Thailand, Part II

[Viking01 183]

This is part II of our Thailand excursion.

We depart from Mae Sot Aero (VTPM), where we finished last Sunday's flight. We head south, cross the border to Myanmar, and land at Dawei (VYDW). Only recently was Dawei connected to the rest of Myanmar by road and rail. A transnational highway and a railway line across the Tenasserim Hills connecting Dawei and Bangkok are planned if a proposed deepwater port project goes ahead. This port could significantly reduce Singapore-bound traffic when completed. In November 2010, the Myanmar Port Authority signed a US$8.6 billion deal with Italian-Thai Development to develop the seaport at Dawei. The Dawei Special Economic Zone would become Myanmar's first special economic zone (SEZ), which includes plans to develop a 250 square kilometers (97 sq mi) industrial estate, with sea, land (railway and road) infrastructure links to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, as well as a gas pipeline to Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province and commercial and residential developments. The project has been opposed by a significant portion of the local ethnic population. The airport serves as the domestic airport for the city of Dawei and the neighboring towns. The government plans to upgrade the airport to serve as a hub for tourism. The area produces rubber, dried fish, and teakwood. It also produces cashew nuts and betel nuts and exports them through local traders to China, India, and Thailand. Dawei is also known for its variety of tropical fruits such as pineapples, a variety of mangoes, mangosteens, and durian.

 

Now we track east, back into Thailand, and land at Kanchanaburi AB (VTBG). In 1942 Kanchanaburi was under Japanese control. It was here that Asian forced laborers and Allied POWs, building the infamous Burma Railway, constructed a bridge, an event fictionalized in the films The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Return from the River Kwai (1989) and The Railway Man (2013). Almost half of the prisoners working on the project died from disease, maltreatment, or accidents. There were four POW camps in or near the city, including Tamarkan which was used as a work camp to construct the bridge. After the completion of the railway line, most prisoners were concentrated in the Kanchanaburi area and often sent on to Japan or French Indo-China. At Kanchanaburi, there is a memorial and two museums to commemorate the dead. In March 2003, the Thailand–Burma Railway Centre opened and the JEATH (Japanese-English-American-Australian-Thai-Holland) War Museum was dedicated to the bridge and the Death Railway. 

Before continuing to Kamphaeng Saen (VTBK) we overfly the River Kwai Bridge. We fly south-east and reach today's destination, Bangkok's International Airport Don Mueang(VTBD). It is Asia's oldest operating airport. It was Bangkok's most important airport until the opening of the new airport Suvarnabhumi (VTBS), south of the city.

The flight has 300 miles and 3 landings. We want to cruise at about 180 knots. I will be in the C414, please fly what you like.

The flightplans are available here.

 

There are 5 scenery add-ons available:

https://flightsim.to/file/38516/mae-sot-intl-airport-vtpm

https://flightsim.to/file/20324/vtbd-don-mueang-international-airport

https://flightsim.to/file/40118/vydw-dawei-airport-update

https://flightsim.to/file/2818/bridge-on-the-river-kwai

https://flightsim.to/file/68128/kamphaeng-saen-airport-vtbk

 

We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 9 am departure.

These flights are also posted at DigitalThemePark and use DTP's Teamspeak Channel for communication. 

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!