Ok, you know you're a child of the 80's, if you read this title, and started to hear the open part of the song in your head. Da-da-da-doh...da-dadadah-da-dah...err..hmm...does translate well to the written word.
So yes, it's my final week, actually I'll be home Friday night! I'm pretty much ready to go, just taking care of some final things that I've wanted to do.
Just saw this article on CNN: International. It's about the island that I was volunteering at:
CNN.com - Backpackers help rebuild Phi Phi - May 8, 2005
So last I wrote, I was in Cambodia. I spent one more full day there after visiting the interrogation center and killing fields. That day, we visited the National Palace and National Museum. Both were particularly underwhelming.
That night, we went to the Shadow Puppet Theatre. That was particularly cool. It was a cross between two different Cambodian art styles, shadow puppet theatre and Cambodian Dance. Very cool. I love the moving puppets and what they do with light and shadow. The customs and dance were also really cool.
Next day, I hoped on a plane back to Bangkok. Didn't really do much yesterday. Just kinda bummed around.
Today was more exciting. I went to the bridge over the river Kwai, a WW II museum, floating market, and a Tiger Conservation Center.
So in 1957, there was a movie called 'Bridge Over the River Kwai' starring mostly people I don't know (featuring Alec Guiness, aka Obi-Wan Kenobi though...) Never saw it. Apparantly in this movie, they whistle a tune that pretty much everybody knows, but nobody knows where it was from. One of the guys on the tour was whistling this tune. I know, that if Dad were still around, he'd be whistling the tune the moment he read that I went to the River Kwai.
Basically, there was a 400+km railroad created during WWII by the Japanese forces. It was created entirely by hand using mostly POW's. Many of them died during the making of the bridge. At one point, the Japanese herded the POW's onto the bridge in hopes that the Allies wouldn't bomb the bridge. It didn't work. The bridge was destroyed multiple times during the war, and has since been rebuilt.
The floating market was interesting as there were a ton of tourists. It originally started as a produce market for locals to sell their stuff. To this day, they still use the canals to move around more then boats.
Afterwards, we stopped at the Tiger Conservation Center aka Tiger Temple. Original, monks were protecting some tigers that they found injured. Now, it's a conservation center. The tigers move around mostly without leashes or chains. Basically, the only thing between us and the tigers was a thin red rope, and a bunch of trainers. If one of them went ballistic...we were toast. No guns, no tranquilizers, no cages or pits. Just us, and the tigers. Of course, we all lined up to get our photos with them!
So that's been it. The next few days will be filled with another tour, some shopping, movies, massages, and maybe even the dentist (don't ask).
Later,
C
Last I wrote, I was in Cambodia.
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