Moving Moments

One of the first day trips we took was to Kanchanaburi, which has some of my most memorable experiences: The Bridge over the River Kwai and Hellfire Pass. We first went to the bridge and walked across it. It is a steel bridge with giant frames and seems unimaginable that most of the work to create the bridge was done by pure manpower. Many POWs - Prisoners of War - to include Americans alongside some Thai people were forced to construct the Bridge over the River Kwai. After the Bridge we went to a war memorial that is the resting place of many of the fallen POWs, excect Americans who were sent home. It was very moving walking past the numerous gravestones and noticing that the majority of these fallen comrades we not much older than I am. The following day we went to Hellfire Pass. The first stop was that museum, which was almost too hard to read the conditions these soldiers endured. They had minimal protective clothing, medicine, and if it weren’t for locals trading some of their vegetables for the POWs rice they probably would have died from malnutrition. After the museum, we walked part of Hellfire Pass, which is the railroad the Japanese built to improve communications. The locals gave it this name because of the massive flames that were lit at night so that construction could continue 24 hours a day. These POWs had to construct a railway by turning steep inclines into flat terrain and carving holes out of solid rock mountainsides. When walking down the tracks, we were able to see pieces of the railroad and the path that was made, however on the way back we decided to take the steeper direction. This made most of us realize how hard it must have been for these men to construct this railroad, because most of us struggled just get back to the top. The men probably did that climb multiple times a day with minimal food and water and other forms of labor in between.

I Salute To Thee, Our Fallen Comrades

-Kincaid, Christopher L.

(Top: Hellfire Pass railroad through rock mountainside; Bottom: Bridge over the River Kwai)

The Asian Melting Pot

When we got to stay in Malaysia for a few days, I thought I knew what to expect. We had been in Thailand for a while, so I figured Malaysia would have a few subtle differences, just nothing major. Boy was I mistaken. Malaysia is a place all its own. Described as a melting pot, it has several different ethnicities, religions, foods, and customs. In fact, when we asked our tour guide what dish was famous to Malaysia that we should try while we were there, he laughed and said there wasn't one. He explained that the food was so diverse that there really wasn't a type of food specific to Malaysia. Therefore, we had fun trying EVERYTHING. We ate everything from Chinese, to Vietnamese, to Thai, to semi-American.

We attended a lecture on Islamic banking while there and got to learn how religion plays a huge role in the way they bank. While there, we got to mingle with other Northwood University students. A few of them are planning on attending the Northwood University - Michigan campus in the fall, so we talked with them about America and Northwood University and tried to offer helpful advice. We spoke about the different organizations we were all a part of and just our differences and similarities in general. It was eye-opening to see the unique cultural perspectives that we all had.

One other thing that I found note-worthy was the street atmosphere around us. New York City has always been described as the city that never sleeps, but Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia definitely takes the cake on that one. The night before we had to depart Malaysia to return to Thailand, the majority of us stayed up all night simply because we had to leave for the airport at 5 and we saw no point in sleeping! We walked the streets with crowds of others, ate food from bustling vendors, and just enjoyed the night life until time to return and pack up for our flight.


Overall, I would say that Malaysia was probably my favorite country so far. I would definitely go back because there was so much to see and do there. There was no way on earth that we could fit it all in, so I already have plans to see more things some day!

-Paige Eldridge

I Can't Believe It!

"I can't believe it, we're going to Asia!" It wasn't but a couple of weeks ago that I said that. Now just a short ways into the trip, I still find myself thinking the same thing... "Wow, I can't believe it!" This summer, a small group of Northwood students and I have traveled across the globe, to a different continent, and experienced two very different countries within it: Thailand and Malaysia.

Each day is filled with something different and new. Looking at our events throughout the trip so far, I find it hard to pick just one thing to share with you. Discovering Thailand's history and culture by submerging yourself in it has proved to be the best way to learn. Visiting Buddha Mountain and temples with practicing monks has shown me so much more about a faith of which I had little knowlege. One day that sticks out in particular is the one where we spent the morning on the floating market surrounded by local Thai people and the afternoon trekking through the river on the back of an elephant. The terrified look on my friend Paige's face was so funny that words cannot explain.

Something not on the schedule was stopping by a local spring-fed waterfall and seeing local children and families enjoying a hot afternoon in the water. That to me was so special because it's a sight into everyday culture that not everyone gets to experience. On the other side of this watering hole were pieces of the railroad tracks from Hellfire's Pass. Hellfire's Pass was a piece of history that I knew nothing about. It was a railway project constructed in the early 1940's to improve communication between Thailand and Burma. It cost many American and Dutch POW's their lives along with Thai and other Asia natives. Standing on this railway looking over the hills of Burma where such history took place brings me new knowledge and an experience I will never forget.

In just the past couple of weeks, Asia has shown me so much... I still can't believe it!

-Madison Dooley

(First pictured is our group in front of Buddha Mountain. Second is a vendor selling fruit on the floating market.)

First Glimpse of Asia

We've only been in Southeast Asia a short while and I can honestly already say that it's one of the greatest experiences of my life thus far. We've seen so much in such a short amount of time that I'm grateful for all the pictures I've taken to help me recall everything. If I had to name my favorite activity done or sight seen... I couldn't. But I can tell you about one that moved me the most.

The Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum was absolutely amazing. We walked through and learned about the railroad that was built from Thailand to Burma by American POWs and many others including Thai, Dutch, and local natives. Over 100,000 people died building this railroad, of which around 14,000 were American. We saw many picutres and actual footage of the men enduring horrible working conditions. They worked as long as 18 hours at a time, were given a small amount of rice and vegetables twice a day, were beaten, tortured, and made to endure this grueling work for a railroad benefiting the Japanese during World War II.

After viewing the inside of the museum, we got to go down to where the actual railroad was and saw remnants of the tracks themselves. It was surreal to see something of such historical importance that we knew little to nothing about. While in school, I in particular feel like I didn't learn as much about Asia as I did about other parts of the world, so this trip is really opening my eyes to things of which I was clueless.

The Railroad from Burma to Thailand is an experience that moved me in ways that I can't explain and will definitely never forget.

-Paige Eldridge

(Pictured above is the outside of the Hellfire Pass Museum)