On the drive into the city along the East Coast Parkway, I felt as if I was traveling in one huge garden for the amount of greenery has to be seen to be believed! Highways in superb condition are lined with towering trees. Traffic jams are non-existent on this paradisiac island as the number of cars on the road is strictly regulated by exorbitant automobile taxes and the unrealistic cost of even the most modest vehicle. Only one in ten Singaporeans owns a car and most are required by law to keep them for no longer than five years so that the question of vehicular emission from old and crumbling vehicles does not contribute to air pollution. I realized in only a couple of days that if society seems so extraordinarily disciplined in Singapore, it is because throughout their lives, its citizens are governed by rules which include such things as instant death for drug pushers and users and heavy fines imposed for the possession of chewing gum or for littering. This explains the antiseptically clean streets from which truly one could quite easily eat a meal!

Walking across the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai-ai in Thailand

A two-hour drive at the crack of dawn from Bangkok took us to Kanchanaburi, a small sleepy town on the border between Burma and Thailand that attained notoriety during World War II as the base for the construction of the Death Railway, the name given to the Burma-Siam Railway. It was in 1939, upon realizing that the sea route to Burma was blockaded by Allied ships in the Straits of Malacca that the Japanese army set upon the project of finding a land route into Burma. This would open up for them the possibilities of invading India and thus taking over the railway system constructed by the British that would give them access to the furthest reaches of modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Thus, Japanese engineers masterminded a plan that involved the construction of a railway line that would snake 450 miles from the town of Thanbyuzayat in Burma, crossing, at several junctures, the three small rivers that flow through this tropical jungle area and ending in the creation of a wooden trestle bridge over the Kwai Aie River just outside the town of Kanchanaburi in Thailand (the new name for Siam).

In an insane desire to achieve this goal within a single year, the Japanese recruited Asian laborers from countries like China, Malaysia and India and utilized their Prisoners of War (POWs) from Allied countries such as England, Australia and Holland to construct the railway. I will not go into the horrendous details that characterized the inhuman treatment that was meted out to these individuals in the Samurai ideology that Japan had adopted, i.e. that it is undignified to surrender. David Lean’s 1957 film entitled Bridge on the River Kwai has immortalized the suffering of these prisoners that included physical brutality, near-starvation, the menace of mosquitoes that brought with them the dangers of malaria, frequent outbursts of cholera and typhoid and tropical ulcers that ravaged human flesh. 200,000 Asian slave laborers and 13,000 Allied POWs gave their lives in the building of this notorious railroad as the Japanese considered these human beings completely dispensable and showed no respect whatsoever for their lives (above left).

Today, the bodies of these soldiers, pried from makeshift graves along the railroad track after the war ended, lie buried in the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery which is impeccably maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Japanese reparations after its surrender in 1945 caused a modern iron-clad bridge to be built over the River Kwai upon which, we, contemporary visitors, walked solemnly, recalling the horror of that era. Meanwhile, the JEATH War Museum (an acronym for Japan, England, Australia and America, Thailand and Holland), next-door to the Chung Kai Cemetery (above left), documents coldly the statistics and eye-witness accounts, carries a few heartbreaking sculptures and a number of exhibits that take one through the awful conditions under which wars are fought and thousands of men perish.

Our excursion into Kanchanaburi (which the POWs referred to as “Kanburi”) began with a ride on what our guide called a “James Bond” boat (left)  on the River Kwai. A very peculiar vessel, this brightly colored craft had a long, narrow, pointed snout and was maneuvered by a Thai boatman who took us into wild Thai jungles that were ringed by tall, verdant mountains. A while later, the boat deposited us at the modern bridge over the river which we crossed on foot as we posed for photographs. I was humbled and silenced into thinking of the numbers of young and ambitious men who gave their lives that the project might be completed.

After we walked across the bridge (left) , we got back on our bus to ride one hour north towards the Burmese border. Upon reaching our destination, a traditional Thai lunch was served to us, family-style, in a thatched resort restaurant before we boarded the bus again to the railroad station to climb aboard the Death Train that took us for an hour long ride through the varied landscape over which the original railroad passed.

From time to time (left) , we received glimpses of the jade-green Kwai Aie River, the thick plantations of banana, papaya, coconut and pineapple trees, a number of domestic animals like cows and several stray dogs, and the hazy emerald outlines of the surrounding mountains.

While the journey (left) was fascinating, it was not a joy-ride by any means, for the memories of what the prisoners suffered in the process of building the railway upon which our single gauge locomotive train rode, kept us silent, clicking pictures to capture on celluloid our memories of a visit to a venue that has become a modern place of pilgrimage.

Our next stop was Bangkok, capital of Thailand, a country that we found in a state of jubilation over the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the coronation of their beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Indeed the entire nation sported the national color—yellow–on T-shirts that had been specially designed for the occasion with the royal emblem—the Chakri—emblazoned on the pocket. Monarchs from every part of the planet had descended upon Bangkok to participate in the royal pageantry that included a candle-lighting ceremony by the future heir to the throne, a procession of royal barges on the Chao Praya River that meanders through the city and a succession of formal dinners and tours for the visiting dignitaries. The downside of all this pomp and splendor was that many of our tours around the city were cancelled as roads were closed for security reasons. However, we did get to see Bangkok in a wildly festive mood with illuminations decorating every monument and massive cutout figures of the King punctuating every street corner resplendent with yellow banners and flowers. We were also very fortunate to catch a glimpse of the rehearsal ceremony on the river with the royal barges skimming over it as we crossed the very modern Rama IX Bridge that spans the two halves of the city. 

But royal festivity aside, Bangkok offers a great deal to the visitor eager to become acquainted with its centuries-old history and culture. We saw innumerable Wats or Buddhist temple complexes that house a chedi or stupa—a conical structure that is solid or hollow if it contains a sacred relic of the Buddha—a wihan or assembly hall for the faithful to join in community prayer, a bot or audience hall where the most revered statues are kept, and a series of cloisters or border walls that keep the sacred space removed from the secular world outside.

Two of Bangkok’s most famous wats are Wat Traimit where we saw the world’s most massive Buddha cast in pure solid gold (left) in the thirteenth century, then disguised under a thick camouflage of plaster to protect it from the Burmese invasion and discovered for its true value only in 1957 when chunks of plaster began to wear away and fall off to reveal the extraordinary statue concealed within.

At Wat Pho, we saw a colossal Reclining Buddha, so immense that it actually took my breath away even though I was prepared for its stupendous dimensions.

Every Wat is an amazing achievement of architectural and artistic beauty with glass, ceramic, gilded and sculpted decoration that is truly breathtaking. What is most heartening, however, is the fact that these fantastic structures are not just historical wonders but vibrant places of contemporary worship in which devout Buddhists daily express their faith in God through the application of real gold leaf to the idols and deities within, in order to “gain merit”. We saw countless Thais make offerings to the monks who received them with gratitude and humility, buy lotus buds and flowers as presents to the wat as they moved in slow procession around its precincts and bend low in the presence of their priests who patted them on their heads while offering their blessings. In every wat, we watched in silence as the faithful prostrated themselves before the statues of the Buddha. Clearly, the clergy and the elderly are held in very special esteem in this society and it was quite moving to see the manner in which these people have continued to adhere to an ancient religion while making every attempt to move with the times.

Indeed, visits to gem factories where Thailand’s famous sapphires and rubies are cut and set into jewelry, gave us a glimpse into the commercial side of Bangkok, a side that also manifests itself in the sleazy activities of hookers, the proliferation of “massage parlors” outside which girls hung out while luring customers in and in the mad shopping frenzy in places like Mahboonkrong (MBK) Mall and Indra Market where the bargains abounded. It was quite astonishing to see the age-old tuktuk or auto rickshaw coexist in crazy harmony with the very modern SkyTrain (in both of which we “commuted”) that skims the city on tracks built high above Bangkok’s proverbially chaotic traffic. Though the streets are spotlessly clean and traffic moves in a disciplined manner sans blaring horns (unlike India), there were many stray dogs lurking around.

As if to offer some respite from its seedy side, one of Bangkok’s most fascinating attractions in Jim Thompson’s House (left). This serene complex of six traditional Thai teak houses positioned around a gravel courtyard and lovingly maintained tropical gardens should be a must on every tourist itinerary. I was glad to visit in the late evening while the sun was setting gently and casting lengthening shadows upon the nooks and crannies of this delightful abode built on the riverbanks. The house was once the residence of American-born James Thompson, a Princeton-educated architect, who was stationed in Thailand during World War II. He fell in love with the country and its people and decided to make Thailand his home. On seeing the ills that had afflicted Thailand’s silk weaving industry, Thompson decided to revive it and, within a few years, had created a gigantic business enterprise that made him his fortune while reviving one of the country’s most ancient crafts. Thompson spent his money on the acquisition of Asian antiquities in the form of precious old Buddhas, blue and white porcelain, hand carved teak furniture, jataka paintings that depict the story of the Buddha’s life, etc. As we moved from room to room decorated tastefully in a style that combined Eastern elements (such as low floor seating covered by silk cushions) with Western ones (such as the use of crystal chandeliers and table lamps for ambient lighting), I was struck by his exquisite taste and style and felt saddened to learn that he disappeared one day at the age of 61 while taking a hike in the Cameroon Highlands of Malaysia while on vacation. Wonderful silk gift and souvenir items are available in the store that is part of the complex. Though terribly overpriced (in my opinion), they were quite unique and very tastefully designed.

Our hotel, Ambassador Towers, was located in the bustling heart of Sukhumvit, an area that has mushroomed in recent years and that caters exclusively to the Western tourist. A plethora of restaurants exists in this well laid out grid of narrow streets, tourist bric-a-brac is cheaply available and services catering to the needs of foreign travelers, such as photography outfits and Internet cafes, abound. The negative side of such convenience is open flesh trading and as someone involved in Women’s Studies, I was disheartened to see scores of painfully young Thai women on the arms of old, often disabled, white men, only in Bangkok to partake of its easily available sexual pleasures. On talking to a few educated Thai female tourist guides about this social evil, I discovered that most of Bangkok’s prostitutes are the daughters of prostitutes themselves. Indeed, most are single mothers with little children who will also find their way, ultimately, as sex workers in the world’s most notorious brothel.

Though it was discomforting to find ourselves surrounded by  Bangkok’s infamous carnal trade, I was grateful for the fact that the innumerable local restaurants allowed us to sample the best of Thailand’s famed cuisine in very modest eateries that offered home-cooked meals for almost no money at all. We feasted on Tom Yum Goong (Hot and Sour Prawn Soup), Tom Kai Gha (Chicken Coconut Milk Soup), Pad Thai (Thai-Style Noodles), and a variety of curries all served on steamed rice. Dessert is always fresh fruit and we spent a delightful morning at a roadside fruit stall tasting a number of rather unusual fruits such as rambutans, lichis, mangosteens, longons, durians, dragon fruit and guavas which abounded in market stalls and on our hotel buffet menus together with the more familiar papayas, pineapples and watermelons.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrations prevented us from visiting the Royal Palace and Wat Phra Keo which houses the most revered statue in all of Thailand, the Emerald Buddha. We could not visit the National Museum, the Old Farang Quarter where Bangkok’s famous Oriental Hotel is located or Dusit Park which contains Vimanmek Palace. All of these restrictions lead me to believe that though I did not care much for the city, on the whole, perhaps I am destined at some future time in my life, to visit this city again! For the most part, however, I was happy to leave Bangkok behind and take the day-long excursion to Kanchanaburi, a small town on the Thailand-Burma border.

Bon Voyage!