Tag Archives: Sangkhlaburi

Crazy Kanchanaburi Nights

2015-01-19 ramblintraveler 3 Comments

From my other posts about Sangkhlaburi, it’s probably easy to tell that it is a teeny little place and while it has a lot of the necessities, it lacks quite a bit as well. We have no proper grocery store here. The market is where you go for meat, veggies and fruit (which personally I prefer anyway) but for other necessities that are generally found in a grocery store, well, we have a place called CJ’s that has the basics and believe it or not, if it’s not in CJ’s, the other “grocery store” in town is 7 Eleven… Yes, 7 Eleven!

Kanchanaburi in contrast has proper grocery stores and even stores comparable to Sam’s Club or Costco. They also have proper pet and vet stores where supplies are easily found for the shelter. As some items were starting to run out at the shelter, it was time for a run to Kanchanaburi to stock up. I went along with 2 other girls from the shelter for a weekend getaway. We drove there in a truck lent to us by another gem of Sangkhlaburi, Dr. Mays, a dentist in town and avid animal lover and made the 212km trek to Kanchanaburi mid-day a week ago on Saturday.

J, one of the three on the trip, drove. She is from the UK so was used to driving on the left and had amazingly picked up the Thai driving style as I had several mini heart attacks along the way dodging in and out of traffic along the road. Due to traffic we arrived later than anticipated and missed the vet supply office hours. So we simply headed to our hotel, took showers in warm water (there is no warm water in Sangkhlaburi for showers unless you shower in the middle of the day when the water has been heated up by the sun), put makeup on for the first time in a month and a half and headed into town.

I will say since being in Sangkhlaburi, I don’t think I’ve seen myself in a mirror except maybe two or three times. So needless to say, once in a bathroom with a mirror in it, it was almost surprising and shocking to see myself, lol!!

We headed out and first had a drink and shared a pizza at Bell’s, then went to the Lady Boy bar for some more drinks. Surprisingly the other volunteer (K) who tagged along for the weekend getaway after only 4 beers was already quite drunk! Normally she can hold her own, but for some reason not on this night. In any event, since there was more drinking to be done for myself and J, we continued on to the Monkey Bar for another drink. Then…. Well… though I had stayed away from the “get drunk for 10 baht” bars during my last time in Kanchanaburi, we ended up stumbling into there as well…

In all fairness really it wasn’t myself or J stumbling, it was only K. Jo and I had a delightful time taking shots and sipping on buckets of booze while K kept excusing herself to the bathroom to vomit… Joy!! Since J and K had been to Kanchanaburi several times before for these types of excursions, they inevitably made friends with some of the locals, including a tattoo artist with a shop in front of the Sugar Member bar, just across from the 10 baht bar. The night continued with lots of drinks, conversation, and many bathroom breaks for K. She ended up going back to the hotel early and passed out outside the room on the lounge chair (since she didn’t have the key) while J and I continued to party until 4am.

Amazingly I woke the next day feeling great! K and J, not so much… We had to move rooms around noon (they put us in the wrong room the first night) so everyone was up in semi-good spirits around 11. We jointly decided the best remedy for our hangovers was to have a yummy pizza yet again, though this time we were each getting our own to soak up the liquor, lol!! We checked out Bell’s again (they seriously have a really good pizza!!) all craving the deliciousness we had the night before but to our dismay learned it didn’t open until 5pm!!

The idea was in our heads already however, and there was nothing to change it. We were bound and determined to starve ourselves all day until Bell’s opened again!! It seriously turned into a bit of a torture game and that day was the longest day I can ever recall!! One would ask “what time is it” and learn it was 12:15… Then what seemed like forever later another would ask again the time only to learn it was 12:22 😦 The day went on like this with time slowing down just to mock us and as we didn’t have anything else to eat, the hangover symptoms started to even creep up on me!

What does one do to stave off a hangover?? You got it! Drink more! I caved around 3:30 and went to the bar at the hotel with K and proceeded to drink three White Russians. Yum!! It was definitely just what I needed to tide me over until Bell’s opened! 5pm FINALLY rolled around and we went for our indulgent meal of pizza with mushrooms and ham. After dinner, K said she wanted to get a tattoo. I, the night before, after meeting Joe the tattoo artist said I wanted to have him draw out a tattoo for me that I’d been thinking about for 7 years now. So I tagged along… J (the smart one) went back to the hotel for an easy night…

Well, of course since the tattoo shop was in front of a bar, we just had to get a bucket of booze to share! I chatted with Joe about what I wanted, describing the design that I saw in my head and he set off to work as K and I got progressively more inebriated I kept checking back in with Joe every half hour or so to see how the design was coming along, giving input where needed. About 2 hours later the design was done! I really was thinking to just pay for the design and get the tattoo later, but then I started thinking “why not get it done now??”… Or maybe it was just the booze talking, lol!! In any event, I bit the bullet and got it done!

Tattoo

Tattoo_2

It’s still a work in progress as I want some shading done on the moon and a Japanese word written in the space between the moon and cherry willow tree, but nothing another trip to Kanchanaburi can’t fix 😉 I will say I was quite impressed with Joe as when I said I wanted a Japanese word written in he said “I don’t speak Japanese” (he’s Thai) to which I replied “Google translate!” to which he replied “are you sure??”. He got me to thinking and I’ve decided that until I find someone who speaks fluent Japanese, and someone who is trustworthy, I won’t do the lettering. I’m not going to lie, the tattoo was quite unpleasant to get! I thought the booze would numb me up a bit, but no luck there:(

In any event, after I got my tattoo done, K got one as well even though Joe strongly advised against it since he deemed her too drunk to get one. Eventually he relented and gave her the tattoo and after a bit of drama over her paying him for his services (she only had a quarter of the money it cost and instead of going to get more money from the ATM in front of 7 Eleven, she wandered INTO 7 Eleven and proceeded to read the wording on every package of items sold in an attempt to avoid (?) having to pay… Once that was sorted out and she finally paid Joe, we wandered back toward the hotel and passed out around 4am… again… lol!!

The next day we rose (K with a hangover) and finally got the vet supplies bought. We stopped at a REAL grocery store to stock up on goodies not found in Sangkhlaburi (coconut oil, apple cider vinegar and tabasco sauce for me) then headed home.

In all honesty, I was a bit worried that when I woke that morning I would be a bit regretful about getting the tattoo. But when I thought about it, I had no regrets. No butterflies or tight feeling in the stomach when one thinks of something they wish they hadn’t done. It’s still a work in progress of course and it still has to fully heal (the wrinkles will dissipate) but I’m happy I’ve got it:)

On to Spay Camp and Elephants

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Sangkhlaburi, Thailand

Power of a Howl

2015-01-19 ramblintraveler Leave a comment

There is something so magical about the sound of dogs howling in unison. I don’t know the exact reason for why a howl begins or the exact purpose of a howl but I do know it must have a hand somewhere in bonding dogs. Whatever the reason, the power of it is undeniable.

Usually it begins with sounds of a scuffle. One dog having overstepped their boundaries or another simply having a bad day. The fight breaks out and the thought goes through my mind every time whether to rush to the enclosure where the scuffle broke out and try to intervene. Somehow like magic however the sounds of thrashing and growling slowly turn into a howl. Not from either of the fight participants, but from a nearby dog. The sound of one howl turns into three, then seven, then eleven until within just a few seconds every dog (including those who were previously fighting) stops what they are doing to join in.

It reminds me of 101 Dalmatians where the dogs are sending messages across the town because it begins in our shelter and all the dogs join in for the song, it then starts to spread across the shelter like a gentle wind eventually infecting the neighboring street dogs to join in as well. Where the howl began turns silent as peace settles back into each dog and the echo of howls continues on away from the origin until finally silence descends all around. The after howl silence is so serene.

Fights I’ve witnessed in person are often broken up by us throwing water on the animals just to get them snapped out of what they were doing for a split second. It only works for that split second however and you have to get in between them before they jump right back into their fight. They hold grudges for a while even when separated. Though my instinct always works toward reaching for the nearest water bowl, I often wonder if instead I should simply start howling myself to see if it catches on to break up the fight peacefully. Fights never restart after a good howl.

The community dog howl is a sound I’ve come to absolutely adore. I must admit I’ve joined in myself on full moon nights just for the heck of it, probably freaking out passersby, but I’m not much of one to care what others think of me anyway:) I will admit it is annoying when they break out in song at 3am, first thing in the morning, just before bed when you are trying your hardest to sleep, or any other random time when you are simply praying for silence, yet it’s still one of my favorite sounds. Or maybe it’s just the peaceful silence that comes after the howl…

On to Modern Bangkok

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Sangkhlaburi, Thailand

One for the Dogs

2015-01-06 ramblintraveler 2 Comments

For this post, I just wanted to put up some pictures of a few of the wonderful dogs at the sanctuary. Enjoy the pictures:)

Noodles sleeping in his favorite position:

Piglet eyeballing me nervously (she won’t let anyone touch her but loves being a porch dog).

Puppy playtime with Shadow, Sky, Bo, Bella and Serena

Bo pinning down Sky… Notice Bo is pinning another down with only 3 legs:)

Shadow having a lick

Bella with her cone

Bo seeking attention

Bo_2

Sky getting the big bad shade

Blind, old Wiley with his tiger print wrapped tail

Xena relaxing

Everyone wanting attention

Bang having a stretch

Wilma (lost the use of her back legs in a car crash)

Wilma

Wilma_2

Bang and Blaze chilling

Crash (who also lost use of his back legs during… well, a crash)

Crash

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Crash_3

Gizmo (can actually use his back legs, but chooses not to. He bit me once just above the knee and took out a large chunk. He really didn’t mean to though, he was aiming for the dog I was carrying but since he can’t jump just ended up getting me instead, lol!)

Gizmo

Gizmo Looking for Imaginary Frog

Gizmo_2

On to Power of a Howl

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Sangkhlaburi, Thailand

Sangkhlaburi

2015-01-06 ramblintraveler Leave a comment

Once again I opted for the ‘bit more expensive but will get you there faster’ mini-bus from Kanchanaburi to Sangkhlaburi. It took about 4 harrowing hours to get there, and boy, I’d never been so happy to finally get anywhere before!! Reason being was because of our absolutely lunatic mini-bus driver!! It was one of those times I just had to breathe and trust that he knew what he was doing. Why you may ask? Well, basically because every car or truck or motorbike we came behind was swiftly passed at a very rapid speed. And for a good percentage of these passes, we were doing so while going around blind corners!! Interestingly I later heard from a fellow traveler that there is an accident involving a mini-bus every day because of how crazy they drive! And even more scary, one of the volunteers said her driver FELL ASLEEP at the wheel in the mini-bus she took!! Lovely…

Sangkhlaburi in Town

Floating Village

Mon Bridge

Hillside Homes

I must admit though that through much of the driving (that is while we weren’t driving like a bat out of hell around blind corners in the WRONG LANE) I was thankfully distracted by the absolutely stunning national parks around us. I tried so many different times to take some decent pictures, but failed each time. Again because of the warp speed we were driving, it was just impossible to take a picture that wasn’t blurry!

Floating Village_2

Lake View

Lake View_2

The road to Sangkhlaburi is one to take your time on. And if you are able to rent a car and don’t mind driving on the “wrong” side of the road (in Thailand they drive on the left like in the UK) then do it! Between the Erawan National Park, Sai Yok National Park and the Khao Laem National Park, just about the entire trip was breathtaking! The last half hour or so was a bit rough because the road turned unkempt with lots of sharp uphill turns, but other than that (and the crazy driving) it was beautiful.

Bamboo Bridge

Mon Bridge_2

Parallel Bridges

I arrived mid-afternoon and started wandering the little town. It was boiling hot and I had no idea where I was really going. All I knew was that the gentlemen I’d spoken to in Kanchanaburi who turned my mind around about going to Sangkhlaburi told me of a lovely hostel called J’s Family Homestay that he’d really enjoyed. So in my mind, I was set on finding that place to stay as well. There were a couple hostels in town but no one wanted to help me find J’s place, they were only set on getting me to stay there. So I wandered town aimlessly for a bit and spotted a little place to eat on the corner. As it was mid-afternoon, I was starving and sweating profusely and my bag was really starting to bother me, so I figured I’d stop for lunch and maybe Google where the J’s place was.

Mon Bridge_3

Lake View_3

Lake View_4

Across the street there was a spa that advertised WiFi, so I thought maybe they had it everywhere. I asked the woman at the eatery whether they had WiFi (basically I just said WiFi?? as she didn’t speak any English) and she immediately busted out laughing. She said something to the ladies behind her with the word ‘WiFi’ in there and they too suddenly busted out laughing. I’m talking full on hearty belly laughs as if I’d told a hilarious joke! So well, yea, I figured the several minutes of laughter meant that no, they didn’t have any WiFi there, lol!!

Mon Village

View from Mon Village

View from Mon Village_2

After filling up on some fried rice, I headed on down the road leading away from the main town. I walked for what felt like forever in the heat, just feeling the sweat drip down my back and moisture soak into my backpack. My instincts were not on my side on that day because every side road I took “feeling” like it may be down that way was in fact not correct. I backtracked so many times that I almost just gave up and went back to town for a hostel there. Thankfully I came across a place where the woman knew where the J’s place was! YAY!!! Sad news was I was going the wrong way and had to turn back up the street, make a right and walk about a kilometer down the main road… BOO!!!

Mon Village_2

Mon Village_3

Mon Bridge_4

The heat of the day was really wearing on me and the several glasses of water I had with lunch were just being sweat out faster than I’d absorbed them. I was once again just about to give up when I spotted a little sign across from the Temple grounds that said “J’s Family Homestay”… HOORAY!!!!

View From Mon Village_3

Mon Bridge_5

Bamboo Bridge Entrance

A left turn and a block later I found the place and just as I walked up the drive, a woman stood at the top. Her face went from a smile to neutral. She shook her head left to right solemnly and lifted her right hand out to her side pointing to a wee tent on the grass. “That’s all I have” she said. Sold!! At that point I couldn’t have cared less what kind of accommodation I actually had, I only cared that I no longer had to carry my bag around!! I paid for a few nights and settled into my tent, happy as a clam:)

Walking the Bamboo Bridge

Mon Bridge from Bamboo

Walking the Bamboo Bridge_2

As the sun set, I went for a stroll to see the famous Mon Bridge. Sangkhlaburi is a richly diverse area consisting of several ethnic groups to include Mon, Burmese, and of course Thai people. Several decades ago the valley of Sangkhlaburi was home to the Mon community. However the village was destroyed after a flood following the construction of the Khao Laem Dam. Now a lake separates the area with the Mon village on one side and Thai/Burmese people on the other. The two sides are connected by the famous Mon Bridge which is a very tall wooden bridge that from afar looks to be constructed in a VERY sketchy way, but walking across it feels completely secure! Believe it or not, children actually jump off this bridge!! Brave souls!! There is even a second bridge made of bamboo that parallels the Mon Bridge. Walking across it however feels completely sketchy as the bamboo is basically floating on the surface of the water and sways left and right like a slithering snake as you walk across. Definitely NOT recommended to walk after a few drinks, lol!!!

Cooling Off

Bridge for Boats

Mon Bridge Sunset

The lake is dotted with several homes constructed out of bamboo that also simply float on the lake. It was so lovely to see such impressive simplicity. I must admit I’m curious as to whether the homes have bathrooms… Do they use the lake as their toilet or go elsewhere? I’ve been harassed by my fellow volunteers as to why I don’t go swimming in the lake like the locals and they do… Let’s just say that just in case those floating house residents DO use the lake as their bathroom, well that’s why I’m choosing not to swim in the lake, lol!

That evening I went to town for the Saturday market. Streets normally open to car traffic were completely blocked off and lined with hundreds of street food and shop vendors selling again every imaginable food or physical item one might need. I dined on street food and wandered the shops listening to local boys jamming on guitars and drum sets then wandered back to my hostel for rest.

Saturday Market

Saturday Market_2

Saturday Market_3

Saturday Market_4

The next day I wandered the neighborhood, back to the bridge for another viewing then over to a little animal sanctuary I had spotted earlier in the day. I spoke to a guy hanging out there who turned out to be the vet and inquired about volunteering there. Unlike volunteering in the States and even in Costa Rica, they didn’t require copious amounts of information, insurance, etc, etc to vounteer. Simply show up and work. My kinda place! The next day I arrived there at 9am ready to work. I planned to only stay a few days and help out where needed. That was almost a month ago…

I’m still here loving each day with the animals and learning something new. I stayed in J’s Homestay for about 2 weeks, then moved into the volunteer house with the rest of the gang. Honestly, how can I possibly leave a face like this???

One for the Dogs

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Sangkhlaburi, Thailand

Sangkhlaburi New Year’s: Dog Version

2015-01-06 ramblintraveler Leave a comment

I figured it was only fair that since I gave my own version of how things went on New Year’s for us humans, that I should also give an account of how New Year’s went for the dogs.

I can say right now that it wasn’t at all pleasant for them… And honestly in hindsight, we probably should have given them all a Valium New Year’s Eve. We all know how sensitive dogs ears are and even though the festivities were going on in town, about a kilometer from where we are, it didn’t make any sort of difference to them as they still heard all the activity as if it was going on in their enclosures. And they made sure to let us know the following day how upset they had been… But I’m getting ahead.

The day started as normal, wake, drink water, eat some kibble, nap time, bark at some people walking by, nap time, get up and stretch, nap time, potty break, nap time, join in on a walk with the sanctuary dogs, nap time, play time, water, nap, dinner.

For the dogs in the sanctuary, that was the end of their day. For the four porch dogs, they joined us for our walk over to Sai and Charlie’s place. They had to stay outside however since they have their own dogs. When we finished dinner, none of the dogs were waiting for us which was very unusual. As we walked past our house on the way to town only two dogs, Noodles and Balua were on the porch. Balua already looked freaked out by the distant booms going on around town so we put him in my room, which I share with a long-term volunteer. We left the door open a bit to give Noodles the option to go in if he chose to later and headed to town. Piglet and Nipper were nowhere to be found.

They are street dogs after all, so while there was concern for them, especially with it being New Year’s, we figured they would make their way back. Once myself and the other volunteer came back to the house after the town festivities, we found Balua still in my room curled in a corner. He had somehow managed to wedge himself under my backpack and even stranger had clothes piled on him too… No idea how he did that! Noodles had also let himself in and was standing in the center of the room waiting to be let out. Piglet and Nipper were still MIA. About an hour later Piglet showed back up. Then the rest of the volunteers showed up to continue to party at the house.

The next day Nipper was still missing. The dogs in the sanctuary had clearly not had a good and restful night sleep as fight after fight broke out with just about every dog involved in one and another. Preparing and serving breakfast was the hardest task of the day since most of the time was spent breaking up one fight or another. To try to settle the dogs, kibble was given in grand mass. We probably overfed every dog, but it at least calmed them down and distracted them enough to stop their fights for a half hour or so.

As the day progressed, the tensions were still high. You could literally just feel it in the air and practically cut it with a knife. I can’t say I blame the dogs for their behaviors. But I will say it was one of the toughest days working in the sanctuary! It’s literally taken about 3 days to get the dogs back into a regular routine and feeling calm again. Poor puppies!!!

Nipper didn’t even come back on New Year’s Day. He returned the 2nd with a bit of a limp in his right front leg… Lord knows what he got into or where he was for almost 36 hours. I’m just glad he made it back with only a minor limp!!

On to Sangkhlaburi

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Sangkhlaburi, Thailand

Sangkhlaburi New Year’s: Human Version

2015-01-06 ramblintraveler Leave a comment

New Year’s Eve day started as it normally does as a volunteer at the Thai Animal Sanctuary: feed dogs, clean enclosures, medicate/change bandages, walks, play time, shuffle dogs around, lunch, finish whatever daily project that was scheduled, night feeding, workout, shower, dinner time!

Instead of having to prepare our own meal for dinner however, we were invited to Sai and Charlie’s place to dine for New Year’s. Sai and Charlie, a Thai-British couple, are one of the many gems in Sangkhlaburi. Just about every morning they drop off a dish of rice and chicken, with bits of egg in a chicken broth so we can mix a bit into the morning bowls for each dog. For Christmas they made a huge vat of a similar soup with the added bonus of veggies for all 60 dogs in the shelter. They made so much that each dog had their own large bowl of Christmas breakfast, instead of just a bit mixed in with their normal kibble.

We were all looking forward to the dinner and even planned to eat less during the day to save room for what we knew would be a feast. But as we all know, getting there is half the battle! In our defense, there were 7 of us and only one bathroom in the volunteer house, so needless to say trying to organize that part alone became a bit of a task. We arrived about a half hour late with all 4 porch dogs (Noodles, Nipper, Balua and Piglet) who weren’t actually invited but just thought they were. 😉 The dinner spread was a delicious and impressive display of Thai cuisine. From the soup, fresh baked WHEAT bread (if you’ve been to Thailand you know how hard it is to find anything other than plain white bread, especially in small towns!!) fried egg with veggies, and a spicy pork on rice dish to dessert. We dined like Kings and Queens over great conversation and lots and lots of laughter. We even learned how to say Happy New Year in Thai (Suk San Wan Be Man Ka) after about a hundred failed attempts, but finally got it down:)

We stayed a couple hours then headed into town to the school soccer stadium for the muay thai kickboxing competition. All I had anticipated was just that: a ring set up for Muay Thai. What we walked into was so much more! It was seriously like a full on carnival or circus (minus the animals)! Neon lights lit up the stadium in every direction along with tent after tent selling food, clothing, fried insects, flip-flops, underwear… You name it, they just about had it!

Field from Above

Market

Field Decorations

As we had arrived a bit late for the start of the muay thai kickboxing we were only able to see a couple of fight rounds. The competition was going on for 5 nights (New Year’s Eve being the second night) and each night featured a different age group. New Year’s Eve night was for the youngsters (they looked only about 6 years old!!) to the teens. I can’t tell you how impressive the fights were! First were the teen boys who wailed and kicked and punched eachother until a brow was split open and after only 2 rounds the fight was called. Next up were the little kids whose heads didn’t even make it up to the top portion of the ring!!

In the Ring

Face Off

A Walk Around the Ring

“Dance” Time

Before each fight the competitors walk around the ring with a little hop in their step, kinda like a little dance, to each corner and bow. Next they go to their corner and have their headdress removed and are rubbed down with deep heat oil, which is sort of a liniment oil to slick their skin making it harder for their opponent to get a good grip. Then the fight is on! Those little kids wailed and kicked and fought their little hearts out! When the bell rang to signify the end of the round, their coaches would come in and sweep them up into a bear hug and gently shake them up and down. It seriously looked like they were getting a nice cuddle after each round, but really what the “hug” was all about was to help stretch their spines. Then they got a very thourough rub down with cold water, had their arms and legs stretched out a bit, then off again to fight. The boys lasted through 5 full rounds until a winner was called. So impressive!

“Dance” Time_2

Prayer before Fight

Game on!

Swinging Away

Ouch!

Bear “Hug”

Rub Down Between Round

The kids fight was the last for the night, so we wandered the rest of the field checking out the various tents and their goods for sale, then headed to the other stage set up on the field. We hung out watching traditional lanterns light up and float into the sky, decorating the night with extra stars, and the various traditional Thai dancers up on stage. The hours passed with drinks in hand, the company of good friends and the entertainment all around. Then about 10 minutes to midnight the Mayor of the town got on stage to give a speech. Of course it was lost on all of us, but it sounded like it could have been interesting.

Market_2

Stage

Lantern Lighting

Lantern Stars

About 7 minutes to midnight a bottle rocket from the stage shot straight over our heads directly to another stage area where it struck and lit up a huge firework display! I’m not going to lie, I was kinda freaked out by the bottle rocket launching above us because at first I thought it was rogue. But once I realized it was actually a planned launch, all was well. The first firework display went on and on showering the earth with white sparks. In the center glittered what I assume to be “Happy New Year” in Thai.

Show Begins

Happy New Year!

Fireworks

Once the first display started to peter out, the next display was shot off. Hundreds of brilliant fireworks shot into the sky with every color possible! I was mesmorized by the show of lights and the glitter of the lanterns still dotting the night sky behind them. We were so close to where the action was that the ash from the fireworks rained down on us, sometimes even getting in our eyes and gawking mouths, lol!! I was just in absolute awe. It was one of the most impressive New Years displays I’ve seen in a while. Especially considering how small this town really is, it was just awesome!

Fireworks_2

Fireworks_3

Fireworks_4

Knowing we had 60 dogs to feed the next day, I opted to head home to sleep (after a brief impromptu game of football using a balled up jacket as a football much to the amusement of the Thais) while the rest of the gang (minus one volunteer) proceeded to get hammered once we got back to the volunteer house. Needless to say myself and the volunteer who didn’t drink were up bright and early while the other 5 volunteers weren’t even able to get out of bed until about 3pm New Year’s Day, and even then were useless because of their hangovers, lol!! For once I was actually glad I wasn’t the one who was drinking, lol!!

Fireworks_5

Fireworks_6

Locals Partying On!

On to Sangkhlaburi New Years: Dog Version

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Kanchanaburi, Thailand

The Death Railway

2014-12-26 ramblintraveler Leave a comment

Taking the advice of the owner of the Baan Are Gong Homestay, I headed to Kanchanaburi after several lovely days in Ayutthaya. I opted to take the mini-bus there, which cost considerably more than the local bus, but it got us all there (other travelers included) in a fraction of the time. By “considerably more” I mean it cost $12, which is only about $8 more than what the local bus would have cost, so really it was a teeny investment to save potentially an entire day of being on the road.

Along the way I couldn’t help but see so many similarities in the terrain that reminded me of Florida. Were it not for passing the occasional Wat (Temple) here and there, and of course stores with names written in Thai, I would have seriously thought I was back in the Sunshine State.

After about 3 hours (with a 10 minute break half-way) we arrived in Kanchanaburi. Kanchanaburi (among other things) is home to the Bridge on the River Kwai (part of the “Death Railway”), a war museum, and several war cemeteries. Most people have heard of The Bridge on the River Kwai because of the novel “The Bridge over the River Kwai” by Pierre Boulle published over 60 years ago now. Though I have read the book a LONG time ago, the significance and history never really hit me until I was standing on the ground where it all happened. You read in school about the World Wars and all the countries involved, but it just doesn’t make quite the same impact on paper.

Bridge on the River Kwai

Bridge on the River Kwai_2

View to the South

Bridge on the River Kwai_3

View to the South_2

View to the North

The Railway (which the bridge is part of) runs from Bangkok to Burma (now Myanmar) and was built by the Empire of Japan in 1943 using slaves for its construction. Slaves consisted of civilian Asians and Prisoners of War (POWs) from the Netherlands, England, Australia, America, New Zealand and Canada. Over 100,000 slaves, just shy of 50% of the original population working on the railway, died during the project, hence it came to be known as “The Death Railway”.

Across the River

Looking Back

Green Life beside Death Railway

Death Railway

Death Railway_2

Death Railway_3

Today the railway still exists and it even still runs. Additions to Kanchanaburi due to the railway construction includes a War Cemetery dedicated to the almost 7,000 Allied prisoners who lost their lives during the project and a separate monument erected by the Japanese Army in February 1944 in honor of those who died. Once a year in March, voluntary members of the Japanese community in Thailand assemble there for a memorial ceremony to honor those who perished. So many lives lost again in cruel and unnecessary ways for the advancement and power of others.

Train Approaching

Train Leaving

View to the South_3

There are two “main” roads in Kanchanaburi, one runs right through the center of the city providing easy in and out access and is lined with every possible business imaginable. The second meets with the first, but veers off toward the River and runs parallel to it. It’s the second road that dead ends at the Bridge and along this long road is where the majority of hostels, bars, Thai massage shops, and restaurants can be found. Or in other words, it’s the main tourist strip. Bars are a dime a dozen with several hanging signs that boast they will get you drunk for only 10 baht (about $.30). Though I was actually smart and DIDN’T wander in myself to see if that claim was legit, I have heard from several others that yes, yes the advertisement is NOT false, lol!!

View to the North_2

View to the South_4

WAR

I stayed in a little hostel called the Green View Hostel right in the center of tourist-ville, but it was tucked back just enough off the road to drown out all the street noise. For 200 baht a night I got a very large and clean private room with a private bathroom (SCORE!!!) surrounded by lush beautiful foliage. I was practically the only one staying there during the 4 nights I was there and honestly it’s beyond me as to why because the place was absolutely lovely!! I wouldn’t recommed any other place unless one was looking to spend at least twice what I paid so they could be on the River.

Green View Hostel

Green View Hostel_2

In general the feeling I got from Kanchanaburi is that it’s a “good ol’ boy’s” place. There were so many older men from Australia or England staying year round because of their various Thai girlfriends. I found it to be such a cliché really. Mostly they stayed steadily drunk all day and shared personal stories about their lives and their girlfriends that I really never cared to hear about. Unfortunately they were also somewhat unavoidable because every time I’d go to eat somewhere one or two would inevitably come to chat… whatever sign I had on my forehead that made them think I somehow cared to hear about their sob stories, I promise I tried multiple times to scrub OFF!

Railway Market

Bridge Entrance

Monument

Luckily there were several others around who were pleasant (not from England or Australia interestingly enough) to be around and chat with. But I will come back to that in a second…

I lingered in Kanchanaburi for 5 days, and honestly the only reason I stayed so long was because I just couldn’t decide what my next move/place to visit would actually be. I had heard of the Erawan National Park where the famous 7 tier waterfall is and really wanted to go there, but I didn’t want to do a day trip because the earliest bus would get there at 10am and then we would have to leave again at 4pm. It was possible to camp out there but reserving a spot was harder than doing my taxes!

Monument_2

Amen!

War Cemetery

The woman at Baan Are Gong recommended going to Sangkhlaburi to see the famous Mon bridge, but it was over 200 kilometers from where I was near the border with Myanmar (Burma) and the only way to get back to other places in Thailand like Chiang Mai would be to go back through Kanchanaburi (since the Myanmar border is closed currently) and that just seemed like a waste of time to me.

War Cemetery_2

War Cemetery History

War Cemetery_3

I just couldn’t decide. I debated literally in my sleep and would wake nightly to conjur a new plan of where to go/what to do. The logistics of it was killing me. The only way to get to the Erawan National Park was from Kanchanaburi. The only way to get to Sangkhlaburi was also from Kanchanaburi, even though the National Park is ON THE WAY TO Sangkhlaburi…. Grrr….. I was close to just saying “screw it”, I’ll skip going all the way up to Sangkhlaburi and will just show up at the Park and hope there is a place to camp available…

War Cemetery_4

War Cemetery_5

War Cemetery_6

Then at lunch, the day before I planned to leave I met a lovely man from Germany. We got to chatting and he told me he had just gotten back from Sangkhlaburi. Excellent! I can ask him if it’s worth it! I posed the question and out came his IPad. For the next 20 minutes he showed me picture after picture and mini-movie after, well, you get the idea. Ok, ok. I have to go there. New plan (number 192): make the long haul to Sangkhlaburi first, then go to the Park (via another stop in Kanchanaburi).

For some reason, even though all the other plans just didn’t feel right, suddenly this one did. And now I know why…

On To Sangkhlaburi New Year’s: Human Version

Back to Thailand

Sangkhlaburi, Thailand

Gone to the Dogs

2014-12-21 ramblintraveler 9 Comments

After ferociously posting, catching up on all my travels, once again the silence (i.e. lack of posting) has begun… I figured I should tell you all why exactly. See, I’ve literally gone to the dogs!

I’m in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand near the border with Burma (Myanmar) volunteering at the Baan Unrak Animal Sanctuary. I may have mentioned before that my ultimate goal in life is to start an animal sanctuary of my own, and well, in order to get there I first have to actually see what its really like…

Most days are good, just the basics: feed, water, play, change blankets/mats, laundry, give meds, play more, walk the dogs with paralyzed back legs in the doggie “wheel chair”, more play, night feed, rest. There are approximately 40 plus dogs and puppies, most are regular dogs, several are 3-legged and 3 other precious dogs are only able to use their front legs. Well, Gizmo technically CAN use his back legs, he just chooses not to:)

Dogs rule the streets here (which I adore) but on occasion or rather more than ever necessary that means hit and runs. While many people love their animals and actually take care of their dogs and other pets, far many more don’t. Animals are purposely poisoned, cuts and gashes are ignored leading to very serious maggot infestations (we had to put one down because it was literally infested with THOUSANDS of maggots from his mouth to his tail, which was acutally missing, nothing more than a hole filled with squirming maggots) while others are simply abandoned or starved. Vet care is free (donations are welcome) yet some people simply prefer to choose a grisly life for them instead of seeking help.

But, while there is that heartbreaking side to volunteering here, there are so many joys to it too. They bring such an unconditional and pure love to my heart that is hard to match. Unfortunately, the nature of caring for any life (human or animal) includes having to deal with every aspect of it, the good and the bad. We help where we can, do what we can, but of course not all can be saved. Just the nature of the beast.

So you see, it’s not just for any random reason I’ve been M.I.A. on my blog, I’ve just been busy loving and caring for dogs:) I do of course plan to catch up on about 5 other posts I have in mind, but the other excuse I have for not posting is I’ve been dealing with a super crazy virus on my tablet that kept rerouting me to a website called adfoc.us (do NOT click that!!) and some other thing called mobo market kept trying to download on my computer. But after 4 factory resets, I think it’s finally gone:)

On to The Death Railway

Back to Thailand