Well it certainly began better than our last visit which was a mare. 2 days of Taxi drivers not knowing where they were going (but still accepting the fare) and Tuk Tuk drivers trying to rip us off and kicking us out and shouting abuse at us. So it couldn’t get much worse, in a travel way, obviously we could get mugged or something!!
Our Hotel was great, right next to a metro station and a Tesco Lotus. So we could get pretty much most things we needed pretty cheaply. We booked a trip to Bridge on the river Kwai, a private tour as it was the same price as a coach tour but without all the annoying fellow travellers boasting about where they had been and generally holding things up. We don’t mix well with others.
So off we went in the car with our driver, a non-eventful 2.5 hour drive and we arrived at one of the old camp sites where the POW’s were held. It was more of an education with exhibits rather than the camp being left as it is, there wasn’t much left. There were some letters from the former POW’s trying to explain how they felt and what happened, very emotional and moving words about the mental and physical abuse they and their friends suffered under the Japanese.
We went next to a war cemetery; the victims of the death railway were buried here and there were plenty. The railway was constructed for the Japanese to gain access to link Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) and the bridge was just a small part of it but made famous by the film. The death railway was estimated by the Japs to take 5 years to build; they forced the POW’s and slaves to do it in 18 months.
After the cemetery we went to the Museum which was excellent, it had great models and films and loads of letters and other artefacts from the former POW’s. Some found on the sites of the camps and some donated by the POW’s or their families. In an interview with one of the survivors he mentioned the famous whistling of Colonel Bogey from the film and said about the swear words they sang with it to the Japs, he has smiling but then his face fell and said he could laugh about it now but it wasn’t that funny then.
We then finally went to the bridge itself and what a tourist trap it was!! There were thousands of people there and even a ridiculous multi coloured little train that took willing paying fools across the bridge and back. We walked; it only took a few minutes. I wondered to myself what the men who had built it (the original at least) would think of this circus now. We didn’t stay long and then returned to Bangkok. A worthwhile visit especially the previous places but the bridge itself is a bit of a letdown due to mass tourism. It could have been done so much more tastefully and educationally but hey what do I know?
The next day it was off shopping to the markets, equipped with rucksacks and money off we went. It was a confusing place and pretty massive, we hiked around looking for winter clothes and trainers etc. We had held off in Chiang Mai etc as we thought BK would be cheaper…..WRONG!! The prices were more expensive and they were fixed, the sellers generally wouldn’t budge. So if any of you are thinking that Thailand is the place to come for cheap shopping then be careful where you go. South Thailand in general is very expensive and they are near to western prices, i.e. the tourist resorts like Phi Phi etc. Bangkok certainly isn’t the bargain hunters paradise that it used to be and I would say if you are up North or think that pair of trainers is a bargain somewhere, buy them and don’t wait until Bangkok. Both Karen and I wouldn’t bother with South Thailand resorts again, they are pricing themselves out of the market. Cambodia or Laos or Vietnam are a far better and cheaper option and the locals actually appreciate you being there….for now!! I think the Thais are tourist weary and I don’t blame them either, but sometimes they are pretty rude and don’t need to be.
We didn’t actually get much in the market and after trudging around Bangkok for a bit and getting caught up in a demonstration (as only we could do!) we ended up on Koh San road which was a better option for what we wanted. Some T shirts and sunglasses later we got in a taxi to head back to the hotel (after the first driver trying to rip us off with double the price quote and angrily driving off when we said we had paid half what he was asking on the way there – which we had, this type of thing doesn’t endear me to them at all) after a few minutes in the taxi I felt as if I had been stabbed in my left hand side and it was excruciating. I rested up in the hotel and took a pain killer and hoped it would sort itself out overnight for our flight to Hong Kong the next afternoon.
The demonstration! How do these things happen to us!?
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