The Thai/Cambodian border has been in the news lately and let's hope everything is sorted out quickly and amicably. It sparked memories of the first time I crossed into Cambodia from Thailand back in October 1970. Now that's a long time ago.
The border had only just reopened after being closed for many years. The crossing point was at Aranyaprathet from where you had to walk to the Cambodian town of Poipet. I was with Bangkok Post colleague Tony Waltham and for both of us the trip served as a visa run and the opportunity to experience a new country. It also had its dangers as Cambodia was an active war zone being very much caught up in the Vietnam conflict which would not end for another five years.
The journey involved a 6am departure from Hua Lamphong railway station and I recall we were both pretty tired from lack of sleep when we reached Aranyaprathet. We had to walk across the border and at a checkpoint were greeted on the roadside by Cambodian immigration officials who were not familiar with processing Westerners but they were quite friendly.
One official examined Tony's British passport thoroughly although he appeared to be holding it upside down for much of the time. He finally handed the passport back to Tony and said with a big grin "You American".
Battambang choo choo
Poipet was not a particularly inviting place in those days and was very much a bustling frontier town with a bit of a "wild west" flavour. Fortunately at the railway station there was an ancient steam train waiting to puff us all the way to Battambang which turned out to be the end of the line. Owing to regular ambushes by communist forces it was too dangerous for the trains to run from Battambang to Phnom Penh.
It was a fascinating train journey. Tony and I were the only non-Cambodians on board and with Westerners being a rare sight the friendly passengers, some of whom spoke French, were very inquisitive. Fortunately Tony, unlike me, had a reasonable command of French. The passengers, most of whom appeared to be smugglers, were intrigued why we wanted to travel into their war-torn country when we could have stayed in Thailand which to them was by comparison a peaceful paradise. They had a point.
Look before you leak
Some months later at that same border post I suffered a rather humbling experience. As I was walking across the border still on the Thai side I was desperate to take a leak. There were no toilets in sight so I found what I thought was a discreet spot in a patch of waste land.
In the midst of watering the weeds I heard someone call out "Teacher!" I looked around but could not see anyone. There followed "Khun Roger. What are you doing?" I looked up and to my alarm leaning out of window in an adjacent house was a young woman who turned out to be a student at a college where I taught in Bangkok.
I felt very foolish but she was not bothered and explained she was the daughter of an Aranyaprathet immigration officer. She gave me a welcome soft drink and explained she had looked out of the window and was rather surprised to "Ajarn Roger" standing below. But not half as surprised as I was to see her.
Pandora's box?
Someone else who came in for a surprise the other day was a condominium resident in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi. At the condo's garbage collection area she spotted a large plastic box that appeared to be in good shape and thought it might come in useful for storing things.
When she opened it up to her astonishment she found herself staring at 12 million baht in banknotes hidden under some clothing. The good citizen informed the police of her find.
Shortly afterwards a gentleman living on the floor above reportedly claimed the money saying he had forgotten he had put it in the box and had "accidentally" thrown it out with some old clothes. Police have seized the money and are currently trying to figure out exactly why 12 million baht ended up in the garbage.
Hitting the right note
This past week sadly saw the passing of two gifted American musicians, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Sly Stone, leader of Sly and the Family Stone. They were both aged 82. Their music could not have been more different but they were masters in their art.
Unfortunately they were both plagued by the "troubled genius" demons that sometimes afflict talented artists. But let's just appreciate their terrific music.
Sly's sound was funky and soulful and the band had a string of hits at the end of the 1960s including Dance to the Music, I Want to Take You Higher and probably their most popular song Family Affair.
Suffice to say their tremendous performance at Woodstock in 1969 was one of the highlights of the festival.
Wilson was responsible for the Beach Boys recording some of the most melodic harmonies of the 1960s. In addition to their biggest hit Good Vibrations I particularly liked Wouldn't It Be Nice and California Girls. They were songs that simply made you feel good and you can't ask for more than that.
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