The Bridge on the River Kwai

After a comfortable overnight train trip from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, I made my way to the bus station at some rediculous hour in the morning to catch the next ride out to Kanchanaburi. I'm traveling with my new fiance, now, and it was a real pain trying to convince Tow Rai that seeing the bridge on the River Kwai was going to be a fun experience. Kanchanaburi isn't really worth more than a night's stay, but I will be able to work in all four things that I wanted to do: see the bridge, see the cemetery, see the museum, and ride the death railway. The museum (the new one) is Smithsonian-good. Unbelievable. There really is no need to visit the town's other two crappy museums, especially since this new one is right across the street from the cemetery - very nice, as well. Walking to the actual bridge took about 40 minutes (somebody isn't pleased with me right now). The bridge is great, but it's flanked on all sides by cheap trinkets. What amazes me is that they all sell the same damn thing... how do they make any money? Most of it is horrible jewlery and carved elephants. But, like I said, the bridge is kind of fun, especially after visiting the museum and cemetery. Tomorrow, after we ride the death railway, it's back to Bangkok for the night where I face a rather daunting amount of legal paperwork (though, if I keep up these crazy travel hours and long walks, it may be unnecessery). Kho San Road is the choice for lodging, but the guest house doesn't really matter. It's going to be an all-nighter as I plan to stay awake through the wee hours before going to the airport at 3:30am for my 6am flight. It sounds bad, but it helps get me back on U.S.A. time. Other than that, the trip is almost over and, of course, I really feel like I've hit my travel groove over the last several days. Oh well, that's the way it works.