8 July 2012….It doesn’t matter where you are or what your circumstances are, everyone enjoys having good friends come over for a catch up and a laugh.  The difference for us is that when our friends in Sydney want to ‘come over’ to visit us it means taking a nine hour flight and a week’s holiday.  So we’re always touched when it happens and usually end up turning what might be expected to be a relaxing holiday in Thailand into an adventurous cultural experience.

Such was the case last weekend when Graeme and Beth flew up to Bangkok for eight days, their first ever visit to Thailand. They were originally planning to join us two years ago in what ended up being the middle of the red shirt protests near our home so they wisely delayed their visit until now.  But we gave them the red carpet treatment instead and the four of us had a whale of a time together.

Julie is a master tour guide of Bangkok from our many weekend outings we enjoy together as well as showing visitors and friends around.  There’s so much to see from cultural experiences, religious sites, museums, restaurants, transport options, early mornings in the park, late nights in the markets, massages, shopping everywhere and a lot of walking.  Oh yes, and the heat.  Because any excursion in Bangkok has to be tempered by the heat which slows you down, wears you out and if you’re not careful knocks you out.

So during the days Julie, Graeme and Beth explored as many of the highlights of this great city as their stamina could handle and then we met up at night for drinks and dinner at various restaurants around town plus the inevitable rooftop bars, markets and nightlife.   

For their weekend in town they opted for a trip up to Kanchanaburi, one of our favourite weekend escapes, to take in some World War II history, beautiful national parks and the famous Erawan Waterfalls.  We piled in the trusty Toyota Wish and spent the weekend exploring this great part of rural Thailand east of Bangkok.

If you are Australian and visiting Kanchanaburi you have to visit the war cemetery and the outstanding museum run by Australians that is near the centre of town.  While the most famous and recognised symbol of the region is the bridge over River Kwai, which we duly walked across, photographed and lunched under, the real story is the couple hundred thousand prisoners of war or local indentured workforce that died at the hands of the Japanese in pursuit of a rail connection between Bangkok and Burma.  Australian, British and Dutch losses were huge but they are superbly remembered in the cemeteries, museums and historical perspective of this area.   It’s not an easy visit but it’s an important one.

We drove up the valley, winding our way through the beautiful green mountains and persistent drizzle (it is the rainy season!) to literally the end of the road.  At this point Thailand ends and Myanmar (or Burma, whatever) begins.  This is the well-known Three Pagoda Pass, the lowest pass between the countries and the ancient passage for invading Burmese hordes who sacked the Siamese empires further south. 

Although the border is officially closed we watched hundreds of Burmese workers leaving their small factory jobs on the Thai side, mainly garment factories with rows of old sewing machines, and walking through the closed barrier and back to their village on the Myanmar side.  So yes the border is closed but of course commerce continues as the locals work with local industry for a win-win situation. 

We spent the night at the nearby town of Sangkhlaburi, one of our favourite stops, and enjoyed great food and drink from the outdoor restaurant overlooking the dammed lake and long trestle bridge that spans the two halves of the town.

The next day was dominated by elephants.  As it turned out, lotsa elephants.  In the town of Sai Yok we went on a great elephant ride, including walking through the nearby river, crashing through some jungle and allowing our transport to stop amongst some high green grass for an afternoon snack.  Elephants are amazing no matter how many times you see them or ride on them.  They defy belief with their size, the amazing tasks performed by their trunks, their volume of daily food, their longevity, their stunning strength as a beast of burden and their intelligence. 

We later stopped at another elephant camp and fed four month old baby elephants while seeing another with some of the longest tusks ever.  So many elephants walking everywhere we had to make sure to give them the right of way as we wandered around.  Or else.

That afternoon we stopped at beautiful Erawan Falls, another frequent haunt, for a walk through the steamy jungle up to the seven beautiful waterfalls.  Equal to the enjoyment of seeing the waterfalls was watching the Thais picnicking, swimming and playing amongst the pools and rocks and trees.    And of course there was the inevitable monkeys looking for handouts nearby.

Julie, Beth and Graeme also hired a car and driver one day for a day trip to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Siam about 90 minutes north of Bangkok.  Ayutthaya is a World Heritage location, rich in ancient temples and buildings from its heyday in the 15^th century.  This is a great place for history and culture although some of the temples were damaged by last year’s floods.  And it was no surprise when I heard they also went out to the elephant kraal and played with more elephants, including little babies only two months old.  You can never have too many elephant experiences.

Mixed amongst all the sightseeing, shopping and eating was good old fashion jabbering amongst old friends, catching up on family news, reminiscing about the past and talking about life elsewhere.  We sent Graeme and Beth back to Sydney totally exhausted from a rigorous tourism experience but all of us happy for the chance to see each other and share our lives together again.  As good friends do.