We got up and headed straight out this morning to see the Bridge over the River Kwae. It was about an hour walk and it was boiling today too! Once we got there we walked by the railway and came to the bridge, where we sat for a while taking it all in and having a ice pop. A swarm of tourists had just left the bridge before we started to walk over it, so there were only a few people on it, which was nice. We walked the length of the bridge to the other side, stopping at parts to talk about the horrific building of it.
We walked along the death railway across the bridge, which is still in use for trains. It was fairly worn, particularly near the end of the bridge where the sides and railings had fallen down and the wooden tracks were rotted. It was awful to think about the amount of people that had died in that one place, never mind the rest of the railway, and how many bodies would be in the river that were never recovered.
After walking back across the death railway over the bridge over the river Kwae, we went to the war museum that was close by. This museum had lots of artefacts, replicas and real items from the war and the building of the bridge. There were Japanese cars, motorbikes, boats and personal items from the war and lots of new information that was not at the last museum. This museum gave lots of information on the war in general as well as the building of the bridge, but didn't just focus on the bridge like the first museum. We noticed posters at this museum that were handed out to Thai people by the Japanese when they settled in Kanchanburi. They stated how they were not there to hurt thai people but to protect them from the British who were invading Thailand- and clearly stated how much the British were not liked! It made us think if this is why people in Kanchanburi have been staring at us or maybe it is just because they don't get many tourists- who knows! Nath did see in a toilet in Kanchanburi writing all the walls about how much whoever wrote it hates British people!
The museum also had other sections such as jewellery, coins, stamps over time, which we had a quick look around. After the museum we started to walk back as there were no taxis around. Really didn't want to do the long walk back!! Luckily we saw a taxi which we flagged down not long after setting off. We were back much sooner than we expected so we grabbed something to eat from the shop, went and got sorted and checked out. We managed to get a mini bus to Bangkok for 4pm.
The mini bus cost 120 baht and was much better than the one coming as it was actually the local bus between Kanchanaburi and Bangkok and not just some random guy dropping you in the middle of nowhere! It was rammed however as there was no boot so we had to have our massive bags at our feet so it was so stuffy! Couldn't wait to get off- getting a bit sick of travelling around constantly now. Can't wait to relax for a week in siem reap!
Not long after setting off, for a 2 and a half hour journey, Nath noticed that the bus driver kept slowly closing his eyes and was really tired, struggling to stay awake! We watched him for a while and it was like he kept getting some quick shut eye! What the hell! As if the roads of Thailand aren't bad enough! At one point he started to swerve towards the embankment and then shot awake. He looked in the mirror and noticed that Nath was looking right at him! I think he realised it was time to pull over and sort himself out as we pulled over at a petrol station not long after that. He was pretty fine for the rest of the journey thank god! Just glad to make it to Bangkok in one piece!!
When we got into Bangkok the traffic was horrendous as usual so we were at a standstill for ages and we were the last stop. When we got to the bus station- Mo Chit 2- we realised we definitely hadn't been there before, like we thought we might have. We had a map saved on our phone of where our accommodation was so we thought we could walk it. Soon after setting off we realised we didn't have a clue where we were going and we were stuck in the middle of the highway!
We managed to flag a taxi down and after getting a little lost as the address didn't seem to be right, the driver found our hotel. We were greeted by a man at the door, who after checking in, showed us to our room. It was a lovely hotel and a lovely spacious clean room. It was a shame that we were only staying one night, but to be fair I don't think there is much to do in the area. We dropped our bags, got a map and headed straight out as it was getting late already.
We walked out to what we though was going to be night market with food, but got there to find a massive outdoor market selling just plants really! We managed to get some chicken sticks but it wasn't enough for dinner! Nath said we could follow the map and that there was a mall close so we could go see if there was food there.
We walked for ages down a random pretty dark street, which wasn't smart at all! The district was set out so strangely! There was a massive park in the middle next to the highways, but it was shut on a night and that was the only way across to the other side of the district. We were on a street at the other side of the park- not the same side as our accommodation- and once we set off on the road, there was no where you could go, unless you went back.
It was pretty annoying and we walked for what seemed like a long time until we eventually reached the shopping mall. We managed to get a McDonald's, which was the only thing left open at 10pm. After food we got a taxi back to the hotel, got ready and sorted for the move across the border tomorrow and laid down in a comfortable bed! So glad we weren't staying at the bus station and had some where to get washed and relax! The visas hadn't come through, so it looked like we had wasted £50 on the evisa for nothing and would have to pay at the border again for a visa. Our fault to be fair- we will learn!