Thai experience

Sunday, November 04, 2012
Bangkok, Thailand
Sunday Nov. 4th
We were able to take our time this morning but were packed by 8am to go to the airport for our flight to Bangkok on Thai Airlines . The flight took 2 hours and now we have to set our clocks back 1 hour which isn't too bad to adjust to right now. The air crew are dressed in different shades of purple with pink blouses and shirts -- quite striking and with a fresh orchid pinned to their left shoulder. Of course the men didn't have a flower. This plane was a 747 and was late on arriving at the airport so we were late arriving in Bangkok but our driver from the hotel was still there waiting. The drive to the hotel took a hour. Our hotel is located on the Chao Phraya River and is very busy with river boats moving goods as well as water taxis.
Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and was formerly known as Siam. It is home to 8 million people within the city limits as well as 14 million people in the surrounding areas. Needless to say this place is huge. It is a known cargo port as well as a finance and business centre. Fashion, arts and entertainment are on the rise as is tourism and is home to 5 universities.
After we got settled we learned from a lady in the elevator that we could take a shuttle provided by 3 hotels to Asiatique to get some supper . The ferry took about 10 minutes and seems to be very popular. As we approached we saw the park decorated for Christmas which is really hard to get ones head around in this heat and humidity. We didn't take the camera so will have to return tomorrow to get some pictures. Had supper at one of the pubs and got talking to a fellow from Glasgow which was interesting. Once we got back to the hotel we went off to investigate the night markets outside the hotel but after awhile it was so hot and humid that we were drained.

Monday Nov. 5th
Had a great breakfast and then the conceige drew us a map and explained how to use the water taxis as we wanted to go to the Royal Palace. To enter the grounds of the palace one must have their shoulders and knees cover so poor Eric was in long pants and I had to have a blouse on top of my tee shirt. The extra layers really added to the discomfort but we did it just as the thousands of others. The palace has a borrow centre at the entrance so people could borrow the cover ups . The pull on pants for the men were a hoot.
The palace according to the brochure was established in 1782 after King Rama 1st ascended the throne. There are two other buildings in this complex -- the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall and the Phra Maha Monthian Group. We visited most of the buildings and after a couple of hours in this heat we stopped for some orange juice as we were getting light headed. We decided to head back to the ferry and got on and had a tour of the river. We went to the last stop and got off as we were getting concerned about getting back to the hotel. We ended up being on the ferry for 2 hours but we got to see the city from the river. There are over 4000 temples which are called Wats so one could spent a year here visiting them and would probably never see them all.
Once we got back to the hotel we had to go to the other wing to get lunch and decided what we are going to do tomorrow.
It is rest time and then we went back to Asiatique and this time we took the camera. As we got off the shuttle we were greeted with "Hark the Herald Angels" playing followed by "Silent Night" . I am just not ready to face Christmas right now but as we visited the shops every place is decorated for the holidays with all sorts of special Christmas deals. After walking around here for awhile we had a bite to eat and then back to the hotel for a shower and bed.

Tuesday Nov. 6th
We have an early morning as our driver is picking us up at 7:30am for our tour to the River Kwai.It is overcast at the moment and hot and humid.
The guide suggested that we take our own toilet paper as this is not provided even at the restaurant where we will stop later in the day. (Thank heaven we did!)
We rode in an air-conditioned van to our first stop which was Khanchanaburi to see the museum
dedicated to the British, Australian and Dutch POWs who were enslaved by the Japanese during WW11 -- the pictures show the atrocities that humans can do to other humans. This was really not much different as to what the Germans did to the Jewish people at Aushwich.
The next stop took us to the bridge over the River Kwai (they spell it Kwaee) and the Death Railway. The construction of the bridge began on September 16, 1942 at Nong Pladuk, Thailand by some 300,000 POWs of British, Australian,and Dutch men along with some 200,000 lobourers from India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma and Thailand. Ot these men more than 16,000 POWs and 100,000 labourers died from dysentry, malnutrition and cholera due to lack of medical care. Part of the bridge was bombed in Feb/45 and the other part in March/45 .
The rugged terrain through the mountains and valleys earned the railway its name "The Death Railway". Elephants were used in the construction of the bridge and railway. There are 6 tressles to the bridge and the railway is approx. 154 kms long. (This reminds me of pictures of the tressles of the railway going through the Rockies.)
We boarded the train and crossed the bridge over the River Kwai disembarking 2 hours later. The train doesn't move very fast so we were able to take pictures as we went along. The train took us out into the countryside where mango trees, breadfruit, pineapples, sugar cane, tapioca, corn, roses, marigolds and rice paddies along with other produce are grown. It seemed that every available space was used to grow something. As one crop of corn was done the next planting had already begun.
After we got off the train we went to the restaurant for lunch where there was a variety for everyone which was nice with lots of watermelon and pineapple for dessert.
Now we are off to the Kanchanaburi War Cemertery where the British, Australian and Dutch POWs are buried showing the human tragedy of the Death Railway.
Our tour is over and it is back to Bangkok where we were dropped off about 5:30 pm so got to see the rush hour traffic again.
After supper it was back to the room for me to pack up for tomorrow. All the summer clothes are in one suitcase and now out comes the winter stuff. Fortunately we had laundry service with our room so the laundry was ready to pack away which was a treat.

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