Thursday 18th November 2004
Day tour to Kanchanaburi.
Minibus picked a small group of us up at 7.15am. The people in my group seemed quite nice. There were three women in my group with me, one from Scotland, one from Canada and one from New Zealand. Also a young couple from Japan and a couple from India. They all seemed nice and friendly and we chatted on the way to 
Kanchanaburi. We visited the cemetery where the allied prisoners of war who gave their lives building the infamous bridge over the River Kwai are buried. The grounds of the cemetery are impeccably looked after. It goes to show the respect that the Thais give to these brave men. It was quite humbling being there. Those men are heroes in a very real sense. This was followed by a visit to the Death Museum, which was pretty average to be honest. There was an old British BSA motorbike on display with the Japanese army décor on it. It interested me because it made me think how things have changed since the war, the Japanese using British bikes how ironic I thought! When I showed the picture to my Dad he told me that it was a 1960's model!!! So much for my theory. Anyway just outside the museum through the market stalls selling touristy stuff, is the bridge over the River Kwai, although it is not the original bridge. That was destroyed before the end of the war. Took some photos and went to Nam Tok to eat an average quality lunch. The tour was like a bit of a rush job actually. We were taken to the Nam Tok national park area to walk around there for a while. There was a nice waterfall, although I think it would have been nicer if it wasn't dry season as it was a bit lacking in water! There wasn't really time to see much because most of the trip was taken up with traveling in the minibus. The best part of the tour by far was the train journey we took from Nam Tok to Tha Kilen. The scenery was quite breathtaking. The river twisted & turned as the train ran along side and over it and it was nice to see some villages along the way. There were a big group of Thai teenagers on the train who were great fun, singing songs and dancing. They love a western face and all they ask of you is that you smile. That seems to make them happy. A far cry from most groups of teenagers I've come across on any train in England. The last leg of the tour was the worst. The minibus journey back to the hotel.
That night I went to the night bazaar. I thought I'd go by tuk tuk, which was fun as the driver seemed to be in training in readiness to take Michael Schumacher's seat at Ferrari! I came home later by a motorcycle taxi. That was fun too. Just a normal motorcycle ride, but in Bangkok it takes on a different feeling altogether.
I've now suddenly hit a brick wall! I'm finding it very hard coping with being by myself. Maybe it's because I'm getting to know myself a little more. I want to be more outgoing, but I don't ever try hard enough to make conversation with people. I don't know what I can do about it, so I have decided to do nothing about it at all, just live with the discomfort of feeling unsociable and be open to allowing a more free spirit in myself to emerge. Time to get on with things and not get down about it. Now sleep.
