I was all on my own for a week in Thailand after Joey left. A whole week! I spent the days wandering the city, checking out different temples, meeting up with my friend Nan, getting my hair permanently straightened (!) and one day I took a trip to Kanchanaburi. Kanchanaburi is about four hours outside of Bangkok and is the location of the bridge over the River Kwai. I had heard of the River Kwai, I knew there was a movie about it, but other than that I just thought it would be an activity to kill some time.
I ate a very uncomfortable meal in silence for the next twenty minutes. Either looking out over the river (which was beautiful) or staring intently at the TV as though through sheer will power I could make myself understand the flowing Thai speech. Anything to avoid catching the eye of one of the three women seated in a corner of the restaurant and all there apparently to serve me. the lone customer. I don't know if customer is the right word as I never paid any money...
I was simply dropped off at a seemingly random lacation, a menu with our choices consisting of Pad Thai, Fried Rice, Spaghetti Bolognese (always on offer for some reason...) and cornflakes was placed in front of me alond with a bottle of water boldly labeled "Drinking water" which I found reassuring. Fortunately the driver arrived 20 min later as I was pushing the last of my food around my plate (while tempted to try the Bolognese I opted for the safer fried rice).
It was a truly strange morning, being ordered from place to place. And it would have been humorous if I was not so alone. I longed for someone to share the odd experience with but I was determined to have a good time. After all I was still on holiday!
The WWII museum did not have much to boast of except a memorable display of emaciated POW sculptures bloody and torn apart in gory detail. The bridge over the River Kwai was quite interesting to walk across. It is a railroad line that still conveys active trains conveying commuters from Bangkok (long commute!) I had some fun walking across the bridge between the train tracks and stopping on several platforms to take photos of the muggy but beautiful scenery. My enthusiasm for the bridge was somewhat dampened when I heard a story from a Tiger Temple volunteer abotu two tragic tourists. It was a Thai couple on holiday near the river who decided to walk across the bridge. As they were crossing, the commuter train entered the bridge and they did not get out of the way in time. Somehow they both ended up in the river. While the woman was fished out with no real problems, her husband had hit his head, either on the train or a rock below, and his body wasn't found for three weeks despite teams constantly searching the water.
Luckily for me I didn't have time to dwell on the Thai couples' misfortune as I was soon among the magnificent tigers of the Tiger Temple!!
More to come on the Tiger Temple but I'll leave you with some creepy museum photos and some shots of the bridge.
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