New Britain herald., 1922-11-03
WORLD IS PLEASANT !.
 TO LONE TRAVELLER
Enslishman Journeys 2,t00 Miles on Foot in Dangerous Country

an Englishmen who Is journeying
 on foot from Singapore to Calais.
 France, and London. recently arrived
 in Rangoon and Is now on hls way to Calcutta. He intends to pursue his
 way through northern India, Baluch-
 istan and Persia to z Shat-el-Arnb,
 whence he will follow the Euphrates
 to It's source and make his way
 through Asia Minor and Europe. He hopes to arrived in England by the end of 1928.
 Mir. Blythe. who has already cov- cred 2.10o miles of his trip. thinks that his last 200 miles in Siam con. stltuted as difficult country as he shall ever encounter. He carries no firearms or weapons of any kind, and has not yet had need of any His pack weigh from 20 to 40 pounds and consists of clothes, food, maps, notebooks and simple camp utensils.
 Malays and Burmans the traveller says. are the most friendly people he has encountered 50 far. The Siamese he ranks last although none of them I have been definitely unfriendly. Il Describing some of the adventures he has had since leaving Singapore last May. MT. Blythe says. in part: I Il T wished to traverse Siam with I all possible speed. From Kuen Nung |, my troubles commenced. Roads in | the interior of Siam are nonexistent. Even cartroads are termed by cour- ] tesy. For two days I travelled by earth paths. sleeping in farmers houses. until reached Patalung , vr,hi t~ 1vx,ax tou ,at $o~ the coast. The place being infested | !. with mosquitoes, requested the sta {! tion master to allow me to sleep in | the waiting room. which request he |. granted. E
 Leaving Patalung entered the l jungle again. although farms and vil-
 lages were frequent. All this time was guiding myself northward by the | sun. every day or two tacking across to the railroad in order to keep the l direction. There was but little fear i of losing my way as the mountains ran parallel to the sea, leaving be-
 tween strip of plain, varying from | ten to 40 miles in width. The large 1 villages are located between the coast and the railway.
 n Tt was remarkable that I en- countered no wild animals and very few snakes. which sometimes killed and sometime avoided. The natives were generally friendly enough, al- though our intercourse was limited cabulary.
 Some 40 miles north of Chum- I pfon, was very puzzled to account l for the fact that large expenses of the hillsides were cleared and used as grazing grounds for cattle, as I had | not credited the Siamese with suff- cient energy to clear large areas of ] hill jungle. I was told that some 50 years ago terrific tempest swept across the isthmus Of Kra and de- stroyed all the vegetation.
 From Prechuap Kirikan the coun- try became Slam of the picture books --pagodas perched on seemingly in- accessible crags, natives clad in bril- liant-colored clothing; quaint OK carts; priests and monks and l monasteries: herds of vicious looking ! water buffaloes, and rice fields every 1 where.
 T entered Bangkok July 23, ex- actly two months after leaving Singa- pore. Bangkok. like most large towns Of the East, Is curious mixture of west and east. the old and the new. Palatial reinforced concrete buildings are jostled by wretshed novels; foul smelling. winding lanes lead from spaciouss boulevards. Pagodas stand a stones throw from churches. | The old walls of Bangkok are u ! fine example of the Notifications as understood by the Oriental nations l Miles in length, averaging 30 feet in l height by some 20 in thickness and built of massive blocks of granite | they present a fine spectacle. The government houses are built of stone and are imposing structures. About half a dozen of the far-famed white elephants are housed there. The tramway service in Bangkok Is the most comfortable of all have tested in Asia. f
 At Ban Dara, my northermonst limit in Siam. turned southwest, and arrived in relatively large town l! named Sawankalobe. While talking with the schoolmaster he jokingly re- marked that was spy. The local chief of police immediately became enamored with the idea. and spent an uncomfortable 30 minutes reliev- ing his doubts"