On our third day of the trip, we signed up a day tour package with the hotel. It was a tied up day tour package with a tour agency and VIE hotel. The travel agency is called R.A travel and for this day tour itself, we had one of the best tour guides ever. He spoke good English and was quite an entertainer. A jovial man with a burning passion for tourism.
Our day tour includes a visit to one of the major floating markets, River Kwai, Death War museum and Tiger temple. This day tour package is inclusive of lunch too. For me, the highlight of this trip is the visit to the Death railway and Tiger temple. If you can have a spare day in Bangkok, I recommend that you should make a trip down to the Tiger temple because this is one place you have to go!
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| We took a long-tail boat to the floating market. I can’t remember what is the name of the floating market but it’s really an eye-opening experience for me even though I’ve been to Bangkok when I was 10. I’ve been to the floating market before but it is never quite like this. |
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| It was a Monday but the waterway was packed with tourists in sampans. Imagine this: Going on a market shopping tour in a sampan! It’s quite an experience, really! I even spotted some tourists holding a pair of chopsticks, enjoying their meals on board as they enjoy the sights and sounds in the floating market. |
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| These stalls were not exactly floating but there were built on concrete. There are rows and rows of stalls selling handicrafts, barbeque food, ukulele, sarongs, bags , shirts, hats and souvenirs. |
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| Don’t go pointing fingers at the items which looks interesting to you. Because once the shopkeepers see that you are already eyeing on their items, they will ask the boatman to stop rowing the boat and to make a pitstop at their store for you to have a closer look. Interestingly, the shopkeepers are armed with a stick that has a hook on one end and they use that as a tool to hook and drag the sampan towards their store. |
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The art of selling.
This lady was trying her best to sell the sarong to two caucasian ladies but she failed to do so . Why? She quoted an unreasonably high price. It’s much cheaper if you shop from the stores stationed at the boat quay. The floating stores at the river usually tend to jack up their prices and overcharge tourists. Anyhow, it’s definitely easier to purchase items at the stores where you can patronise, walk in on your own and grab whatever items that fancies you off the shelf. It’s harder to shop and browse while you are in a sampan. But it’s definitely an experience to be shopping along the waterways in a sampan. |
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I love the chaos in Thailand.
There’s one word that comes to my mind whenever someone mentions Thailand – “chaos”. Bangkok itself is a chaotic city with its traffic and people on the streets. But among the chaos, there’s something strikingly beautiful and unique about it. I guess this is what makes Bangkok a truly unique city in the heart of Thailand. |
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Alfresco dining by the river.
Would you like to have a bowl of spicy Tom yam? |
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Thailand, a country with many tropical islands,is also a land of coconuts too!
Afterall, it’s summertime! This is a best time to travel to tropical countries or islands for a holiday. |
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I’m in love with Coconut ice-cream after eating this.
Other than the ice-cream itself, the lady also tossed in a few strips of the coconut flesh. Yah-meh! |
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Lunch
Simple Rice Dishes with sides. |
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| My Travel Buddy! |
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| Death Railway |
I felt so exhilarated after knowing that we will be visiting the JEATH museum and World War II museum at River Kwai, located in Kanchanaburi, about 2 hours drive away from Bangkok. I teach the little ones about Singapore History back home so of course, I couldn’t wait to snap pictures and show it to them.
You might have notice something amiss. Why it is spelt as “JEATH” and not “DEATH”? C’mon, would they name a building as DEATH MUSEUM? Each letter in the word “JEATH” represents a country. Most of the POWs came from Europe and Australia.
J = Japan
E = Europe
A = Australia
T = Thailand
H = Holland
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| Our Tour Guide |
The Death railway was constructed in October 1942 by the POWs (Prisoners-of-war) during the WWII.It was estimated that it will take 5 years for the construction to be completed but it took merely a year for it to be completed. That’s alot of manpower to begin with! Imagine how much hardwork, time and effort these POWs had to put in to build the railway that stretches from Thailand to Burma which spans across the distance of 415 km.
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| Death Railway |
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Take a stroll along the railway.
Enjoy the scenic view. |
Next, the tour bus took us to the legendary Tiger Temple where we can be in close promixity with the tigers. We could even stroke them without getting our fingers eaten by them!
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| It was about to rain and there was a long queue formed right outside the Tiger’s den. |
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| I looked really scared! In my mind, I just had these thoughts running through my mind that the tiger will jump up and pounce at me. |
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| There are about 20 tigers in the den! These tigers are herbivorous. They are hand-raised by humans and are trained to consume only vegetables. Before these tiger den was opened up for tourist to stream in, all the tigers were fullyfed. |
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| Baby tiger! |
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| The Tiger temple is huge and it has a mini safari to house all the wild animals like Grizzly bears, deers and ostriches. |
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| We had our dinner in this restaurant near Siam square but the food there wasn’t too fantastic. It was recommended by our hotel staff but the food was just mediocre. |
