We left the deserted, slumbering streets of Bangkok and drove two hours through the rolling Thai countryside until we reached our first destination, the bridge over the river Kwai.
I have to be honest here, I've never seen the film or apparently paid much attention in history so I did not know too much about tragic history of the real railroad which snakes through Thailand. Built during WWII, the real railroad that the film is based on was built by prisoners of war. The film only depicts a portion of the terrible atrocities that the prisoners endured whilst building the 258 mile railroad and it is estimated that around 90,000 people died in the sixteen months it took to complete.
After our sombre visit, we drove off past rice fields towards the Tiger temple. This is a controversial place with allegations of drugging the tigers and mistreatment. I can honestly say that in our time there, we did not see docile tigers. In fact, they were frighteningly alert and active which was actually pretty scary when left with them in a cage. We saw many staff who cared and clearly respected the tigers, although there will always be a tinge of sadness to any animals in captivity. Over all, we were pretty impressed with the conditions the tigers were kept in and found it an enjoyable experience.
Our morning at the temple started with offering breakfast to the resident monks. We happened to visit on a national Buddhist holiday so were joined by lots of worshipping public and took part in an interesting but long two hour chanting ceremony.
After a very full morning with the tigers, we headed off to our next adventure and another tick off our bucket list: a bareback elephant ride through the Thai jungle.
Our time in the river with the elephants was probably the most hilarious forty-five minutes of my life. We were tossed around, sprayed with water and laughed our way through it. A truly huge highlight in a month of incredible experiences.
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