Saturday 27th June, 1998 - “2,000 Kms Day for Dennis Peacock FCA”

We left the ‘Chakrungrao River Hotel’ in Khamphaeng Phet at 06.30 hrs and had coffee at the junction with highway 1 and started “Walking For Thailand’ the 68 kms to Tak at 07.15 hrs. Immediately we were on road construction, which continued until 15 kms south of Lampang! But we walked on the construction as the road was being made into a dual carriageway. ( A divided highway, if you are reading this from the USA!) So we had the new carriageway to ourselves with cleaner air to breathe, less traffic noise and no constant ‘wind draught’ from passing large vehicles. It was a welcome luxury and made our walking much easier and more pleasant. Now we had to watch where to put our feet! We had the road to ourselves all the way to Tak. There were many teak trees and rice & corn on the cob growing in the fields.

As we walked into ‘Wang Chao’ we had done 37 kms and I reached the magic total of 2,001 kms “Walking For Thailand”. I was very excited and amazed that I had achieved another of my goals: http://www.lombardimovie.com

We immediately saw the ‘Wang Chao Resort’ behind an Esso petrol station with a bar and karaoke machine, so we got 2 rooms for Baht 200 each and immediately William let rip on the Thai songs with the staff and locals joining in, at baht 5 a play! We celebrated my 2,000 kms with 3 large bottles of Heineken with our meal at the cafe at the petrol station. Everyone was amazed and we slept soundly all night, even with a room full of mosquitoes!

Sunday 28th June, 1998. We left at 06.30 hrs after coffee and walked on our own road and did 20 kms by noon. Again I was number 1 for the day, as today is an even day. Then we found some food and had a big meal. We rested in a bus stop sala and I slept for 90 minutes on a concrete bench, which is most uncomfortable for me. At 15.20 hrs we walked the remaining 7 kms to the entrance of Tak, off highway 1. We crossed the long bridge over the wide Mae Ping river, then we took a short cut, down the bank on the concrete support bank and walked the 2 kms beside the river into the town centre. A lovely walk. We found Bangkok Bank and William phoned the “Viang Tak II Hotel” that we had passed whilst walking to Bangkok Bank. It was a modern new hotel for westerners. We agreed that I should keep out of the way when agreeing a room rate at the ‘Thai room rates’, hence the phone call and the price given to William in Thai. We got a room for baht 550 and saw the room rates board at reception quoting the room at baht 1,250. We were learning fast! The room was very nice with a view of the market area and with air con and satellite TV. Then it poured with rain! http://www.sawadee.com/hotel/655701

We had walked 190 kms in 6 days out of 8 days and needed a break. The hotel was excellent and a nice coffee shop with a large screen TV for the world cup matches from an overhead projector, night club, disco and swimming pool. Tak is beautiful and beside the river. We stayed in our new “paradise” for 4 nights:

http://www.escati.com/maps/provinces.jpg

Yours truly,

Escati Tiger Team Walking For Thailand.

Thursday/Friday - 25th/26th June, 1998. We had a great tuk-tuk ride around town and a very wide Mae Ping river. The town was very spread out and a pleasant change to Nakhon Sawan. We met many local people who were showing a real interest in our walk and it’s purpose, rather than just the fact that we had walked a long way.

The absense of national support and publicity means we have to constantly explain why we are walking to overcome the stigma Thai people have about walking. In the western world, walking is a growing recreational pursuit for social and health reasons. But in Thailand, it is frowned on as it is associated with ‘being poor’ or ‘being a poor farmer’. This “loss of face” which is deeply rooted in Thai culture and society values and protected by Thai people ‘at all costs’ puts no value on walking, as it is associated with the feet, the lowest part of the body, within the human condition via “cultural and Buddhist principles”. Since Thailand’s economic boom and growth from it’s purely agricultural economy in the 1940’s and 1950’s less people walked with the growing prosperity mainly from the wide acquisition of motorcycles in the 1970’s onwards. This made people lazy, following the western attitude, until the fitness boom changed these attitudes in the west. Also the hot weather makes people avoid walking as it’s no longer a necessity, as it was in the days of their Parents who walked holding a ‘parasol’ for shelter from the sun. These were the elegant days in Thailand before traffic fumes, pollution and congestion. Current Thai society are largely ignorant about the fact that one can walk for a positive reason in addition to using the ‘walking vehicle’ as a ‘protest walk’ to raise people’s objections against government lack of support for sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture.

Another factor is that public transport in Thailand is very well organised, good value, and a very frequent and reliable, clean and mainly safe service for all the people with a large choice of comfort by road, rail, ferry and air. “Why walk when you can get a bus? ” I understood this challenge at the start of my ‘Walking for Thailand’ idea. Yet I didn’t let it discourage me, as the only way I could find out if the walk would succeed or fail in it’s honest intentions was to start walking…Step By Step:

http://www.escati.net/02/2006/09/walking-for-thailand-introduction

This ‘amazement value’ our walk is generating should break the barriers of the social stigma against walking, as we do what is considered humanly, physically and mentally impossible by current younger generations in Thai society, particularly in the urban areas and big cities. The Thai people are starting to support our ’Walking For Thailand’ initiative with great respect for what we are doing for Thailand and for what we have done physically, so far to Khamphaeng Phet.

We very much enjoyed our stay in Khamphaeng Phet and our grateful thanks to everyone who made us so welcome in your beautiful city.

Yours truly,

Escati Tiger Team Walking For Thailand.

Tuesday 23rd June, 1998. We left at dawn stopping at ’Salok Bat’ for coffee and to withdraw 900 baht from the ATM machine at Bangkok Bank. We had an enjoyable 26 kms walk to ‘Khlong Khlung’ where we found the ‘Khlong Khlung’ guest house and got 2 rooms there for 150 baht each. This was beside highway 1, with cafes for our meal close by. We arrived at the guest house at 17.00 hrs and it poured with rain at 17.15 hrs. Another close escape for us from getting wet! William commented that “The Lord Buddha Is Keeping Us Dry” and I agreed with him completely.

Wednesday 24th June, 1998. We left the guest house at dawn for our long walk today. The big signpost on highway 1 said 30 kms to Kamphaeng Phet and the roadside whitestone marker said 43 kms. It was 43 kms! One takes careful note of these small details when ‘Walking For Thailand. The countryside was changing from intensive rice paddies. We arrived Kamphaeng Phet before dark and a new distance walk record as all 40+ kms had been completed in darkness:

http://thailand.sawadee.com/kamphaengphet

Then we had a break at a bar in town which had a ’singha draft beer’ promotion with the yellow tents and tables and chairs with many local people. We broke all our rules of no alcohol and drank beers because we just felt like it. After 10 minutes there, it poured with rain and everyone had to move inside. Word spread fast about our walk and it was suggested we stay at the ‘Chakrungrao River Hotel’ (The old name for Kamphaeng Phet). We were expected on arrival and given a 950 baht room for 550 baht. (As a note here: we never got free accomodation until we arrived in the true ‘north of Thailand’. This was due to more publicity as well as ‘northern hospitality’) We were about to enter the north and were looking forward to Tak, where William was a Monk in a Temple next to the river for 3 years. Our hotel was opposite the park, close to the river and near the market. A very good location. We had a meal and suddenly we were very tired, probably due to walking 45 kms and the beer! We never heard the tremendous thunderstorm during the night.

Here are ‘Our 1998 Walk Experiences & Publicity:

http://www.walking-in-thailand.com/1998.htm

Yours truly,

Escati Tiger Team Walking For Thailand.