Hellfire Pass

Sat 23 Jan 2016:
Hellfire Pass is a historical war site in the mountains of Thailand. It's a place I never studied about in school or read about in a textbook, however the site is incredibly significant to the story of WWII. I spent four hours learning about the atrocities the POWs and Asian laborers endured while building the Thai Burma Railway, more commonly known as Hellfire Pass. The story below recounts the construction of the railway from 1942 through 1945 (as told by the official hellfire pass memorial museum).
A RAILWAY TO BURMA
In December 1941, the Pacific war began with the Japanese attack on pearl harbor, hawaii, and the invasion of malaya. By mid 1942, japanese forces were fighting the British in Burma, their ultimate aim being an offensive against india. To maintain their armies in Burma, the Japanese needed a more secure supply route than the vulnerable sea lanes between singapore and rangoon. They decided to construct a railway 415 km long through jungle and mountain from Ban Pong in Thailand to Thanbyuzayat in burma.
BUILDING THE RAILWAY
to build the railway the Japanese assembled a multinational workforce of approx 250,000 laborers and over 60,000 dutch, australian, British and american POWs. Work on the line in southern burma and in thailand began in Oct 1942. On 16 Oct 1943, the two ends of the burma thailand railway were joined at konkoita thailand.
Little modern equipment was available for railway work. Earth and rock were broken by shovels, picks and hoes and carried away in baskets. Embankments of stone and earth were heaped up by human endeavor. Cuttings were driven through rock by hand. Metal taps and sledgehammers were used to drill holes for explosives. Most of the bridges along the railway were timber trestle bridges made from timber cut in the surrounding jungle.
From April 1943 the work pace increased greatly as the Japanese strove to meet a proposed august deadline for conpletion. This was the notorious 'speedo' period. POWs and Asian laborers worked punishing 12 hour shifts well into the night. At Konyu Cutting the flickering bonfire light on the emaciated workers gave the place it's name- Hellfire Pass. The 'speedo' coincided with the wet season while cholera claimed thousands of lives.
Between Dec 1943 and Aug 1945 some 220,000 tons of nilitary supplies were carried over the railway. Allied air raids hindered the railways operation, yet the Japanese continued to move supplies along the route. Today 130 km of the line remain in use, from Non Pladuk to Namtok.
THE COST
Of the 60,000 allied POWs who worked on the railway, 12,399 died. Between 70,000 and 90,000 civilian laborers also died. The reasons for this appalling death toll were: lack of proper food, inadequate medical facilities and the brutal treatment from the guards and railway supervisors.
Rice, with a little dried vegetable and dried fish, was the basic food of the POW. This meager diet was supplemented to some extent through trade with local people. Starvation led to a range of diseases including beriberi and pellagra. Weakened POWs living in appalling conditions common fell ill to malaria, dysentery, cholera and tropical ulcers.
POWs lived in attap (woven palm thatch) and bamboo huts. Huts were overcrowded and cooking and sanitary arrangements at camps were primitive. Lack of clothing and footwear increased the risk of illness.
Physical punishment was a feature of Japanese military discipline and the POWs were often given severe beatings and other forms of punishment.
If anything, the asian laborers, or Romusha, as they were known, fared even worse. Unlike POWs, they had no army doctors to give them basic medical treatment.
'V' ORGANIZATION
thailand was a reluctant ally of Japan and allies interned citizens were well treated by the thais. Internees became aware of the plight of the POWs. An Internee group known as the V organization, aided by neutral businessmen and sympathetic thais, smuggled food and medicines to POWs.
PEACE AND AFTER
after the completion of the railway, the POWs were either kept in thailand or sent back to singapore. When the war ended the POW survivors were repatriated with proper food and medical treatment and many quickly recovered however most carried the mental scars of their experience with them the rest of their lives.
The POWs who died along the railway were reinterred at the Commonwealth war Graves commission cemeteries at Thanbyuzayat, kanchanaburi and chung kai. American dead were returned to the US.

The best way to travel: open air trains

Jan 23, 2016:
Camilla and Dee (friends who are also teachers living in Bangkok) and myself left early Saturday morning for Kanchanaburi, Thailand. We took an open air train so that we could see the sights of Thailand shift from city living to rural living to mountain living. The train ride took about 5 hours. About three quarters of the way through our trip, our train car emptied and then filled up with a large group of Thai elders who were celebrating a reunion. In Bangkok being pharang  (white foreigner) isn't a novelty because there are so many, but in rural areas bring pharang gives you a somewhat celebrity like status. The Thai elders were taking photos of us (before we realized what they were doing) and with us (after we told them it was ok!). It was a very interesting experience. The views were absolutely gorgeous, especially in the mountains. The train even stopped along the route to allow for photos. And what 5 hour train ride would be complete without use of the toilet? Of course I snapped a bathroom photo for all of you curious readers. FYI: when you "flush", the floor of the toilet opens up and the toilet matter just falls right onto the train track. #don't use the squatty potty at train crossings.

Soulbar

I'm slowly but surely settling into Bangkok. Last week Wednesday my girlfriends and I went to Soulbar, a hole in the wall that's famous for live funk and soul music and the taco truck out front. We definitely enjoyed the live music but we didn't try any tacos (we now have an excuse to go back). I love trying new things in thailand, kombucha, being one of them. Kombucha is a type of tea. This particular place serves kombucha beer mixers, so I had a chocolate mint kombucha beer. Disclaimer: it did not taste like chocolate! It was tasty though.

Heading downtown to Chinatown

My friend Julianne and I decided to do a 'bangkok free walks' tour of Chinatown on Tuesday night. Our 'free walk' guides met us off the Hua Lamphong MRT. They took us to the official entryway of Chinatown  (marked by a big colorfully decorated archway), to a temple with the largest all gold buddha in the world. (Sidenote: the Burmese invaded Thailand and were stealing everything made of gold, so the Thai people collected all of the gold they had left to make this statue and covered it in plaster so that the Burmese wouldn't steal it.) We then got to visit a smaller Chinese temple built in conjunction with a free hospital. There is a ritual at the temple in which people take a cup of numbered sticks, sit on the ground in front of the goddess of mercy and concentrate really hard on something they would like to know about their life. Then, they shake the cup until one stick falls out. The number on the stick corresponds with a number on a scroll that explains their fate. It was amazing how accurate my "stick prophecy" was. Then it was time for the food. We got to try an amazing fish soup (the fish is dried for over one year!) Then a pork soup with chamomile tea, pad thai and fried mussel omelettes. For dessert we had iced chocolates (a favorite of mine!), sweet bread with condensed milk, sweet bread with green goo ( cannot for the life of me remember what it's called!) and sesame balls in ginger tea. I absolutely despised the final dish and it took everything I had to keep a straight face while trying to swallow the sesame balls. Our tour guides were absolutely fabulous- a married couple from Bangkok who decided they wanted to practice their english, while exposing foreigners to local culture and locals to foreign culture- so they started the business 'free bangkok walks'. It was definitely an experience I would reccomend for a tourist or a local!

The little things

Sunday evening was one of the best I've had here thus far. After a long day at the market, I sat in the pool and watched the sunset over Bangkok. Then, I tried out my new hot plate and made myself a home cooked dinner! After, because I was feeling really ambitious, I went to the gym in my building (and no, not to watch other people workout like I did at the muay thai gym- I actually went so I could workout!) Did I mention there's a Hello Kitty run at the end of January I have to be ready for? (No I'm not joking! And no, it's not for kids, it's for adults!)

Chatuchak

I'm so lucky to have met First, a thai student who attends University of Bangkok, while I was traveling in Chiang Mai. This past Sunday we reconnected once again, this time in Bangkok. She brought me to Chatuchak, the biggest weekend market in Bangkok. The market stretches longer than the length of one MRT stop to the next and runs from 4pm Friday night until 5am Monday morning. First treated me to a Thai tea "popsicle" (although she says they don't actually freeze it) for 5 baht. I was able to get some really cute dresses for 100 baht each (less than 3 US dollars)! The market has absolutely everything; we even found bags that were big enough for us both to sit inside! I was so excited to get some good thai food because I was with a Thai local. Little did I know, First was really excited to get some good western food because she was with a foreigner. Funny how things work. While we had lunch (we decided on pizza, which was only sub par) First taught me how to write my name in Thai. It was a really great way to spend a Sunday!

Feeling like a tourist but acting like a local

I've been a tourist for so long, I've forgotten what it feels like to let loose and have a little "local" fun. On Saturday I did just that. We celebrated a coworker's birthday by having a pool party on our rooftop deck. There were plenty of jello shots and "walking tacos" to go around. Then we headed to a paint bar and attempted to recreate 'starry night'. It's so wonderful to finally feel settled and to already have a great group of people to enjoy the city with!

Job security

Went to an evening market in Bangkok last week with my friend Jenna. There were tons of vendors and lots of shops. As we were leaving, we passed by a massage shop. This wasn't just any massage shop, it was Rapee massage shop. Read the fine print and you will find that they not only give oil massages, but that they give milk cream massages. To top it all off, there were male masseuses on the street soliciting business instead of females. This is why I will always have a job. #onlyinthailand

Tips and Tricks for Trips to Thailand post 1

1. Banking: if you're like many travelers coming from the US, you don't have a Thai bank account. You cannot use US dollars here, only baht. No need to get your money changed ahead of time however, because any ATM you use will dispense baht (even if you use your US bank card). There are always fees to use the ATMs. These range from 180 to 200 baht per transaction so find the ones for 180 and take out as much as you can in one transaction. Note- your US bank will probably impose a daily withdrawal limit. Look this up ahead of time! In thailand, the max withdrawal from an ATM at one time is 20000 baht, however chase bank has only authorized for me to take 10000 per day. Do not use Krungsri Bank ATMs to withdraw money. Cards get stuck in the machines all the time! They promise free coca-cola or peanuts with each withdrawal, but don't let that suck you in. If your card does get stuck in an ATM, call customer service immediately. They will come to open the machine however in the meantime they will contact your bank and put a hold on your card. In order to use your card again you have to contact your bank and remove the hold.

2. Phone plans/calling/texting/mobilizing: Use 2 phones. One phone can be a shitty flip phone you purchase in thailand for 800 baht that you fill with texts and minutes at the 7/11 (this way you satisfy the requirement of having a Thai phone number for work purposes). The other phone is your everyday use phone. Download the communication apps line and whatsapp. Everyone here has them  (even thai people). You can call, text and send photos on them so easily. All you need is wifi  (which is literally everywhere in Thailand). If you're looking for a phone provider from the US use T-Mobile. They have cell towers in Thailand and if you call on wifi it's completely free. Make sure you have a way to make international calls (you never know when you're going to need to call your bank, insurance company, etc)

3. Taxis/songthaews/tuktuks: don't just name a place like you do in the states and expect to get there. Don't just show your location as a pin on a map and expect to get there. Know directions for how to get there. Learn thai words to say what it's near. In bangkok, make sure to ask for metered taxis as opposed to agreeing on a price and make sure you specify whether or not you want to take the highway  (many times this costs extra). Songthaews usually have a standard rate depending on the town so find that out before riding. Tuk tuks are for tourists and usually cost more.
4. Water: don't drink the tap water (it's fine to brush your teeth with and you won't get sick if you open your mouth in the shower) instead, buy 2 of the big bottles at 7/11- they usually have 2 for 20 baht specials- and then refill them for 1 baht each at water refill stations!
5. Bathrooms: they won't always exist. They won't always be public. They won't always be clean. They won't always have toilet paper. They won't always be free (sometimes 5-10 baht). Always carry wipes and hand sanitizer and always be ready to squat (and not just over the lid ladies, but over a hole in the ground). When there aren't proper toilets you could be standing in an inch or two of "wetness". Skirts and dresses are much easier to work with than pants. DON'T EVER FLUSH YOUR TP. Throw it in the bin.
6. Bargaining: do it- at the markets, with tuk tuk drivers. Don't do it- at the mall, at the bar. Do it sometimes- with motos. (At the markets, don't hesitate to walk away- they almost always call you back. Also, learn some bargaining phrases in thai like "tao rai ka" (how much?) "Lod noi dai mai ka" (can you go a little bit lower) 

My very own residence in Thailand!

Jan 9th 2016
I started teaching on the 4th but didn't have my own place yet, so was staying in a hostel while I searched for an apartment. Fast forward to Sat, 9th Jan (that's how the date is written here). After four hours of trials and tribulations (I'll save those for a later post) I had a place that was mine. All mine. No shared showers. No bunk beds. No other people. Just me! To put it in perspective, this was the first time in over 52 days that I'd been on my own and it was amazing. My apartment is a studio, located on the 8th floor of Prime Suites, a 9 story apartment complex, located on soi 18. It's in the heart of Bangkok, just minutes from the Asok BTS and Sukhumvit MRT (both are forms of public transportation; the BTS is an overhead skytrain and the MRT is an underground subway). It's fully furnished with a really soft bed and TWO proper bed pillows (this is a huge deal because many temporary accommodations in Bangkok have a box spring only- one place we stayed didn't even have a pillow!) I have a full bathtub (which is very unusual) and my building is piped for hot water showers (a lot of buildings in SE Asia are not and therefore each shower has to have its own heater box). I have a tiny balcony with my very own washing machine! On the roof is a pool that looks out on the city and a gym that looks out at a concrete wall (you can't have everything!) Did I mention my commute to work is less than a ten minute walk?! Six of the teachers I work with also live in my building which is incredibly convenient. All in all, I'm so lucky to have found this place! Here are a few funny stories to go along with my move:
1. Next to my bed is a small box (that functions as a bedside table). When I moved in, there was a buddha sitting on it. All buildings in Thailand have buddha shrines where locals give offerings of food and money. "Is that what this is? Am I allowed to move buddha? Should I be sharing my yogurt with him?" These were all questions I asked myself. I decided to collect all of the asian inspired items in the apartment and place them on the table with buddha. I also decided to move the box ever so slightly closer to my bed (so it could accommodate my phone when it was plugged in!) Fast forward to two days later. My landlord (thai man in his 70s) and apartment manager (thai man in his 30s) come walking in. My landlord starts pointing to the box and speaking to the manager in thai. The manager is responding in thai and moving closer to the box. "Shit. I moved the box. Shit. I moved buddha. Shit. I should've shared my yogurt." I'm trying like mad to decipher what the two are saying while simultaneously coming up with a convincing list of reasons as to why they can't kick me out or have buddha curse me to return in the afterlife as a cockroach. (As of now they haven't done the first, and I don't yet know about the second.) Either way, the conversation ceased and no one gave me evil eyes so I must not have committed too bad of a transgression against their religion and culture. Phew!
2. When I first moved in I didn't have a stove top so my landlord offered to get me a hotplate to use for cooking (he's such a nice guy!) He dropped it off while I was at work so when I got home the manager offered to set it up for me. First, he sets up the snack tray that the hot plate will sit on (the legs are wobbly so we're shoving paper underneath to even it out). Then, he unpacks the hotplate. Last, he takes out a roll of aluminum foil. I'm thinking "oh that's so sweet, he got me foil to cook with". Next thing I know the manager is taping the foil to my wall. Wait, what? That's definitely not what we do with foil in America. The manager explains that they don't want the hotplate to spray the walls with oil or grease so the aluminum foil is a perfect barrier. Umm yeah of course. Why didn't I think of that? So now I've got my snack tray with wads of paper under the legs and an aluminum foil backdrop to complete my kitchen. #jankydoesntevenbegintodescribeit

Teaching in Thailand

Jan 4th, 2016
I set out on this crazy journey a little over a month and a half ago, and I'm now finally doing what I set out to do: teach. I've accepted a position at the Australian International School of Bangkok at the soi 20 campus. I teach the K2 Wallabies, which are 4 and 5 years old. I have a TA, Dolly, and a nanny, P. Nun, and 16 students. My classroom demographic includes thai, korean, danish, American, australian, Indian and Turkish students. I work in a syndicate (grade level team) with 3 other teachers and they couldn't be nicer. In many ways it's similar to American schools, but in a lot of ways it's really different. I won't bore you with the pedagogical similarities and differences, just the fun ones. In Thailand you must take your shoes off before entering a room. Try doing that with 4 and 5 year olds ten times a day (I have a whole new appreciation for crocs!) Teachers are fed lunch. Everyday. And a morning snack. And ice cream on Fridays. For free. Students have swimming class in the school swimming pool once per week. This means, change 16 kids into suits, get them in the pool, get them out of the pool, get them dry (sometimes requiring the use of a blowdryer), change 16 kids out of suits into dry clothes, bag up 16 suits all in one hour. Try not to lose your mind. Repeat. Again. Next Monday. Practice safe sun practices at all times by wearing a hat outside. Don't worry dad,I won't be picking up any thai boys with this sweet UV blocker.

Sometimes less is more

After leaving Tash in Hua Hin to fend for herself, we headed to Bangkok and checked into the Asok Montri hostel. It had AC and a communal refrigerator- my life was made. We met some friends at our hostel who took us out in Nana, which is a night life heavy district right by our hostel. The night took a turn and we headed to Pat Pong, the ping pong show district. Been there, done that, so friends, if you want to come visit, you'll have to settle for another form of entertainment because that is one place I won't be returning.