Pedaling and Pampering....

We have decided to stay in our current guesthouse rather than waste part of the day searching for somewhere cheaper, we are happy with the price and location so we headed off to get a push bike each so we can discover this place. Kanchanaburi is a little bigger than we expected but riding around is still easy. We started with the war cemetery and I must say that reading about the history and seeing all the Australian servicemen's graves is a very emotional experience. There is not only Aussie soldiers buried there but others who were involved in WWII and just over 80 graves marked as unknown. There is a plot where 300 soldiers ashes are all combined and their names are in a memorial building.....very soul stirring. After a solemn stroll and a few tears we headed to the fresh market for a look around, markets here are so cool and we love looking at all the different types of produce. We sat for a while as the rain fell and Alvo had an iced coffee before we headed to the Jeath Museum. It is a replica WWII POW hut that tells the story of the Bridge over the River Kwai though photos and artwork, again quite emotional but a must if you want to realise the horror of war. Time to head back to our quieter side of the city and when we got there decided that it was time for food so found a local restaurant and ate delicious green curry and pad thai. We saw a street named Australia Road on the map and wanted to see it so rode off in the direction of the Bridge over the River Kwai and after finding Australia Road decided that the bridge wasn't that far away and headed off to find it, I grabbed a little rice ball snack from the side of the road for the journey of course. The ride was easy and the bridge is a real reminder of the sacrifice and hard times that the POW's endured. We walked across the bridge which is still in use and you must hop off the track if the train comes, we came across a Thai guy playing the violin and singing Waltzing Matilda, again the soul stirred. We chatted to him for a while and he showed us places on the bridge where bombs and bullets hit before he again started playing but this time it was Lady Gaga, he was really cool so we threw some money in his violin case. While we were walking across the tourist train came and we stepped onto a platform, it was great timing as Alvo really wanted to see the train cross. We left the bridge and took a short walk to another museum which highlighted more of the WWII story and it was great to have a walk around. With our sight seeing done I got some of my favourite new dessert that I spotted on the way and as it was quite hot the delicious coconut ice cream was a great refresher. Alvo wanted to get a manicure so on the way back to the guesthouse we stopped in at a little place that charges $3.50 to cut, file, trim skin and paint nails and I thought I would get my toenails done too. We were pretty tired from our riding and Alvo fell asleep at one point but at least she wasn't snoring like the lady getting her hair done, admittedly she was in a full horizontal position so I don't blame her for the snoring. We needed a rest so back to the guesthouse we pedalled and it was good timing as the rain was starting to fall once again. We rested for quite a while and when we woke up it was time for...yep, food. We stopped at the 10B bar on the way for a few pre dinner drinks and as 10B is about $0.35 it was a cheap hour for us. Dinner was had at On's veggie restaurant again and she did not disappoint yet again with great curry fried rice and pad-see-u which is a noodle dish. We chatted to her about doing her cooking class and she was very excited to hear that we would like to learn with her. She is from Isaan which is in the north east part of Thailand where the food is said to be some of the spiciest so we are eager to attend. The ladies at her restaurant are really friendly and a great laugh, as we are learning a little of the Thai language they have been helping us by talking and teaching, On even joked about giving me Thai lessons and charging me a little bit more for our class.....she is really nice. On the way home we thought a foot massage sounded good so popped into a little massage place that does them for $7 for an hour and it was really great. The ladies that massaged us were really chatty and easy going, it is so good to find such friendly people who are so willing to help you learn. Alvo was happy that her lady did not do a super hard massage and here in Thailand when you get a foot massage you also get a little shoulder and head massage, it is so good. We told the ladies we would be back for a face scrub tomorrow and then something else the next day.....at these prices why not. We bid them goodnight and had a night cap at the 10B bar before heading back home for the night. If it isn't raining tomorrow we will hire a moped and go a little further out of town for a look around. Tanya xxx.