Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Early day today. Woke up at 5:45am to be ready for 6:30am tour pick up. Pouring rain. After changing buses a few times, we finally got on the bus for the floating market. Slept most of the way there. Took a long-tail boat into Damnoen Saduak floating market; still raining. We had two hours to explore. The market was extremely tourist driven; felt like it was significantly different from the original market. There were stalls along the walkways as well as the small boats selling food and crafts from the water. I wanted to try the fried bananas but it was impossible to order just one, so I found a random group of people to share them with. Definitely not enough there to keep us busy for two hours, so I sat with Maggie while she ate an early lunch. From the market, we split up; Maggie went back to Bangkok and I joined a different tour group.
Thirty minute drive to our lunch stop where we had a selection of four dishes (pretty good for a tour). Another 20 minutes to the Second World War Museum and bridge over the River Kwai. The museum had displays relating to the bridge and a collection of Thai weaponry but the random setup was odd and it didn’t feel like a real museum. When I finished the museum, I walked across the 300 meter long bridge, called “Death Railway”, parts of which were destroyed by Allied bombs in 1945. The construction material came from a dismantled bridge in Java and was first completed in 1943 before being replaced by a steel bridge. The purpose of the bridge was to link Thailand and Burma in order to secure an alternative supply route for the Japanese conquest of other west Asian countries. While it is an amazing feat of engineering, more than 100,000 laborers (prisoners and conscripted workers) died due to extreme conditions and brutality.
Another 30 minute drive took us to Tiger Temple (aka Wat Luang Ta Bua Yanna Sampanno) where we arrived at 3pm (some areas close at 3:15). I had my picture taken with a bunch of tigers, with one woman leading me around and the other snapping shots with my camera (I thought I’d only get one picture, but I actually got to stand next to six tigers and the woman took tons of pictures). The tigers were just hanging out under trees on leashes; it seemed a little sad. Didn’t even see the temple (if there is one). After we left, I read in Lonely Planet that the site is controversial due to the docile nature of the tigers and the high cost of entry; I can see why.
Three hour drive back to Bangkok. The driver tried to make me get out at Khao San road (since technically I’d only paid to get picked up, not dropped off, at my hostel) but another woman was going to the same area. I argued with the guy, so he called his supervisor who also told me I had to get off or pay 100 baht. I was able to negotiate a 50 baht charge, which saved me getting out of the van to find a taxi. We got stuck in heavy traffic going to Silom so I lucked out with my low fare. Made it back at 7:45pm. Maggie had already eaten, so the other dorm-mate, Debs, and I went for dinner across the street since it was pouring rain again. Tried the Tom Yam soup, which wasn’t too spicy since the chef actually understood my request to keep the heat low. Long day. Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.
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