Bridge Over the River Kwai

Remember the movie?
Cue up tension, the river is low, the Japanese sentry is shouting at the Colonel; he is about to get shot.

I figure this is about where Alec Guinness as the English Colonel finally comes to his senses the morning that THE Bridge over the River Kwai is supposed to blow up and indeed falls onto the plunger himself and saves the day and the Japanese troop train plunges into the river as the bridge blows.  Wow, what an ending,.  I bet Stephen Spielberg has seen it a bunch of times.

What a movie, won a boat load of awards in 1958 — looked it up. Number one money maker too.  Re-released in 64.  Probably saw it both times being 10 and the first time with Mom and Dad.

and what a catchy title song tune too.

Oh, Fact Check — sorry about this — above is the actual bridge the Japanese rebuilt after the American Army Air Corps bombed the first one.  I looked that up too.  The original one was also steel and concrete too.  The movie took some liberties.  I know, please do not tell GWB.

On a very hot and sunny day Patt and I took a tour west of Bangkok to Kanchanaburi where one of the more infamous Japanese Prisoner of War Camps was located.  The site of and the actual famous Bridge Over the River Kwai

It was an all day trip, took a boat ride on one of those fan tail, long motor boats, like the one below.

We boated up river past a housing development and a guy who I would bet is in the cable redistribution business.

Looking up river into the mountains toward Burma, now known as Myanmar. 

and coming back toward the bridge. 

Later we took a train ride west toward another rather famous bridge and prison location where the POWs built a trestle along a cliff face beside the river almost at the border with Burma near a town called Takilien.

The train was an old hard seat style, open windows, open doors between cars.  Not so fancy and just for us tourists.

Through farming country and along the river.

 and close to the mountain side— real close to the mountain side.

and supported by trestles for quite a distance.  It was a major engineering feat.

There was also a museum and a very large cemetery with over 7,000 relocated graves of Dutch, English, Indian,  Australian and other Commonwealth soldiers who died as POWs constructing the railroad and bridges.

Water Park in the Second Largest Building in the World

On the last full day we spent with Laura, Matt and the kids, we did it up right at a water park playing hard.  We had spent the previous night at the hotel in the same building so after breakfast we were one of the first into the park!  

All sorts of pools and features. And I think we were in them - or some of us - in almost all of them.

There were waterfall pools for little kids that were great fun complete with warm water too (but not that warm).

John Paul and I had a great time going and coming under this particular water fall with him saying "squeeze you like a bug".  I loved it and would only stop when he would.

The lazy river was a big hit.  Patt and I heard them coming round the bend from within the tunnel.

And this was one of the "little kid?" entertainment pools too.  Yes indeedee.  Took some doings to get the littler ones to go through here and they were never quite sold on it.  Julianna and Lydia, however, loved it.  They actually told me they thought it was a little tame as we went down some of the slides and regretted that the tallest was not open.

Pools were of all temperatures and it was good to have warm pools to go back too.  Luke and Isaac especially liked to go back to warm pools.

Julianna, Lydia and I went into the ultra large wave pool, and Julianna took us out so far that the life guards waved us back.  There was just so much to do and so many pools, slides, and fun things to do Even a big boy slide or two that Matt and I did.

We had a great day and it was a fun way to end a wonder full time with our grandchildren, daughter and son-in-law.

AKA- the World's Second Largest Building

now we are in day three of Bangkok 

Being with Laura, Matt and family was beyond wonderful. Have had a great time!! We will miss the family and being there so very much.

Next time you are feeling like showing someone from Asia a shopping center in the USA thinking they may be impressed, stop, they will not be impressed.  They will feel sorry for you having such a small little strip mall.  

For our last weekend here visiting with Matt, Laura and the grandkids we went to a nearby hotel, entertainment shopping center complex, for some reason assumed to be THE SECOND LARGEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD. How that is computed, calculated, claimed, I have no idea. Seems logical enough to me. Other shopping centers are also large, fancy, well appointed and full of high end shops.  This place does large well.  

This is the view off our hotel deck.  The right hand view was longer but partially blocked by stadium seating and water park features. Below is hotel pool complex and a partial selection of "outdoor" eating options. 

One of the lobbies in the shopping complex just off the atrium.  Just one of many similar yet different.

Part of water park area, with wave pool and part of a Dallas Cowboy size screen that, starting at noon, had running video and music — occasionally LOUD.

Another lobby or atrium, I forget 

Note sky bridge of plexiglass crossing the lobby area — yeah it is very cool 

Luke explaining something to Grandmama, as he often did.  And with volume and enthusiasm.

Lydia, Patt, and Isaac, enjoyed walking on air or the sky bridge in the lobby while Julianna and I were tight rope walking.

 and the view below from the sky bridge in the lobby 

We played in the hotel complex of six pools on the first day and with a late 5 PM check out on the second day, we went to the water park.

We also had early check in and beat the crowds by a lot the first day but by late afternoon, we are talking crowded. VERY Crowded. We had friends and neighbors.

The gang of us  — We had a grand time. 

There is more than one copy of this photo, as we were getting someone to take this photo, as is won't to happen several other people took the opportunity to photograph us.  We do look good, I think.

I will try to get some of the water park photos on a later blog this one has been late enough getting to press as finding an internet connection for my computer once again was a challenge.  I think fixed now though.

We had one wonderful time at the Worlds Second Largest Building.  Such fun.  The kids and the parents and grandparents played and played.  It was awesome.

and we sure do miss those kids to the north of us.