Bangkok 17th January 2011

Happy Birthday to me. No chance for a sleep in, as we are off on yet another excursion with an 8.15 start. We are visiting the Bridge over the River Kwai and it is a two hour trip out of Bangkok. It is a pretty full day and a lot of passengers have run out of steam and are taking the shorter excursions. We have a group of only 6 of us in a Mercedes Van which is great. We head 130km west to Kanchanaburi which is a mellow provincial town on the banks of the River Kwai. The area is known internationally for its infamous railway bridge built by allied POWs and Asian labourers during World War 2.Labelled the Death Railway, it costs thousands of lives. Ill equipped prisoners were forced by the Japanese in appalling conditions to complete over 400km of track linking Siam to Burma. On arriving there we went to The JEATH war museum which is an abbreviation for the 6 countries involved Japan, England, America, Australia.Thailand and Holland. The Japanese were the controllers of the railway project, Thailand signed a cooperation treaty with Japan, and the other 4 countries were the POWs involved on the actual construction. The Museum is supposed to be a realistic reconstruction of a prisoner of war hut and has photos and memorabilia of the time. It is very sobering as there was much hardship and atrocities committed. We then boarded a native speed boat which took us 10 minutes up the river, under the Kwai bridge and then to a nearby jetty so we could walk over the bridge. Apparently 2 trains a day go over it. They were making repairs while we were there.
Following this we went to the war cemetery. The Thai people maintain it in immaculate condition with manicured lawns and flower gardens. We found a lone NZ soldier and put a rose on his grave. It was very upsetting. We then went to a nearby museum which is better presented than the JEATH museum which was pretty basic. Following this it was to a smaller war cemetery and then to a Traditional Thai lunch in a resort Hotel. The end of the day was spent riding elephants which was great. We had quite a ride with a Mahout, and then Bill was allowed to take control. We went up and down a hill which was pretty scary as you are a long way off the ground. The elephant then went into the river. Bill whipped his shirt off in preparation for getting wet, but I pointed out that it was a different excursion with a group of 20 somethings in togs on the elephants backs giving them a bath with the Mahouts. We also saw the cutest baby elephants. It was then the long drive back to the ship. Our last night and packing. We saw a traditional Thai show on the ship followed by a Birthday Party for me at the specialist restaurant for 7. We had a Thai dinner and I got presents and a cake so a nice end to the day before we have to do packing. Off to Singapore tomorrow.