Happy New Year's everyone! Sorry for the length of time since our last post. It's a little harder to find internet cafes here, but honestly we've just haven't made the time to blog recently.
Our time in Thailand has been amazing so far. Our first stop was the city of Kanchanaburi. The surrounding scenery was beautiful, and we visited an amazing series of seven waterfalls that lasted over 2 kilometers. Kanchanaburi itself was a normal enough town when looked at from the outside. It reminded me a bit of a small town in the US, actually. It gave off an aura of extreme importance although you couldn't tell what made it special. Unlike most small towns though, this place had a significant importance to history. It was the site of the infamous Death Railway, a supply railway the Japanese built during the second World War. The building of the railway was a thing of nightmares, where malnutrition, disease, animals, and abuse took the lives of over 90,000 Asian and 12,300 Allied POWs. We visited the Bridge on the River Kwai (basis of the famous movie in 1957), sections of the original railway, museums that told the violent history of the area, and cemeteries that housed the remains of some of the POWs that died there. It was a humbling experience, one that reminded us how important it is to never forget the past. No one wants to repeat something like that again.
After the quiet of Kanchanaburi, we returned to Bangkok to herald in the new year. Bangkok is an... interesting city. It's impossible to describe, other than to say it's everything you've heard and haven't heard about it. The city is extremely large. You can travel for an hour in either direction from the center and not leave the city. Traffic is always terrible, and the high number of cars going nowhere creates a low hanging haze that makes it seem dark early and doesn't allow for good sunsets. People are everywhere and it's kind of dirty in some parts. But despite all that Bangkok is absolutely amazing. It is more unique than any city I've ever been in. Every building looks different than the next, every street unlike the one before it. People from all over the world come here, but the Thai signature is evident from the sizzling street food to the Thai script glaring from every flashing billboard. Bangkok isn't covered in too many giant skyscrapers, but it is still building up. Highways, the sky train, and sky walkways have all been built off the ground, making it feel as if Bangkok has a canopy. It's really cool, and makes it feel both more crowded and less so at the same time.
We had a really fun time in the city, even though we didn't do too many touristy things. We saw a lot of temples, visited all the main squares, made a trip to the nearby historical capitol Ayuthaya, and shopped on the street and in the gorgeous malls. Mostly we hung out with backpackers, celebrated the New Year, and explored the nooks and crannies. Bangkok is known for it's seedy side, and rightly so. What surprised Inge and I, though, is how normal Bangkok actually comes off. Most of the city is just like any other. But what it does have is right out in the open, not hidden away on dark, dank allies. During the day you can walk right by a place and not really know what it is. But walk again by it at night and you see Bangkok's underbelly.
Thailand is much different than either one of us were expecting so far, and is another world when compared to Malaysia and Singapore. The people, the infrastructure, the feel of the place... it's completely unique. Bangkok has easily topped one of my favorite cities in the world, and is strongly recommended for anyone wanting to walk a little more on the wild side. For now, we are going to go to the beach to take a break. Stay tuned for more!
Our time in Thailand has been amazing so far. Our first stop was the city of Kanchanaburi. The surrounding scenery was beautiful, and we visited an amazing series of seven waterfalls that lasted over 2 kilometers. Kanchanaburi itself was a normal enough town when looked at from the outside. It reminded me a bit of a small town in the US, actually. It gave off an aura of extreme importance although you couldn't tell what made it special. Unlike most small towns though, this place had a significant importance to history. It was the site of the infamous Death Railway, a supply railway the Japanese built during the second World War. The building of the railway was a thing of nightmares, where malnutrition, disease, animals, and abuse took the lives of over 90,000 Asian and 12,300 Allied POWs. We visited the Bridge on the River Kwai (basis of the famous movie in 1957), sections of the original railway, museums that told the violent history of the area, and cemeteries that housed the remains of some of the POWs that died there. It was a humbling experience, one that reminded us how important it is to never forget the past. No one wants to repeat something like that again.
After the quiet of Kanchanaburi, we returned to Bangkok to herald in the new year. Bangkok is an... interesting city. It's impossible to describe, other than to say it's everything you've heard and haven't heard about it. The city is extremely large. You can travel for an hour in either direction from the center and not leave the city. Traffic is always terrible, and the high number of cars going nowhere creates a low hanging haze that makes it seem dark early and doesn't allow for good sunsets. People are everywhere and it's kind of dirty in some parts. But despite all that Bangkok is absolutely amazing. It is more unique than any city I've ever been in. Every building looks different than the next, every street unlike the one before it. People from all over the world come here, but the Thai signature is evident from the sizzling street food to the Thai script glaring from every flashing billboard. Bangkok isn't covered in too many giant skyscrapers, but it is still building up. Highways, the sky train, and sky walkways have all been built off the ground, making it feel as if Bangkok has a canopy. It's really cool, and makes it feel both more crowded and less so at the same time.
We had a really fun time in the city, even though we didn't do too many touristy things. We saw a lot of temples, visited all the main squares, made a trip to the nearby historical capitol Ayuthaya, and shopped on the street and in the gorgeous malls. Mostly we hung out with backpackers, celebrated the New Year, and explored the nooks and crannies. Bangkok is known for it's seedy side, and rightly so. What surprised Inge and I, though, is how normal Bangkok actually comes off. Most of the city is just like any other. But what it does have is right out in the open, not hidden away on dark, dank allies. During the day you can walk right by a place and not really know what it is. But walk again by it at night and you see Bangkok's underbelly.
Thailand is much different than either one of us were expecting so far, and is another world when compared to Malaysia and Singapore. The people, the infrastructure, the feel of the place... it's completely unique. Bangkok has easily topped one of my favorite cities in the world, and is strongly recommended for anyone wanting to walk a little more on the wild side. For now, we are going to go to the beach to take a break. Stay tuned for more!
Ing is falling down on her picture taking job. You need to get after her, Ard. Maybe the camera was lost or stolen?
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