LOS Trip Report

[jimmie50]

4 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

That tour included the summer Palace at Bang Pa In

Summer Palace closed during covid, and has not re-opened.  Our guide, who has been doing this for 32 years, said she wasn't aware of any plans to open it again for tours.  Not sure what the lingering issues may be.  

[khaolakguy]

Although the interior of the Summer Palace itself is closed the extensive Summer Palace grounds are still open with their mix of architectures and landscaping and are still well worth visiting.

https://www.salahospitality.com/sala-stories/exploring-the-beauty-of-bang-pa-in-palace/

 

[jimmie50]

8 hours ago, khaolakguy said:

Summer Palace itself is closed

Thanks for clarifying that.  I should have been more specific.  Sorry for that.  

[jimmie50]

12 hours ago, jamiebee said:

where to go and what to do on my next trip

I would strongly recommend to go with a knowledgeable guide who is able to provide more details.  I had visited Ayutthaya once before with my Thai friends, but they really didn't know a lot about the history themselves.  I enjoyed this visit much more because the guide was able to provide the missing historical pieces.  

[thaiophilus]

22 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Death railway is well worth the drive.  There is a small museum there which is very interesting. 

There are (were?) three museums in Kanchanaburi. In order of must-see-ness:

The Death Railway Museum and Research Centre in the centre of the town between the station and the war cemetery, is the largest and newest, well up to modern western museum standards and well worth a visit. 

The JEATH War Museum a little way downstream has photographs and illustrations of life in the camp, some made by the POWs, but is basically a one-monk project and badly underfunded, so don't expect too much.

The "other" JEATH museum, the "World War II and JEATH War Museum" next to the bridge, has a lot of miscellaneous WWII stuff and some miscellaneous stuff. According to Google it's temporarily closed.

[thaiophilus]

22 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

 

Edited 3 hours ago by thaiophilus
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[jimmie50]

Day 12 Kanchanaburi

Another early morning start.  Departure from Bangkok was 6:30am once again.  Everyone had to request a to go breakfast box and have luggage downstairs in the lobby by 6:15am so it could be loaded onto the bus.  Will be staying at Felix River Kwai Resort for the next two nights.  Tour Director said travel time would be around three hours to Kanchanaburi, and I believe most everyone slept for a big portion of that time.  Upon arrival we went to the Thailand-Burma Railway Center, and the War Cemetery where over 6000 prisoners of war were laid to rest.  I really don’t recall much from my history lessons about the impact of WW2 in this area.  Yes, I know there was a famous movie produced about the Bridge over the River Kwai, but I never watched it.  Walking through the museum exhibits and reading about how terrible the conditions were for the POW’s, I was curious why more isn’t said.  We are constantly reminded about the European front and how terrible the holocaust was, but you hear very little about the Asian front.  This stop was a bit of an eye-opener for me, and I want to learn more once I return to Denver.  After a couple of hours here, we traveled to see the infamously named Death Railway.  We had a delicious traditional Thai lunch at a restaurant near the train station.  After lunch we boarded a local train for a ride with gorgeous views over the river and a journey across wooden viaducts.  We rode the train for approximately 45-50 minutes before getting off.  Our coach was waiting to take us to see the famous bridge.  Had a chance to actually walk out on the bridge.  The resort is located just a short distance across the river.  Had a nice group dinner together to bring our day to a close.  Fortunately, no early departure tomorrow for the days activities.  Heard from all three of my young men today.  Think they were checking up on me.  lol.  Was actually surprised to hear from the first Grinder guy.  Don’t want to encourage him too much since I am really not interested.  Sam from Paradise was just checking in, and chatted a few times with Bee throughout the day.