Having made innumerable trips to Thailand, I felt I knew most of the interesting, historical, and cultural destinations in the country, but over lunch in Bangkok a few months ago our local agent suggested I make a visit to the eastern part of the country.  The date was fixed, and just after Christmas I began my short overland excursion to the Nakhon Ratchasima region, more commonly referred to as Khorat.

Though there is no written history of the ancient settling of Thailand, most Thais will tell you their ancestors came from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, in China, but some historians have a theory that they were originally from (academic debate) an ocean-based civilization in the western Pacific.  The first Thai kingdom was established in the 13th century, when Thai princes wrested power from the Khmers, whose Angkor government was quickly declining.  It was only in 1769 that Phaya Taksin, a half-Chinese, half-Thai general made himself king and began the history of Thailand as we know it today. 

A visit to Angkor Wat in Cambodia and study of the stone reliefs will give you an idea of the centuries of war as the Khmer and Burmese and other groups plundered their way back and forth across the central and northern areas of Thailand. 

Mon Kaew--tastes like an apple

 
  Around Khorat are several ruins that actually predate the Angkor Wat complex. We drove directly from Bangkok to Phimai, a drive of about five hours over a fine highway with only light traffic.  We made a rest stop at one of the many stalls along the way, one purpose being to purchase "Mon Kaew".  Along the highway were many stalls selling bunches of what looked like turnips.  The plant indeed grows underground with leaves like turnip, but, when I peeled and bit into one of these "turnips", imagine my surprise to find it tasted like a sweet, juicy apple, though without a core.  The guide pointed out that hikers frequently carry a bunch to eat when thirsty.

While driving, I noticed the usual tall coconut palms, but also a shorter variety.  It was explained that the smaller, shorter type is grown for drinking, while the taller one serves to produce both coconut milk and the meat, which is used for the dry coconut we eat in sweets.  The road was also lined with fields of tapioca used not only to make our familiar tapioca pudding, but also for cattle feed!

We visited the impressive Phimai ruins that predate the famous Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia.  Reconstruction by the Thai Fine Arts Department has been completed and the site is most impressive, well worth a visit. 

After our visit we headed for lunch with a stop at what looked like a low grove.  We walked into this forest to discover that it was not a woods at all, but the branches of one tree.  This was no ordinary tree, but a giant Banyan tree (Ficus Benjamina Linn) that covered an area of over 35,000 square feet and was more than 350 years old!  There are trails through the complex, so one literally walks through the tree.

After a leisurely lunch about 3pm, I arrived at the Sima Thani Hotel, formerly a Sheraton.  The hotel is located on the edge of Khorat, Thailand's second largest city, and so is not convenient for a visit downtown.  As luck would have it, next door a kind of convention complex was hosting a huge "Outlet Shopping" bazaar of brand-name American and European products manufactured in Thailand for export.  Items such as fine towels, clothes and belts were priced at bargain basement costs.  Dining in the hotel's Chinese restaurant, with a pork dish, four types of vegetables and a plate of fried rice set me back only a couple of U.S. dollars.

Buriram, about a 21/2 hour drive from Khorat, is the capital of Buriram province, an important part of the former Khmer Empire, situated atop an extinct volcano.  You will want to take the challenging 400-meter (1,312 foot) climb to the complex, built between the 10th and 13th centuries.  The complex, known as Phanom Rung,  faces east toward Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  On a clear day, the mountains in Cambodia are visible in the distance. This is the best of Thailand's restored Khmer monuments.  Restoration of these ruins took 17 years, and its fine, detailed carvings rival those at Angkor Wat.  Though originally built as a Hindu monument, it has been an important Buddhist site for hundreds of years.  A visit to Phanom Rung is a must on your list of cultural places to include on a trip to Thailand. 

Phanom Rung Historical Park Lintel of the reclining Vishnu

On the return journey to Khorat, we made a stop at Dan Kwian, where pottery has been produced for hundreds of years.  Kaolin, found only in this area, is used in the production of local pottery.  The main highway is lined with shops selling not only pottery, but also murals and plaques - magnificent copies of Khmer art such as the murals found at Angkor Wat.  It's reassuring to know these are copies.  Recently, several arrests have been made at the border of smugglers trying to spirit the real treasures out of Cambodia.

I chose to drive to Khorat, though daily flights from Bangkok serve both Nakon Ratchasima and Buriram, taking only about 40minutes.  Sightseeing is by car or van, with a driver and guide.  The exotic temples and handicrafts make touring  here child-friendly.

Back in Khorat, I changed to the Royal Princess Hotel, just to experience another property.  It too was not centrally located, and also on the edge of the city.  Both hotels were first class, with satellite TV, a pool and good choice of restaurants.

As I continued my journey, I was amazed at the excellent highways in eastern and northern Thailand.  Nearly every road traveled was being widened to double, or even triple width.  The fine highways make for smooth comfortable driving, but this is Southeast Asia and I found the driver taking chances in passing that we would never attempt.  On one two-lane highway, as we were passing a truck, I saw our van being overtaken at the same time!  A case of  triple by-pass?

On the 30th of December, we left Khorat for the drive to Chiang Mai.  I had planned to fly, but a change in air schedules left me with a seven-hour layover in Bangkok.  I was assured it was a pleasant drive, so I agreed to make the trip overland.  The drive was indeed pleasant.  Out of Khorat, the land was flat and farm families were busy harvesting the second rice crop of the year.  The fields were brown and did not seem as fertile here.  Small groups of trees dotted the area, making the drive seem rather like scenes on a safari drive on the plains of Africa.  This was a great time to make the drive.  The temperature was a pleasant 75-80 degrees (24 - 26C), the sky clear and not a mosquito in sight.  Some areas were unplanted, bog-like areas, with a white substance on the edges.  This was caused by seepage of water from below.  The white, powder-looking areas were salt.  Fields of corn were also seen, producing the steamed corn on the cob I had admired in the market the previous night.

As we drove north, the crop changed to sugar cane.  We passed trucks with the harvested crop stacked high on the truck bed.  By noon we were passing through the Patni Chun Bun Valley.  Farming here was the slash/burn method, rarely seen in Thailand today.  Gone is the area heavily forested with teak and rosewood.  Reforestation has been instituted, but the former growth will probably not be seen in my lifetime.  Here we crossed the mountains that divide east and north Thailand.
 
  

Sweet tamarind

Along the road were stands again selling something about the size of a thumb and brown in color.  When the skin is cracked open and the seeds removed the remaining meat is eaten and tastes similar to a date.  It's called  "sweet tamarind".

Want to know the difference between a female Thai student and her Japanese counterpart?  The Thai student does not have a mobile phone dangling from a neck chain!  In Japan, some have two or three phones, one for each boy friend, and each a different color.

As we continued through various areas, the roadside stands were featuring different items for sale.  One area would be selling kites, another earthenware pots, others trash containers made from used tires turned inside out, and others water melons.  Still others were selling bottles of sugar palm juice.  Collectors climb to the top of  the tree, snip about 1/2 inch off the flower buds and gathers the juice.  This is done daily for about a month each year.  The juice is mixed with water, boiled. and the result is a sweet drink.

I noticed loosely woven baskets about 3 feet in diameter (90cm) and shaped like a big bowl.  These were actually then used upside down like a lid to confine a couple or more chickens, presumably, I thought, for the night's dinner.  There were a lot of these and I was wondering what was going on until the guide explained that the chickens were being sold for cockfights!  He explained that there are four very popular competitive sports in Thailand, kick boxing, ox fighting, cock fighting and fish fighting.  Fish fighting?  That's right - two gold fish of about the same size are placed in the fish bowl facing each other.  The one that runs away is the loser!  A good fighter costs about BHT1,000 or about 2,900 yen ($28).

About dusk we found ourselves following a pick-up truck with 8 young men riding in the back.  They were having a great time drinking, clapping and singing, and were dressed in work clothes.  We passed them and found ourselves behind yet another truck with a group also drinking beer and singing.  Not only drinking beer and singing, but, look again, they had a barbecue going and were having hor d'oeuvres!

It was 9:15pm when we pulled up in front of the hotel, very tired from the long day's ride, but satisfied that it had been time well spent.

My time in Chiang Mai was sketched into the itinerary as a point of relaxation and The Regent allowed me to do just that.  There was poolside time, book reading time and just being plain lazy.  I was there for New Year's Eve and had to decide if I would join festivities poolside, or opt for a quieter time in the restaurant.  The decision to dine in the restaurant was a wise one.  The restaurant overlooked the pool area below and was close enough to make me pleased to be away from the band playing for those wanting to dance through the evening.  The staff deliberately seemed to slow the service, so it was just 11pm when dessert was served.  The management came up from the party to invite those of us in the restaurant to join in festivities and welcome in the year 2000, but most thanked them and returned to their rooms.  Each room had a very nice veranda and gazebo overlooking the resort grounds, so I poured a glass of the champagne that had been placed in each room and relaxed in the gazebo to watch the fireworks at midnight.  I was quite impressed on returning to my room.  I did not have any of the cheese plate that had been offered at the end of my meal in the restaurant, but thought I might enjoy it later in the evening, so asked to have it covered with wrap and I would carry it back with me.  No one ever came to the table, so I forgot about it.  When I returned to the room, there it was waiting for me!  It had been delivered!  Earlier in the evening, worried that, with the New Year festivities, staff would be very busy and guests might order buckets of ice and drinks from room service all at once, I had called room service and asked for a large bucket of ice.  The boy arrived at the door with a five-gallon camping cooler full!  I can report that the supply lasted me all evening and there was still a lot of ice left when I checked out two days later.

The adventure was now to begin.  On the 2nd of January, I boarded the Thai Airways flight from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, a five-hour drive.  Our Boeing 737 flight departed Chiang Mai at 7:30am and no sooner gained cruising altitude, than it began the descent.  I glanced at my watch.  It was 8:10am and we were already at the gate in Chiang Rai! Our total inflight time had been only about 20 minutes.

The guide was proud to be on time.  I wondered if he understood that that was supposed to be normal!  He escorted me with my carry-on luggage to the vehicle we were to use for the drive into Myanmar and the additional 160 km (99mls) to Kengtung.  I was more than concerned, when instead of the Land Cruiser I expected, he had arranged a 4x4 Suzuki, far too light a vehicle for the road conditions I expected and, as soon as we crossed into Myanmar, my fears were realized!

It was early Sunday afternoon as we cleared the border area and began our passage to Kengtung.  The first surprise were the churches along the highway and the great number of people gathered in front of these churches and in family groups walking homeward along the roadside.  This in a country that statistics list as 99% Buddhist.

Initial impressions can be misleading.  The highway out of Tachilek on the Myanmar side of the Thai / Myanmar border had been recently paved and we whizzed along with only minor delays where bridges had not yet been completed, but would shortly be ready for traffic.  We learned the highway was being reconstructed by a private Thai company that would operate it as a toll-road.  We breezed past the newly- completed airport and I was sure we would be all right. 

The driver and guide were Thai and had not driven the road since they had taken a client of mine to Kengtung in March, 1999.  Since this was January, ten months later, I thought that maybe we were in luck and the trip would be a smooth one.  It was not.  Suddenly, the road became a parking lot of vehicles and people standing around waiting.  Six Caterpillar Back Hauls were at work with six bulldozers next to each one, pushing the dirt they dug from the mountain slope to the right, across the road and off the other side to widen the road.  We were informed they would not be able to stop for a couple of hours more.  In the distance we could see another group of road building machinery doing the same and then even further down another group.  As they scooped and shoved, the road was forming a wide 4-lane wide highway. We were lucky, and an hour and a half later they pushed enough dirt, gravel and rocks aside to form a single passage lane through, so we could bounce our way through and be on our way again.  By now there were about twenty cars and trucks in our caravan.  We were on our way, but no sooner past the first part than we were temporarily blocked again.  The crews moved aside and the bulldozers created a path once more. 

Things then turned from bad to worse.  The old road had had no maintenance since the monsoon season and had a non-stop series of ruts cut through across the road, formed by streams of water rushing down the mountain slopes, from the right to the river below on our left.  The ruts were sometimes a foot deep and only a foot or so apart, giving us a ride like that over a giant wash board.  Many times, parts of the road were still flowing with water, so the driver would throw the Suzuki into 4-wheel drive and we would slip and slide our way through.  This method was generally successful but, when it failed, we were at a standstill again. 

While we succeeded in progressing, the truck in front got bogged down, another tried to pass and it sank axle deep into the muck.  Then a third tried it at a different angle, the driver thinking he knew the best way, and soon we had three trucks blocking the two-lane road. Then, the crews swung into action.  Some climbing the newly-scraped mountainside to seek out buckets of gravel to spread in front of the wheels for traction in the mud.  Next a cable was attached, all trucks carry cables about 15 feet long and about 3/4 of an inch thick.  The cables had a loop designed at each end and that was hooked on each truck.  The trucks all had a heavy, hook-shaped device bolted on for this purpose.  The idea was valid, but, on the first try, the huge truck on the dry part of the road shifted into low and slowly tried to pull the truck that was stuck, but the hook snapped and the cable whipped through the air!  This was a bit scary if you happed to be anywhere nearby, and I was!  More fresh gravel, lots of discussions and finding a new way to attach the cable, another tug, long and hard and the big truck lumbered up the incline, now rear axles up and out of the mud and the truck onto the dry main road. 

The road was then open for single passage and looking passable for our smaller Suzuki to make it through.  We succeeded and were on our way again.  We planned to arrive in Kengtong by dark, but it was obvious we were many hours behind schedule.  At each checkpoint, the guide had to show our official police permit to travel along this road to our final destination.   We had a new concern, knowing that the checkpoint to the city would close at 7pm.  There were about 5 checkpoints along the way and the next one would be the important one to allow us into the city.  It was long past seven when we finally approached the checkpoint for the city.  Indeed, it was closed, but a tap at the window brought a response.   The approval given, we were soon in the city, and at 11pm, checked into our hotel.  I immediately felt familiar with the accommodation at the Kyainge Tong Hotel, a duplicate of other hotels at which I had been accommodated in Myanmar.  They are a series of Australian built, prefabricated units set up in several of the tourist destinations in Myanmar some years back.

In the morning, I wandered the streets and the first thing I noticed out of the ordinary was the spire of a church atop a hill, about a mile away, with a huge statue of Buddha looming over it.  A rather strange sight!  Later in the morning, we stopped by the church and, while wandering through the gardens, we met the priest in charge.  He invited me into his office for a chat and cup of tea.  The Catholic Church here was established by a group of Italian missionaries in 1912, and now there are nearly 75,000 Catholics in this area of Myanmar. Considering that non-Buddhists make up only about 1% of Myanmar's  approximately 50 million citizens, this is quite a major concentration.  In Kengtung, this Catholic complex is made up of the church, a parish, convent, seminary and two orphanages, one each for girls and boys.  Currently, there are 30 student priests in the seminary.  The priest commented that the remoteness of the area, blocked from the rest of Myanmar by tall mountains all around, does allow for a lesser police and military presence, but "no one strays far."  He was amazed when I commented that I had arrived overland.  "But isn't the road virtually impassable?"   Imagine my disbelief to learn there was a new air  service from Tachlek to Kengtung and return three times a week, a mere 25 minute flight!  Worse, there was no way of my returning by air as my travel permit was for the overland route and my passport was held by the Myanmar security office in Tachleck on the Thai/Myanmar border!

We headed to the water-buffalo market, located just outside the town, on the road leading to Taunggyi, where I heard the place resembled a fair where water-buffalo are sold, with the bargaining taking place as the owner points out the strong points of the animal and the buyer points out the flaws.  This would have been fun to observe, but there is no market on Monday!  Instead, across the road, I noticed a group of teenage girls sitting on a knoll doing embroidery, which was available for purchase at the in-home shops, a short stroll away.  Instead of bargaining for a water buffalo, I settled for some embroidered fabrics!

During an after-lunch stroll along the lake I came upon a game center full of young kids ranging from 5 or 6 years old to high school age. Fully half of the machines were inoperable, ready for the junk heap, but others were working and groups of kids gathered around to watch their friends challenge the games.  Nearly all of them were smoking cigarettes, right down to the very youngest! I was astounded and then remembered youngsters in other parts of Myanmar smoking cigars!  Remember the Cheroot?  It came from Burma.  A country of smokers!  With north Myanmar being more notorious for the production of poppy for drug production, maybe it's a shade better for them to be smoking cigarettes!