Most people have seen films about the Bridge over the River Kwai and the building of the Death Railway by the Japanese during WWII ... and it was with these films in mind that we visited the POW War cemetary (very moving) and the bridge itself.

The bridge did not disappoint... it looked just like in the films and you could walk along the still-used train line right across the bridge. You wouldn't be allowed to do it in England - Health & Safety officials would have a fit... crowds of people edging past each other on quite narrow tracks with no railings just a 40 foot drop into the River Kwai! The only thing that jarred slightly was YMCA playing very loudly while we walked across the bridge - not quite the right musical accompaniment we felt - and we resisted the urge to do the YMCA routine halfway across in case we dropped off the bridge!!

We then took the train along the precarious death railway - built into the side of the hillside. We didn't get great pictures - the train was rammed with people and when Kim tried to lean out the window to get a shot a sour-faced German woman tourist started tutting and muttering!

We visited Sak Noi waterfall which in wet season must be stunning but currently was no more than a trickle of water. Kim still managed to fall over and cut her toe climbing the waterfall and then started worrying about parasites in the water getting into her toe.

Finally we visited Tiger Temple. Tigers have been handreared by monks and you can stroke them and have your picture taken with them. There is rumour and speculation that the tigers are drugged however they seemed quite lively to us! We saw and stroked two tiger cubs and then nearly got stampeded to death at feeding time by hundreds of wild boar, cows, deer and buffalo all rushing towards piles of pumpkins being dumped onto the road around us.... we became quite adept at cow dodging and leaping over wild boar piglets.