Days 104-105: More Bangkok

My parents volunteer as host parents for international students attending the University of Arizona at Tucson and through that program have met and become close to quite a few very nice students there. One of those students, Nichalin, is from Thailand, and her parents live near Bangkok. When they heard we would be traveling through that area, they very generously offered to give us a tour!

Unfortunately on the day of the tour, Mary was feeling sick and was unable to join us. We’ve both done pretty well with handling the local bugs, despite eating lots of street vendor food, but on that day Mary’s stomach was losing the battle. So Nichalin’s parents, Linchong and Pinit, their son, a cousin, and an interpreter picked me up, left some breakfast for Mary (it turned into her dinner, the first time she was hungry), and off we went. We stopped briefly to see a demonstration about how coconut sugar is produced then continued on to the floating market at Damnoen Saduak. The floating market is a section of canal where many vendors hawk their wares from their canoes, now primarily to tourists.

After a bit of coffee, we headed to the JEATH War Museum, dedicated to the Japanese, English, American + Australian, and Thai soldiers and civilians who built (and died by the thousands) building the Death Railway. The whole thing reminded me a lot of King Rat. We somehow kept our appetites through it, so off to lunch, just downstream from the famous Bride on the River Kwai. With that sustenance, we were able to walk over the bridge (well, the rebuilt version of it) and learn more about it. We finished off our history lesson with a visit to the Don-Rak War Cemetery, which was really moving.

On the way home we stopped by Phra Pathom Chedi, the tallest Chedi in the world, at 127 meters. Overall it was a wonderful day! I got to see a lot of parts of Thailand that I otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance to see, and it was so nice to meet Nichalin’s family. They were extremely generous, very friendly, and I had a wonderful time with them.

We were originally supposed to finish off the day with a trip to th show, but since Mary was sick, they very graciously moved Mary and my tickets to the following evening so that she’d be able to attend. We had a great time at the show, which is a cultural sampler about Thailand, covering some of its history, religious imagery, and festivals. It included lots of great costumes, good music, and fun dancing