworks always made me jump a bit. Then a bunch of lanterns were lit and floated into the air, it was so magical (and was all for the King's birthday). We also checked out the festival for the King, which was cool, and very similar to the other Thai festivals we have been to.

The next day we had another long trip home, full of its little victories and set backs. But we were both so fulfilled from the weekend, and thankful that we have only a 3 day week ahead of us. School is continuing to be challenging and rewarding, and life in Thailand is overall treating us very well.

Hugs to everyone, we hope you are all staying warm :)

Love,

Gramalie