North By Northwest

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Onward

Here it is, my usual 3:30 wake-up time. I think I'll try to keep this schedule, as it allows me to write this blog after a good night's sleep and with nothing else to do. It will also hold me in good stead for the anticipated rooster early wake-up calls, the witnessing of the giving of alms to the monks at dawn and the sunrises at Angkor. Since the sun sets around 6 PM in this part of the world and since night life is not a part of OUR life, we can feel free to go to bed by 8 and everything will work out just fine.

This morning we were picked up at our hotel by Dara, Tu, and Tu's son. Dara was a school teacher in Nakhon Phanom in 1965 when Bruce was stationed there with the USAF, one of 3 that Bruce and I got to know there. Although we remembered them fondly we did not stay in touch with them after the war, but it was because of them and their town that we wanted to go back to Thailand.

A Serendipitous Re-connection

A few months ago I started in earnest to try to locate the three women, but made no headway - first trying to contact the tourist agency in town, then trying to enlist our travel agent. Then one day as I Googled “Nakhon Phanom” to learn more about the town, I came upon a blog written by a young Canadian girl who was just then spending a year in NKP on a Rotary International Exchange. She gave fascinating and detailed accounts of her stay and her host family, so I wrote to compliment her, and on a whim asked if it was at all possilbe for her to make some inquiries. As it turned out, her host mother is a teacher in the same school that Dara taught at in 1965 and knew where to locate her. A phone call later we had an offer to get together in Bangkok, where Dara would be during our stay. She knew where to find another, Sumontha, so I sent a letter to be delivered to her asking about her sister Suppatra (known as Dang). When a few months went by with no response from Sumontha and our departure date fast approaching we thought we were at a dead end when one day, less then a week to go, the phone rang and the voice on the other end said “Captain Bruce? This is Dang!” She had married a GI in NKP 40 years ago and is living in Oklahoma City! She said that Sumontha had not called us because she was embarassed that her English skills had faded, but had forwarded the letter to Dang. We will get together with Sumontha in Nakhon Phanom in a few weeks. Hopefully at some time in the future we will have seen all three.

On to Bang Pa-In and Ayutthaya

Our first stop was at Bang Pa-In, the summer home built by King Rama V over 100 years ago. You know him better as Chulalongkorn, of “The King and I” fame. It is a stunning and peaceful place. We were able to get a discount on the golf cart rental because Tu is a government employee, so with Bruce at the helm, we zipped around the extensive beautifully manicured grounds taking in the elaborate Chinese Pavillion and the lovely European-inspired royal quarters.

We went on to Ayutthaya, ancient capital of the Kingdom built on an island formed by the confluence of the mighty Chao Phraya,one of its tributaries, and a klong (canal). We stopped first at a colorful local market where I had a bowl of noodle soup, concocted to Dara's specifications based on my unschooled taste. It was delicioius - and now I'll know the procedure for future soups. She also had me taste other local favorites, which wias a good primer for me. Bruce, not know for his gastronomic adventurousness declined food. Next we went to a delighttful riverside restaurant where I had wonderful deep-fried squid - same-same calimari. By then it was obvious to me that Bruce was off his feed and sure enough he was in the throes of gastric distress.

By the time we got started on seeing the temples that Ayutthaya is famous for it was clear that he wanted no part of it. Our friends had to leave to get back to Bangkok and we were catching the overnight train to Chiang Mai, so I had them drop us at backpacker haven, Tony's Place, which I had read about in Lonely Planet. There, outfitted with a padded bench to lie on and a close-at-hand john,
Bruce settled in until train time.

Wild Adventure, Take 2

I, on the other hand, was not to be denied the treasures of Ayutthaya; took a 2-hour boat tour of 3 of the dozens of temples. There were 6 of us, a Japanese father and daughter, a Belgian father and son, an Italian backpacker and me, the lone female. Arriving riverside at the first temple we had to scale the wall on a stack of sandbags that formed a staircase of sorts. Noticing a sign saying “Entrance 50 baht” we asked if we needed to pay. “No,no” replies the local helping us negotiate the “stairs”. So over we scampered. The temple was very photogenic and we made our rounds, snapping away, then returned to the sandbag staircase. Now, instead of a helpful smiling local, there was a somber uniformed officer sporting an official “Ministry of Culture” ID tag requiring a 50 baht exit fee. It was too far to go out the front entrance and around the wall, which we had no idea if it was even possible, so we paid our bribe and added the adventure to our list....

When we got to the third and last temple I recognized it from guidebooks as the place to feed the huge and numerous fish that wait for their daily treats. I put 10 baht into the fish-food machine and, expecting it to drop a bag of food out, waited. I didn't notice the nearby container that held cereal bowls and, all of a sudden pellets came pouring out of the spout, most of them cascading to the floor before the Italian boy grabbed a bowl and saved what was left. The food thrown into the water immediately elicits a roiling cauldron of writhing catfish. I suppose that keeping the fish fed by food paid for by tourists is a great way of ensuring a never-ending dinner source for the monks. Or are they vegetarians? - in which case they are doing their good deed at no cost to them.

The Train, The Train

Now I'm starting to look at my watch. We have tickets for the 7:21 overnight train and it is now 6:35. Not to worry; the dock that we left from is just ahead. But no, the lady boatman (whose only word of English appears to be “no” as in “NO - don't stand up yet”), goes zooming past it and on probably a km further where she pulls up to another dock. Okay, so where is the tuk-tuk to take us back to Tony's place? Nothing. We have been abandoned at some night market that is in the process of being set up. This is fine with the 5 guys, because they're hungry, but I've got a husband somewhere in this town who is pacing the floor and I have no Thai skills beyond “Thank you”. So I comandeer the first tuk-tuk I see and through a combination of Pictionary and repeating what I want louder, I final make myself understood.....sort of. Totally relieved to see Tony's Place come into view and my husband seated on the bench out front, I gather him up and say “train station”. A few minutes later we are pulling up by another tuk-tuk and a gaggle of Thai men, one of whom has passable English, who tells us that we must pay 150 baht because the station is a long way. I finally negotiate it down to 60 baht and, not terribly happy about it, we are finally reunited with our luggage (stored there when we went through town) and left to await the 7:21, which, in traditional Thai style, pulled in right on time at 7:50.

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Photos

Bang Pa-In
Summer Palace of King Rama V

Dara and Tu
Reconnected after 45 years

Important Warning
This was on the golf cart we used in Bang Pa-In

Buddha
This Buddha in Ayutthaya was very impressive

Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Ancient Temple Site on the Chao Phraya in Ayutthaya

Roiling Fish
What a few kernels of fish food produces at Wat Phanan Choeng

Comments

[Lisa formerly Duffy]

Dang and Dara
Mom, I sure hope you told them that our Siamese cats were named after them! I have their pedigree papers somewhere... the cats, not the ladies. I predicted Dad would have constitutional challenges and I don't mean the Bill of Rights, either. Ugh.

[OldLadyVagabond]

I forgot
to tell Dara about the cats. Maybe it's better that way!

[Ellie]

I'm so glad you can make this trip but sorry Bruce isn't up to par. You are a terrific "reporter" and I'm enjoying every post. Thanks!