Travelling on my own, part 2

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The express train, where they also offered us a free meal, brought me to Lopburi in about an hour. The town itself wouldnt be anything special, if it wasnt for monkeys. And Lopburi is a city with the most monkeys in the whole of Thailand. Since buddhism discourages the killing of animals, these little human relatives have had a unique opportunity to grow in numbers. And there isnt just one group of them, but two. The first one inhabits the ruins of an ancient temple called Prang Sam Yot, which enterpreneurial Thais are now using as the main turist attraction in town. The second group is scattered over a few streets near the temple. Theyre running all over streets, buildings and other infrastructure. They are also causing trouble to the locals, but that is overlooked since theyre the reason for quite some turist dollars.
I spent the night in a local hotel and, after being tricked by a moto driver, managed to find the bus station to go to Suptanburi, and from there on to Kanchanaburi.
Kanchanaburi is the place of the famous Bridge over river Kwae. The bridge was a part of so-called Death railway, probably the most famous railway in World War II. It was designed by the Japanese to connect Thailand with Burma and establish a supply route for the agressors advancement into central Asia. Thousands of civilians and POWs (prisoners of war) were brought here to construct the railway in inhumane conditions, which resulted in over 100.000 civilians and 16.000 POWs dying during construction. Today, the Bridge over river Kwae is reconstructed and still operational. Besides the bridge, I also went to see a couple of museums, among which The Thailand-Burma Railway Museum is truly spectacular, showing all the pain and sorrow that the men had to go through during construction. Next to it, theres an Allied War Cemetery, keeping the memory of the dead forever allive.
Unlike Sukhotai, Ayuthaya and Lopburi, Kanchanaburi is a very lively place. The main street never sleeps, with tons of bars, restaurants, shops, guesthouses and massage parlours. And, I could hardly believe it when I heard it, theres supposedly a Slovenian living in town. Married to a Thai woman.
The next morning I took a sangthaew to the bus station and got on the bus to Bangkok, to enjoy the last part of the trip…

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