River Kwai Archives - sj hylton lehoven

First, they got a bath.

Then came breakfast.

I never saw the dogs get anything in the morning (they did later), but that didn’t stop them from hoping that they might!

It appeared that everything on the rafts came by way of that bridge.

We would go up stream to the last raft, hop in and float to the end. The current was VERY swift!

Which is why I almost lost this!

But I didn’t! I ran down the floating hotel from one raft to another until I was able to grab it. Yep, I was the afternoon entertainment that day. I think I’ll be in a lot of scrapbooks in Holland under the heading: crazy lady running after a little green plastic tub.

And what was in that green little tub? This wonderful smelling something that the Mon people put on their skin to protect them from the sun and mosquitoes.

We all gave it a try.

Here I am with my new friend from Holland.

Then we went to Hellfire’s Pass . . .

The story

The memorial

Japanese soldiers burned fires on the top of the walls as the POWs and Asian “slaves” worked chipping away the hard rock.

The hellfires were meant to keep the mosquitoes away.

There were many of these little plastic flowers placed throughout the memorial.

And then it was time to leave our floating hotel.

I found the motors fascinating.

No, I don’t know how they work, but I just like the way they look.

Our trip concluded with an hour-long ride on the very tracks which cost so many lives.

And with that, the sky began to fall. Fitting, don’t you think?

Hi Friends,

A week (or so) has passed since my last posting. Oh, what fun I’ve had! My girlfriend (whose wonderful apartment I’ve been enjoying) and I took a 3-day, 2-night jungle river rafting trip on the River Kwai. It felt so good to get out of the city and onto the water.

We were picked up in a luxurious mini-van promptly(!) at 6 a.m. at a hotel close-by. Soon after, we, and fellow passengers, were taken to the heart of the city by the Grand Palace where we met other tourists who also sprouted from mini-vans. We were then collected into a large tour bus for our journey to the west.

The pictures which follow will tell the tale . . .

Also, I haven’t forgotten that I owe you shots from Wat Arun. They will hopefully follow shortly. I ended up going into town this past Wednesday (to go to the German Botschaft and ask about a visa which will allow me to stay in Germany longer than 3-months next year . . . more on that to come later) and taking a public transportation boat again. It was as much fun as the previous times, but this time, there was BLUE sky! So you’ll notice some boat/river/Wat Arun shots with blue sky and some without; now you’ll understand why.

From the title you can see that I’m leaving Bangkok tomorrow. I’m heading south to the area called Krabi; it’s a little east of Phuket. I decided to go there because it sounds interested and a little less developed or touristy than Phuket; I’ll let you know how I like it. When you google the area and look at a map, you’ll see that there are lots of beaches. I’m literally going to stay in 4 different hotels over 7-nights: 1 for 2 nights in Ao Nang, 1 for 2 nights on Railay beach (supposed to be a rock climbers’ beach), 1 for 2-nights on Koh (island) Phi Phi, and then lastly, I’m spending a night at a hotel called the Aloha Inn—seemed like a good idea. It’s in the little town area and should be a fun place to be before I then head out for Chiang Mai . . . but I’m getting ahead of myself . . . For now, it’s time to post some shots.

Aloha Everyone! Hope you’re having a good summer and enjoying the company of friends and family.

-sj