[ITS STOIC?]

This morning we left Bangkok and headed to Kanchanaburi which is a small town along the River Kwai. On our way we visited the Floating Market in Rach Buri. The market was filled with people, delicious food, and (somewhat) touristy items. 

We tried the fried bananas that we were told are a really special treat to the Thai people. I think it is because they are more pricey than other items. Banana, coconut milk, and coconut cream are fried and then served hot. They were soo delicious I could have eaten so many of them!  This woman is making the fried bananas. She is famous around this area for her fried bananas and families have been coming to her for many many years to get these bananas.

The floating market was a whole lot of organized chaos. There were tons of boats everywhere it was amaxing that anyone actually got around. (There are more pictures on my facebook- sorry not so many on here it takes a really long time to upload to the blog for some reason) The only thing that we got at the floating market were some spices but all the food smelled amazing! We picked up chili, ginger, saffron, kaffir lime leaves, and curry. The locals also come here to pick up food, an entire meal was between $1-2.

After leaving the floating market we stopped at the Prisoner of War cemetery for the soldiers lost in the Second War (World War 2). They were British, Australian, and Dutch soldiers buried in this cemetery. A lot of the soldier’s bodies were not actually beneath the tombstones but the tombstones were just there to honor the lost soldiers. American soldiers were also taken as prisoners of war but all of their bodies were taken back to the States after the war ended. The grounds of the cemetery were kept up really well and there were flowers planted next to every headstone, it was really beautiful. Tomorrow we will go and see a muesum that honors these Prisoners of War.

The next stop was the bridge over the River Kwai (there is a movie called "The Bridge Over the River Kwai that I need to watch when I get home now). We ate a delicious lunch and got to walk around all of the shops near the bridge. During lunch and dinner they always just bring food to our table instead of us ordering off of a menu. It has been really nice because then we get to try a little bit of everything instead of just one dish. So far my favorites have been the red curry and fried long rice noodles that they mix with sugar and some sort of sauce (I think maybe sweet and sour?). These noodles almost have the consistency of rice krispie treats (hahah I know that’s a horrible analogy!) but they melt in your mouth just like the rice krispie treats. 

 After lunch we took the train ride over the bridge and down to the end of the tracks (about 1 mile) it was such a cute and colorful train.

Once we left the bridge we headed to our river camp for the night. The river camp was beautiful but definitely a lot different than the hotel we have been staying at in Bangkok. Someone described it as “glorified camping.” We were in tents that were air-conditioned (thank goodness :) ) and the showers and bathrooms were outside. My mom and I were both a little worried when we walked into the camp and thought that one night here would have been plenty but we survived hahaha. The river camp was out in the middle of the jungle and the scenery was gorgeous! 

I walked down to the natural pool to get some photos but there were families in the pool so I didn’t get any pictures. Tonight we had dinner at the river camp and they made tons of different food that we were able to try. They had amazing barbeque skewers, I was trying to ask the girls if barbeque sauce was popular here but I don’t think they understood what I was saying so I never got an answer from them. Off to bed early because we have a busy day tomorrow!

 Sawasdee kah from the river camp!