Deep In The Gulf Of Siam

We're doing something right when we're having a discussion with our children about the different colors of blue in the water. As our boat took us away from the pier, through the cove where our residence complex dominates the hillside and past Ko Chang's southern beaches, the first color discussed was turquoise. Then came green, blue, tourmaline and eventually crystal clear. It was a day with colors I haven't seen since or outside of Greece where the exquisite spectrum of blues are the national product.

In fact, we spent today much like some of our favorite days in Greece – jumping from boats to swim in the luxuriant waters found in nearby coves and islands – only this time we did it as a family (and in Thailand). The private boat Emily hired for the day took us to Ko Wai and Inner Laoya Island – both just south of Ko Chang. There – along with many other tourists on one-day boat excursions – we swam in some of the clearest – and also bluest waters I have ever seen.

While every adult was excited by the fish swimming by and the fantastic snorkeling, Ailyn remained ambivalent about being surrounded by tropical fish and absolutely did not like when the boat occasionally rocked. Sennen greeted the fish with more joy, but found snorkel gear abominable, preferring instead to swim the coves in his floating donut.

The great part about the private boat was that we could stay longer when something was working and moved on when it wasn't. At the last beach of the day, Ailyn had clearly decided the day was a great one when she announced, "It's a chocolate party!" as she splashed water in the air. There was no actual chocolate, so I asked, "What do we do at a chocolate party?" "We eat cake!!!" It seemed a mix of expressing joy and of wishing that the Gulf of Thailand was actually made of chocolate.

Luckily, what wasn't pretend was how much all of us truly enjoyed the day and the splendors of the waters off Ko Chang.

Besides the fun of the day and enjoying the sweetness of sharing these wonders with our children as I always had hoped I would – my mind inevitably did what it always does on a slow, blue Thai boat chugging slowly through the Gulf – it marvels at the surroundings, imagining what it was like in the past.

The Gulf of Thailand – formerly the Gulf of Siam defines Thailand's modern existence. While one can easily argue that the faithful, hard working people who power Thailand's incredibly productive agriculture (Thailand is the single largest exporter of rice in the world and generates food in such abundance that the cost of food is extremely affordable to people with low incomes) are the kingdom's soul, the Gulf is its heart.

The calm, slow blue expanse seems to me timeless – a place where modernity takes a break and allows one to see the continuity between Thailand's past and present. Fishermen in wooden boats still trawl the waters. Rarely is a large, modern boat seen. The world looks much as it always has and that is a real treat.

Besides the rich resources the Gulf provides Thailand fueling its economy,  it also gives access to the South China Sea and therefore, the world. While the Thai – formerly Siamese – were never on par with trading nations and cultures like the Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Portuguese, British and Dutch, in the mid-1800's, they found themselves at the crossroads of the colonial world. Britain was building an empire to the west (Burma and India) and south (Straits Colonies – today Malaysia and Singapore) of Siam while France was expanding and driving its Indochina colonies (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) to the East. The Gulf of Siam was the dividing line between the two frenemy European powers.

Naturally, that put Siam on in the line of fire. Whichever side could take Siam could begin to muscle the other out of Southeast Asia. Fortunately for Siam, King Chulalongkorn – titled Rama V and featured in "The King and I" – was not only clear about his kingdom's challenging situation, but was clever enough to play the Europeans' game to his general advantage. When one colonial power threatened his sovereignty, he quickly made the other aware of the perils to its colonial empire should its rival succeed. This careful balancing act of being friendly enough with both powers, while maintaining his ability to maneuver between them – along with sadly ceding some territory to each and reforming Siamese culture to appear more "civilized" to Europeans (which is why Thais eat everything with forks and spoons except noodles which get chopsticks) – kept the core of Siam intact and made it one of two countries in Asia never to be colonized (Japan being the other). 

In the process of shaking down Siam the French had skirmishes with Siamese forces right here on Ko Chang and for ten years (1893-1903) occupied the nearby mainland towns of Trat and Chantaburi until a permanent treaty ceding large portions of what is now Cambodia and Laos was signed.

In the quiet moments of sailing through the Gulf while Ailyn napped on Emily and Sennen chatted playfully with Arielle while going from one beautiful cove to the next, I looked across at Cambodia, over to the hills by Chantaburi and imagined the French blockade of Siam – right where we were. In a sense, almost forgotten, but key events that created Thailand as we know it connected to that very spot. And on a quiet Saturday afternoon, surrounded by brilliant blues and emerald green – we sailed and swam through it.