Bangkok

Some random Bangkok pictures. Before I left my dear friend Doug remarked that as a city Bangkok is as dirty as it sounds and he was not bluffing. It was dirty, loud and smelly. We couldn't walk a meter without being solicited for taxis, ping pong shows, massages and prostitutes. There were certain areas that are beautiful but add to the mix the humidity and ridiculous heat and I don't feel the need to ever go back. I can't believe I don't have a picture of the king. His picture was absolutely everywhere decked out in the gaudiest embellished gold and tracery imaginable. The people actually seem to love the king they would have his picture up and news about him or his family was plastered across every media format. In my opinion he needs a new set of glasses if his picture is going to be everywhere the coke bottles are slightly dated.

We also encountered every mode of transportation possible in Thailand. Starting with plane then, taxi, tuk-tuk (colourful three wheeled contraption in the pictures below), bus, motorbike, mo-ped, elephant, train, riding in the box of a truck taxis, and a ferry. We did cover quite a distance in our short time there and if I go again I believe I will take it easier. And my Thailand trip is finally finished two months later!

Reclining Buddha and the Grand Palace

Here are some random pictures from both of those places. The temple at the Grand Palace required long pants, skirts, and sleeves so the boys had to rent pants to wear inside. Everything was completely embelished there wasn't a surface that was left bare. It was incredibly hot and humid that day so by the end we were just begging for water and a siesta. It was quite beautiful but after while the glitz began to lose its awe.

bridge on the river kwai

We went on a little excursion out of the city to see the Bridge on the River Kwai and the Death Railway. Instead of writing anything I am going to be lazy and refer to Wikipedia.

"The Burma Railway, also known also as the Death Railway, the Thailand-Burma Railway and similar names, is a 415 km (258 mile) railway between Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), built by the Empire of Japan during World War II, to support its forces in the Burma campaign. Forced labour was used in its construction. About 60,000 Asian labourers and 100,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) worked on the railway. Of these, around 9,000 Asian labourers and 16,000 Allied POWs died as a direct result of the project."

"The most famous portion of the railway is probably Bridge 277 over the Khwae Yai River (The river was originally known as the Mae Klong and was renamed Khwae Yai in 1960.) It was immortalized by Pierre Boulle in his book and the film based on it: The Bridge on the River Kwai. However, there are many who say that the movie is utterly unrealistic and does not show what the conditions and treatment of prisoners was really like."

"The living and working conditions on the railway were horrific. The estimated total number of civilian labourers and POWs who died during construction is about 160,000. About 25% of the POW workers died because of overwork, malnutrition, and diseases like cholera, malaria, and dysentery. The death rate of the Asian civilian workers was even higher; the number who died is unknown, as the Japanese did not count them."

The river was actually quite beautiful and went spent the day there wondering the bridge and area, went to a museum, ate on a restaurant over the river, and visited a POW cemetery. It was surreal to stand on the bridge an realize how many people had died due to its construction a mere 60 years ago. Apparently, there were a few instances when the allies attempted to bomb the bridge. To prevent them the Japanese had POWs strung across the bridge but often they could not be seen and were destroyed along with the bridge.

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai was a welcome change after the busyness and stench of Bangkok. Life there seems to move at a somewhat slower pace and people were there to chill and take in some of the culture. We saw of slew of "interesting" signs and had some amazing food. Most of the travelers there were excited to eat Thai food but we were excited for the American Breakfast, Mexican restaurants and Dairy Queens. Three of us caught a bit of travelers bug in Chiang Mai though we were attempting to be careful with what we ate and drank. It turns out I actually had e.coli poisoning but I am just fine so don't worry mom. Anyhow, we went around looking at more temples, rented some motorbikes, and did some touring and went on a trek. It is a great little city.