We were being picked up this morning at 6:30 to go to the River Kwai. I set the alarm for 5:30 so we could get up and get ready and then eat breakfast before we were picked up. The hotel restaurant opens at 6 and we were there right after that. Since it is a buffet style breakfast, we were able to get what we wanted and eat and pay for the food. Our driver arrived to pick us up just as we were leaving the restaurant.
We were the first pickup. After us he picked us a family of four and then another couple, so there were eight people in our group. A little ways out of Bangkok, they stop and get gas and you can use the restroom. It is the Asian style of squat toilet with a bucket of water. They make everyone get out of the van while they fill up the gas tank. Our tour guide Jon Long (?) got out of the van. We then drove for over an hour, before we picked up our next guide, Ann. About another hour we arrived at the war cemetery, where a lot of the allied soldiers are buried that died while building the bridge. Next, we visited the JEATH War Museum. I needed to use the restroom and had to pay 5 Baht to do so. We also saw someone carving soap into flower blossoms and putting them in little bowls. They were very pretty , so of course I had to buy one.
Then it was onto the bridge. we were able to walk across the bridge. I took it very slow, since I don’t like bridges or heights. Jay took a lot of photos. After the bridge, the other 6 people in our group went with another guide to ride elephants. Jay and I had decided that we did not want to ride the elephants, since I had down that several years ago when we were in Malaysia. One person from the other group joined Jay and me in our van. We were taken to this small restaurant next to the river. I think they just feed the tour groups. It was quite a distance and was off the beaten path. We ate lunch there and then we had to wait for the other group to arrive and eat. They arrived not long after we did. Their elephant ride was only about 20 minutes. After lunch, that group minus 2 lads from Holland went on a long tail boat to go rafting. Our group headed to the train station.
Our group consisted of Jay and me, the 2 Holland boys and the other man who works at the Hurricane forecasting center in Homestead, FL. We were going to ride the Death railroad train. The train cars are very old and they are not air conditioned. The seats are also hard wood seats, The train ride took us through some pretty country and lasted about an hour. Then we met up with the rest of our group and split back up into our original groups.
The drive back to Bangkok, took about 3 hours. There was one gas & potty break along the way. Once back in Bangkok, they took us back to our various hotels. Jay and I were the last stop. We arrived back at the hotel around 7, which made for a very long day.
