Following on with our theme of collecting different modes of transport during the year, we managed to fit in a ride on one of these side-car taxis. We had a little trip from the mo-ped hire shop in Kanchanaburi to the bus headed for Bangkok (that very nearly left with our luggage on board, but without us!).
Didn't they blow that up? Well, yes, they did, and they then rebuilt it. And now it's a huge tourist attraction. We were pleased to be able to say that we saw it, but the most amazing thing was visiting the JEATH War Museum and taking the time to think about the POWs who built the 258-mile death railway, and the terrible conditions inflicted upon them in these Japanese camps. Being there, in the heat and humidity, suffering from a bit of a headache but with the luxury of being able to drink as much water as I wanted, it was beyond me how they managed. They spent hours and hours in the heat, doing hard labour, many of them seriously ill, all of them hungry and dehydrated. Visiting one of the cemeteries and considering some of the 16,000 POWs that died was certainly humbling.
A building in the shape of an elephant (Bangkok) and real elephants along the River Kwai.
The Jungle Rafts were largely run by Mon people who lived just by the rafts. The Mon are a completely separate people group from Thais and I think that most of them originate from the Burmese border. We were free to take a wander round their village - and of course there was plenty for the odd tourist to do. Ben was keen to feed the elephants (as you can see by the delight on his face!).
We decided to treat ourselves to a little bit of luxury for the last few days of our trip. The intensity of the conference and then spending a little bit of time looking after a British girl who was admitted to hospital with a bacterial infection, had left us feeling quite drained. Also, we wanted some time to ourselves to prepare for going home and to take some time to discuss our future.
The jungle rafts were the most perfect place for this. No electricity, no internet, no mobile phone. Everything was lit at night with parafin lamps. It was just so wonderful to be isolated from all distractions and to be able to spend time reading, reflecting on the year gone by and considering the future.
Much time was spent hanging in that hammock. When we were doing that we were playing card games or floating down the very fast-flowing river in life jackets.
We had a much-needed afternoon off half way through the conference. Many people went on field trips, but I'm afraid I took the opportunity to have some time to myself and curl up with a book! Ben's energy wasn't quite a zapped as mine and he headed out on the "Flight of the Gibbon" trip. This turned out to be long zip wires, high up in jungle trees - a bit like what we did in Malaysia, but without the rope bridges. Here's what he got up to, in his own words:
After we finished in Bangkok, we went to volunteer at a conference for Christian charities. Ben spent the week doing all the audio visual stuff with another lad - quite a high-pressured job, with some people dropping off memory sticks containing presentations just a few minutes before they were due to go on.
My role was no less tiring. I helped out with the kids work, helping to run a programme for about forty 4-6 year olds. We were with them from 9am-9pm - with a couple of breaks for meals - so it was pretty intense. All the other guys on the team were American, which was a bit daunting at first (they were all very loud and enthusiastic!). But before long the banter was free-flowing, them teasing me for my accent, me mimicking them for their constant cries of "gooood jaaab" (good job, with an American twang).
I was helping another girl run the games. It was great fun and the kids loved joining in with "oggy, oggy, oggy" calls - an excellent way to wind them up into a frenzy and then instantly quieten them down. I'd make a great teacher if only I could use it in a classroom! A girl called Heather and I led a small group of all girls. They were absolute angels, impeccably behaved (when their minds weren't wandering) and very sweet.
One of the highlights was taking all the kids to the zoo and we got to see the famous pandas that have the whole of Thailand in a panda craze because they've just had a baby.
Our final week wasn't all work and no play. We had a group outing to the Ancient City or Ancient Siam. This is alleged to be the world's largest outdoor museum - but how do you judge? This massive park contains 109 scaled-down replicas of the country's most famous historic sites. They're arranged geographically as they are in the country, so it's like you're touring the whole of Thailand in one day...in a golf buggy! The lily pads in the picture were amazing, they were strong enough to support the weight of a handbag - we didn't try standing on them. The picture of a net is a traditional fishing method - a lever-system lowers and raises the net.
As well as this trip, we had a lovely party on our last night where much food was eaten, presents exchanged (we got beautiful Parker pens with our names inscribe in Thai), many tears shed and prayers prayed.
Yes, we've been home for nearly a month. No, we're not still in Thailand. But it seems daft not to finish off the blog, to neglect writing about the last couple of weeks of our trip.
The last week in Bangkok was a bit of a slog trying to get all our work finished. With the much appreciated - and needed - help of local ladies and some American visitors, all the books in the library were finally labelled. I managed to write reviews of 72 books so that a new "recommended read" for each category could be displayed every month for a year. It was so exciting to leave with this part of my work finished. Now we just need the Foundation to get its licence so that they can let the kids in!
Back in Bangkok, we visited the Grand Palace. This is where the emerald buddha is housed (the guy that wears a different outfit for each season). It's an amazing place, temples, spires and pillars crambed into a relatively small space. There is so much gold and everything glitters. They even have the changing of the guard - home from home (?) It tipped it down while we were there, and we were very amused by all the shoes floating away in the ensuing floods.
This place was a real highlight on our trip and we ended up staying here an extra night...just to see all the buddha! Ayutthaya was the old capital of Thailand and the whole of the old town is full of ruins, temple after temple. They're all called Wats (just like Ankhor Wat in Cambodia) and contain prangs and chedis. Ben is easily bored by "old stones", but even he was impressed by much of it.
The old town was made into a man-made island, with canals running around it and rivers weaving in and out. Like Bangkok, a lot of life happened on the water with floating markets, houses on stilts etc.
