The Bridge on the River Kwai

So I got sick of Bangkok and going to my friend's hometown didn't work so I picked a place close to Bangkok and hopped on an 8:30pm bus. Now I am in Kanchanaburi, about 2.5 hours west of Bangkok. Some of yall may have seen the movie, "The Bridge on the River Kwai". Well, this is the town where that bridge is and where the POW camp was. A Japanese POW camp for British, Australian, Dutch, and American soldiers during WW2. They were used to build a railroad bridge.

So I got into town and called some guesthouses and went to the one with rooms. It is a couple of floating rafthouses linked together with rooms built. The rooms are simple, fan and bed, but they are clean. I opted for the cheaper room with the shared bathroom facilities. 90 Baht, or $2.25. The owner speaks good English and he's nice, plus he cooks food for you right there. There is a cool lounge area with a big tv and lots of dvds. The only problem were the roosters roaming around right there on the bank that decided to host a concert in the middle of the night. It was very bad. I woke up and heard them and was like oh, the sun must be rising. No way, I don't know what time it was but it was pitch black and a few hours away from dawn. I think its because there were lights outside.

Next morning I ate french toast, walked and rented a bike and road to the Bridge. There were a bunch of foreign tourists there, but they just went to the restaurants and shops. There is a museum created by a Buddhist temple nearby that has pictures, paintings and artifacts from the POW camp. The pictures of the ulcers that the prisoners developed was fairly disturbing. The bridge and scenery is not like that in the movie, here its fairly simple. I walked across the bridge and on the other side there is nothing to attract you. But I kept walking and took a dirt road that led me into a little residential neighborhood with lots of trees, not like the small but city style on the other side. It was nice.

Rode back through town, ate lunch at this place. I don't know any Thai dish names and don't know any specific Thai dishes, so I haven't eaten much Thai food. At this small place I was the only person there, and the music was Thai when I walked in, but I think they switched it and "Country Roads" by John Denver started playing, followed by a bunch of American songs. I think they popped in the cd for white people. Whenever I tell people I'm from Virginia they always go "Oh, Country Roads!". I tell them no, thats West Virginia but close. Asians love their karaoke. And Country Roads is a staple on the western song list at any karaoke bar. In Beijing, Karaoke or "KTV" is THE recreational thing to do, go get a room with friends/coworkers etc and get some drinks and sing. Sometimes companies will take their employees to KTV, sometimes they don't even drink. But yeah, I mention the song because it seems like stuff that happens in Asia is always funny or has funny reasons.

I rode on south and across the river in search of some "wats" (temples) on a map about 8km away. I rode through some nice farmland for corn and I guess rice, banana trees etc. These might be called the suburbs but they were small neighborhoods that were interesting. I saw this one temple place sticking out way above the trees and closed in to investigate, while wondering whether or not I was allowed to take pictures. The entrance I used looked completely empty but when I reached the top of the steps I saw tons of people posing and taking pictures, much in the way Chinese tourists do. Then I noticed they all looked Chinese and then I heard them speaking Chinese. So I got excited and starting talking to this mom and her son, asking if I was allowed to take pictures and they said yes. They said my Chinese wasn't bad, I told them I studied in Beijing, and found out they were on a tour and all from Beijing.

So that was neat, getting to talk Chinese. I really wish people here spoke Chinese, I think it would be infinitely more fun to be able to stop and talk to everyone that waves and yells hello to me. People like to sit around outside of houses, and if they were Chinese speakers I could get some interesting conversations going. So I think my return to China will be sooner than I had originally planned. And if I go back early enough, that saves me from having to get a new VISA. We'll see. Some pictures are up, I'm only putting up a few at a time since things take longer without my computer.

Tomorrow I will try to wake up early enough to get out to some waterfalls about 1.5 hours away. Will go back to Bangkok Friday for some ultimate. Next week try to get up north to Chiang Mai and maybe go out treking for a night or two.