The Bridge on the River Kwai

Getting to the site of the famous bridge is not normally easy, as you have to go from Thonburi station which is the relatively inaccessible one to the west of the city. However on a Saturday and a Sunday  a special train to the bridge, the Allied War Cemetary and the Nam Tok waterfalls leaves Hua Lampong, the main station, at 06:30 so I decided this was the best opportunity for me.

The train left on time although my reserved seat found me wedged in a unit for 3 with a fat Australian and his not much slimmer wife. But for 120Baht you can't expect luxury - or much room.

This was the train at 06:10, by 06:30 it was packed, mainly with Thai families enjoying a day out.

The first 'time to get off the train' stop occurred at some obscure little town that had a market in full swing. I treated myself to a bunch of lady finger bananas, about 15 bananas for the princely sum of 20Baht, more than enough to get me through to the lunch stop. I was bemused at to why this shabby little town was a designated stop and a stroll through it did little to enlighten me.

The train rumbled on and on with little to see but a couple of hills that I snapped for David:

And so on to:

It's not the original bridge (that was damaged beyond repair during the war) but I duly walked the length of it, with memories of the remarkable film playing in my head:

There is always someone getting in the way of your photo isn't there?

Then we rumbled on for another couple of hours before we reached the train's destination:

I'm sure that in the rainy season it's an impressive sight, but at present, after months of the dry season, I've probably seen more water coming out of my shower:

But the children were enjoying it, despite the fact that there was little water, and what there was in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall was muddy and shallow.

We spent far longer at this 'treat' than any of us had anticipated, and even getting everyone back on board was a struggle:

There were several decent views to look at on the way back:

But the train had been so slow and we'd spent such a long time at the waterfall for the benefit of the Thai families that it was announced on the way back that we wouldn't be stopping for the scheduled hour to enable us to visit the Allied War Cemetary, which was a big disappointment as that had been one of the two reasons for my trip.

And despite missing out that stop we still managed to get back to the main station 2 hours late.

Still, I had seen a lot of the countryside, I'd bought bananas at a pretty shabby town, I'd walked the length of 'The Bridge', I'd seen a pathetic waterfall, I'd failed to see one of my day's objectives, I'd spent many hours wedged against a fat Australian whilst sitting on a hard wooden seat, I'd been trapped on a train with no air conditioning for the best part of 11 hours and I'd run out of water after about 3 hours. As they say: what's not to like?

A visit to Ancient City

I found out about Ancient City from a guide book and what I read made me determined to visit. It's a 320 acre site devoted to 1/3 size replicas of the major landmarks in Thailand, and it's only about an hour from the centre of Bangkok so not much of a trek to get there. Like many places in Thailand it has this annoying system that as a foreigner you pay a much higher entrance fee but since the alternative is not going then you either cough up or avoid the place.  If you want to be able to cheat about where you went in Thailand then just visit Ancient City so you can tell family and friends that you've covered the whole country, even if you never got further than Bangkok and its outskirts.

At least the 700Baht entrance fee entitles you to the loan of a bike for the duration of your visit (but judging by the condition of many of them you should be paid for agreeing to risk your neck by using one!)

But it is a wonderful day out, and having made the effort to arrive almost as it opened I had the pleasure of having the whole site virtually to myself for most of the morning.

Just to warn those of you who suffer from a lack of patience: there are a LOT of photos to follow, and I have culled well over 75% so you don't get bored.

Below photos of the most striking monuments, with name tags when I can remember them:

Above: can't remember the name of the building, but the bike is Clementine, Clemmie for short, and you can tell she's mine as my backpack is resting in the front basket.

The above photo is a virtual replica of the front cover of the latest DK guide book on Thailand. I was so impressed by the building that I visited it again at the end of my tour so you'll see more photos later.

And below the replica of the original Grand Palace in the old capital of Ayutthaya:

On to the gardens, must stop drooling over the magnificent buildings.

Lots of sculptures everywhere, not all of them interesting, but the one below is.

It's some battle or other (there are lots of battles in Thai (Siam) history, usually against the Burmese

Below: replicas of the Royal Barges included mainly to showcase the lovely gardens

Below: some Godess or other!

Above: a fountain (obviously)

Below: couldn't work out the logic of this area but thought it was pretty so photo below it

A fair number of random unexplained photos to follow, but worth looking at.

Below numerous photos of one of my favourite areas of the park with the explanatory poster above:

Had a great time going back and forth over the stepping stones!

Back to the sights, and the photos.

You can tell how quiet it is in Ancient City as I'm the only person on deck!

And how great that they have designated bike routes. London, take note!

Time for a sit down and a drink of by now warm water, found a shady pavilion in which to relax:

Everywhere you look there is something to see:

Re the above and below: I saw the originals during my trip to Sukhothai.

Beautiful gardens everywhere you looked:

With the occasional Buddha overseeing roceedigs:

And everyone's favourite: The Floating Market:

Complete with a group of monks enjoying their lunch:

Back to terra firma:

And inside this impressive monument, the inevitable:

But it's not all peace and harmony in the land of the Buddha:

More eye catching views:

Climbing up the steps takes you to what this temple is all about:

Supposedly the imprint of the footprint of the Lord Buddha.

But at least the views from up here are superb:

And the view of it from a distance is also striking:

Loved this sculpture on a small waterfall, photographed it from several angles to fully appreciate it:

And now on to the theatre to take some photos for Fiona. Shame it's one of the few monuments they are renovating so it was difficult to get any decent shots of it:

But good that they are keeping everything in good shape.

A few more sculptures:

Nearly at the end .........

The entrance to my favourite building:

No photos allowed inside but looking out is a treat:

Then back to the replica Grand Palace:

With Buddha watching over proceedings, of course

And looking up, the most wonderful ceiling and chandelier:

One last  monument for you to admire:

With one quick detour on the way out to have another look at my favourite:

The view above is the one that I will remember, just breathtaking!

A great end to a Grand Day Out.