The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXXI, Part 1-2, 1983 - Khamkoo

Joe Cummings, Thailand, a Travel Sur.vival Kit (Lonely Planet Publications, South
Yarra, Victoria, 1982), ~P· 136
Guidebooks to Thailand, as with most other countries, come in various sizes
and with differing audiences in mind. Joe Cummings' guide is intended for what are
euphemistically known as 'world travellers' these days. This is no carriage-trade tome
listing the sybaritic delights of luxurious hotels, extravagant eateries and. visiting the
sights in an air-conditioned car, but a short. work listing the principle attractions and
explaining how to visit them with the minimum of expense aqd comfort.
After a brief introduction, there are four introductory chapters proper. 'Facts
about the Country' are largely correct (apart from the date when Siam first officially
became Thailand in English translation) and the introduction .to Buddhism is probably
more succinct and informed than that which appears in Clarac's Guide to Thailand in
which I had a hand. In 'Facts for the Visitor' one is getting down to brass tacks.
' Only bring, we are told, one medium-size shoulder bag or backpack, and nudity on
beaches, we are regretfully informed, is frowned upon. 'Getting There' and 'Getting
· Around' cover the cheapest possible forms of transport, and considerable detail is given
to booking train tickets and long distance bus prices (which are likely to get out of date
fairly quickly). Whereas Clarac and Smithies said on at least one occasion that the
best way to visit a certain place was to start at one point and send one's driver to
another to wait, Joe Cummings' travellers would be more likely to thumb a lift on a
tuk-tuk.
In the remaining 81 pages, Cummings covers the country in four sections,
Bangkok together with central Thailand, Northern, Northeast and South Thailand.
This division is not entirely satisfactory, as too much gets left out. Chantaburi and
Trad are not mentioned, presumably because they did not fit into the schema, nor are
Nan and Prae. Petchburi, a delightful place with plenty to see, easily accessible from
Bangkok, is not mentioned at all, and Lopburi, with its wealth of history and ruins, is
dismissed in fifteen lines, without even a mention of the Narai Raja Niwet palace.
Cummings says he is a ruins man, but perhaps not a very enthusiastic one, since those
at Srisachanalai are somewhat dismissed as being similar to Sukhothai, and Wat Phra
Si Ratana Mahathat at Chaliang is not mentioned. Kampaengpetch is also completely
left out, yet the ruins there are of major importance. However, Cummings has space
to mention in the chapter on the north the jail at Chiengmai : "Come here to see the
dozens of farangs who have been incarcerated on drug charges." This shows a curious
set of priorities. Ko Samui and Phuket are described in great detail, Sathing Phra
does not make it, neither do the splendid frescoes in Wat Klang in Songkhla, and
Nakorn Sri Thammaraj's museum and city walls are passed over.
~4l