Kanchanaburi, Thailand
17 September
Well, I survived my first day in Bangkok and it was spectacular. I explored the city, ate authentic Thai food, and purchased several bottles of water! I also met the people I'lll be traveling with for the next two weeks. Together, we rode by tuk-tuk (a very fast motorized cart whose driver invents the rules of the road as he goes along) to Khao San Road, a popular spot for other travelers and backpackers. On the way back, the skies opened up and I learned why Thais call this time of year the rainy season. To say it poured would be an understatement. The roads were flooded and sewers backed up after maybe 45 minutes and, since our cab driver did not know the way back to our hotel, you can imagine my friends and I were slightly damp when we arrived back last night. It was fantastic and I'd run through the rain in Bangkok again in a heartbeat.
The group is small, very small. Right now there are two others plus myself and our guide, PC. We'll be meeting up with different groups of travelers along the way but mostly its just the four of us on this adventure. We left Bangkok this morning and traveled about two and half hours north by (air-conditioned!) bus to Kanchanaburi. Our guest house is situated (or, rather, floating) on the River Kwai. I never learned much about Thailand during WWII and, since all I knew about this river is that it has a bridge, I was interested in learning more about it from our guide. I'm still not very clear about what makes it special but I do know that Thailand was targeted by the US during the war because of its significance to Japan. After the Japanese invaded, they forced mostly Burmese, Dutch, and English POWs to build several bridges across it in order to complete the Burmese Railway. Many of these POWs died during the bridges' quick construction and they are memorialized here in Kanchanaburi. Only one still stands today and this is the bridge you'll see me standing on as soon as I can get my pictures online.
So far today, we took a speedboat out around the river and visited several war memorials and we spanned the bridge over the River Kwai. I also enjoyed some delicious pineapple (for just ten baht, or about thirty cents!) and bought a very snazzy hat. Tomorrow, we're moving further north towards the Burmese and Laotian borders where we will, beginning in Chiang Mai, trek for four days. We'll spend the nights with local families and, hopefully, enjoy the occasional shower and opportunity to do laundry! I've even learned a few words in Thai and gotten to use it, as English is harder to come by outside of Bangkok.
Dtorng bpai la! (I have to go!)
Jason
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