This week, as one is wont to do, I found myself in Thailand. It’s certainly not the first time I have been there, but it’s unusual that I have five minutes to spare, let alone take a few hours for myself. On this trip, my meetings had been postponed, so I got in touch with an old friend, who I haven’t seen for ten years (at least) and I had the best day. We met up early one morning after he’d dropped his daughter at the International school in Bangkok and I was already wringing wet, after having walked from the BTS station. It wasn’t raining of course, just over 30 degrees with what felt like 1000% humidity.
Bill hadn’t changed and only his hairline had updated itself. He was just as annoyingly tall (6′ 4′) and still had the old twinkle in his eye that I remembered when we worked together in Indonesia during the last days of the Suharto regime. He was driving a “very Bill like” truck; a high rise (for a shortarse like me) twin cab ute complete with a snorkel, large knobbly tyres and bull bar that scared the Thai drivers into letting him edge out in the morning rush hour traffic. He’d invited me to travel up to Kanchanaburi (of the ‘Bridge over the river Kwai’ fame) and see his weekender that was in the final stages of construction. Bill needed to inspect the curtains before paying the guy who had made them and check on the workmen who were installing the kitchen and I was delighted to be invited to tag along.
I had never seen the ‘Bridge’ and so we took a small detour and headed into the backpacker haven of Kanchanaburi town. The original bridge was destroyed in the war and its ruins are still visible upstream but the current rail bridge serves as the focal point to all the war veterans and tourists who come to see where Alec Guinness and his men toiled and died under the harsh rule of the Japanese Army.
The bridge is actually quite small and it is packed with tourists literally treading the boards. The precinct is surrounded by the ubiquitous ‘t’ shirt stalls and uniformed soldiers, (who might not be real soldiers) posing for pictures with the tourists.
One minute and one photograph later, Bill looked at me said “done?” and in answer we both turned and walked away thinking of the brave men who suffered there and on the nearby Hellfire pass.
Bill’s place was around 30 minutes upstream and on the banks of the river Kwai. He’d found an ideal block of land and had leased it on a 30 year renewable basis from the farmer who lived at the top of the block.After months and months of looking at demountable homes, log cabins and eco houses, he’d settled on a pavilion style house made from six and a half shipping containers. Neither his architect nor his builder had experience of building residences from containers, although he had built several resorts and in theory, they felt that it would work…..
From the inside – the flat pack kitchen is being fitted. You can see the second bedroom pavilion in the background. There will be a pool between the buildings eventually.
The garden, with its newly laid grass, is fully irrigated (from the river) and has several mature mango and jackfruit trees. As usual with Bill, he’d thoughtfully stocked up the fridge with cold beer and we pulled up some chairs and enjoyed the view of the river, which is about 30 metres from the deck. 
He’s planning on a floating jetty with some sun loungers and a mooring for his boat, which will set him up very nicely. It’s a fantastic spot in a lovely area of Thailand and the whole ambiance is very, very relaxing. All I need now is a family invitation and the time to go!
