I took a break after the completion of the bird house. But once the momentum was lost, it was not easy to regain it. I kept finding excuses one after another. My apology to those regular readers who came back here occasionally for updates.
Well last weekend I had a visitor with a story that shook me off my comfort zone. He is Da Da Ramakrishna walking from Sangklaburi to Phuket - covering 1,200 Km to raise funds to build a technical school. I was following his journey since early early November.
Sangklaburi is a little known town at a remote corner of Kachanaburi Province, 270Km north-west to Bangkok & near to Three Pagoda Pass at the Myanmar border.
He has walked 480Km to reach Petchaburi. The first leg of his walk to Bangkok would have been 360Km I reckon.
Photo of Da Da posing at my bird house on the morning before setting off again.
He arrived Petchaburi on 13th Nov 2010 noon, a day earlier than I anticipated. As he is vegetarian, my friend P'Wah called for assistance to locate this vegetarian restaurant. People here bidded him a warm farewell after learning he walked a long way here and even a longer way more to go.
After lunch I took him to Ban Laem to view the construction of a new bird house I am overseeing for a friend from Singapore. He was awe struck in disbelief so many buildings - each larger than his orphanage & just for birds!
He need a new pair of shoes & a mosquito net - we took him into town and found a similar pair he is wearing, cost Bth 180 or US$6 (US$1~Bth30) - Bth 40 (US$1.35) more than in Sangklaburi. "I thought it should be cheaper at a larger town." he remarked.
The worn pair he left behind.
Our thoughts were different: Those are not the right shoes for such long walks. His toes are blistered. How could he continue walking to Phuket? After diner we took him to a sports store with a variety of shoes to choose from. "It's rather expensive here." he said. Of course we won't let him pay. Besides, it is good to have a spare pair just in case.
Over diner, I reviewed his building budget and feel the construction cost can be significantly reduced.
The living room where he spent the night on a mat. Da Da was up early, laid out all his gears before repacking them.
He obliged for a photo shot with his fund raising message. I made a donation prior to his departure.
Took him out for a simple breakfast. Don't get the wrong message - He is not here to "Recuperate and Relax"! The fallen sign points to an Army Recreation Center nearby.
Drove him back to Phetkasem Road (part of Asian Highway 2) at the edge of town, where he was picked up the day before. Traffic is still light at this time, before 8am.
A final adjustment of his back pack and strapping the pair of spare shoes to his waist band.
He raised the walking stick we presented him, "This is good." he said, needs to ward off barking dogs approaching him at times! Gave him a hug and wished him a safe onward journey. Hope he is more comfortable with the Scholl sandals (chosen for its adjustable straps). I am not fully convinced this is right for his walk still; but he find shoes inappropriate as they pressed his blistered toes together, rubbing against each other during walk.
Da Da setting off towards Cha-Am for the day, some 40KM away. You can hear dogs hoofing soon as he walked off. "Dogs again!" he muttered. This is the main highway linking Bangkok to all southern provinces of Thailand. Feel the passing traffic zapping past him - trucks at 80KM/Hr typically, while cars speed range between 100 to 140KM/Hr!
Can you imagine what he has to endure covering another 700Km more from here to Phuket!
I have not known him before. Less than a day with him, I was touched by his strong will and determination in pursuit of his mission. He is an ordinary person, very humble and with a huge heart; not a super human yet out to achieve an extra-ordinary feat that most of us would shy away. He is not doing for his ego but for a cause he believes in.
My sincere wish is many of you out there can extend him a helping hand too, contribute a little to his cause. If you like to know more about his school project.
Link to his Technical School project & made a direct donation there at:
http://prsarkartechnical.wordpress.com/
If there are other resources you can contribute, kindly PM me at chng.charles@gmail.com
7th Dec, 2010 update:
I phoned Da Da this evening and he is on a bus to Bangkok en-route back to Sangklaburi. I thought he is still on the road. He reached Phuket on the 6th Dec. What walking pace he did over the past week!
I am glad he reached Phuket safely and going home by bus! He surely deserve a good rest afterward. He reached Phuket no doubt, but his goal in fund raising has yet to accomplish I suspect.
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