Dryden Rotarians. John Borst and Sandra Boyko 2012-13 President-Elect and President respectively provided a brief insight into their trip to Thailand and the 2012 Rotary International Convention in Bangkok.

Thailand is a country approximately the size of Saskatchewan but with 66 million people.

Sandra took a pre-convention tour to Ban Tai in southern Thailand, which included a visit to Hellfire Pass which is the name of a railway cutting on the John&Sandra Thai Presentationformer "Death Railway" in Thailand. The railway was built with forced labour during the Second World War, in part by Allied prisoners of war working 18 hour days. The pass is noted for the harsh conditions and heavy loss of life suffered by its labourers during construction.

We also saw Sandra on an elephant that was “money hungry”

John’s pre-tour to Chiang Mai also involved elephants but his elephants were also artists. Borst also explained his visit to the Padon Long Neck Hill tribe, a trip to a Buddist pagoda, as well as seeing many beautiful orchids.

Both John and Sandra marvelled at the efficiency of the registration at the RI convention which meant getting registered in less than an hour as opposed to almost 5 hours in New Orleans.

The presentation also featured a few slides on the hard to believe growth of Bangkok. Both felt the convention and trip was an amazing experience.

Thailand & Bangkok Convention 2012