The transcontinental railway network linking ASEAN with ports in other continents is not an idea conceived in recent times. For if we refer back to historical records, we will find the green print plans drafted by the British during the colonial era. These were plans to build a railway network linking Myanmar to the northern region of Thailand. The importance of railways during that chapter in history was not only focused on their economic impact. Railways served as key sites in the institution of colonial political economy. One of the world’s teak forest regions became a major site of contestation, falling deeply into the game of colonial occupation and foreign investment, due to the increasing global demand for teak. Teak was an expensive exported product. And where else in the world would the colonialists source these products in such great abundance?
There was a time when Myanmar was known to have the most teak forested land in the region. But due to over-harvesting, the majority of teak stocks were exhausted within a matter of a few years. The country with the second prize in teak forested land was Siam. It didn’t take long for teak to fall from the number one exported product to a near-extinct resource. All that is now left are the teak plantations which are only a few decades old.
On this trip, we follow in the footsteps of the seven super-powers that occupied Phrae Province during one of the most intense periods of regional history. The people of Phrae continue to use their forest resources which remain an important part of their socio-economic and professional heritage to this day.
Please stay tuned with "Spirit of Asia" on February 6th, 2022 at 04.30 - 05.00 PM. (Bangkok, GMT +7)
The transcontinental railway network linking ASEAN with ports in other continents is not an idea conceived in recent times. For if we refer back to historical records, we will find the green print plans drafted by the British during the colonial era. These were plans to build a railway network linking Myanmar to the northern region of Thailand. The importance of railways during that chapter in history was not only focused on their economic impact. Railways served as key sites in the institution of colonial political economy. One of the world’s teak forest regions became a major site of contestation, falling deeply into the game of colonial occupation and foreign investment, due to the increasing global demand for teak. Teak was an expensive exported product. And where else in the world would the colonialists source these products in such great abundance?
There was a time when Myanmar was known to have the most teak forested land in the region. But due to over-harvesting, the majority of teak stocks were exhausted within a matter of a few years. The country with the second prize in teak forested land was Siam. It didn’t take long for teak to fall from the number one exported product to a near-extinct resource. All that is now left are the teak plantations which are only a few decades old.
On this trip, we follow in the footsteps of the seven super-powers that occupied Phrae Province during one of the most intense periods of regional history. The people of Phrae continue to use their forest resources which remain an important part of their socio-economic and professional heritage to this day.
Please stay tuned with "Spirit of Asia" on February 6th, 2022 at 04.30 - 05.00 PM. (Bangkok, GMT +7)
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