Bangkok February 8

We awoke on February 8th somewhat groggy but eager to see the sights. The first order of the day was breakfast, so we walked several blocks seeking an all-day breakfast. We settled on a restaurant near the fabled Khao San road, only to find that their all-day breakfast finished at 2:00 pm. My meal consisted of ground pork broiled onto toast with a sauce, an acceptable if unconventional substitute. Barb's "pancake" was gluey, heavy and lukewarm.
That afternoon, we wandered a bit, the went back to the hotel pool where we swam and planned the trip for the next day.
Our hotel, Nuovo City, was owned by Moslems, so they did not sell alcohol, nor did they serve pork. However their restaurant was quite good, and I'm sure our recovery from jet lag was hastened by sticking to fruit juices, artfully combined and served. That night we had samosas, mutton biryani with mango pickle, and chicken kebab, with a delicious rice pudding for dessert.
The next day started with breakfast at the hotel, then a trip by bus and boat to the floating market. This market was made by Chinese merchants and farmers, who created all the waterways from what must have been a swamp. They use boats to sell their produce and wares, including, of course, loads of tourist goods. Some of the sales people were persistent to the point of irritation, which we also found in Cambodia, but not Malaysia.
After we left the floating market, we were taken to the site of the Bridge on the River Kwai, where thousands of Allied POWs died at forced labour building a train bridge for the Japanese invaders during WWII. The brutal treatment of these prisoners is well documented in the adjoining museum, and was made famous by the 1957 movie Bridge on the River Kwai with Alec Guiness and William Holden.
Later that afternoon we went to the famous but controversial "Tiger Temple", a Bhuddist temple that was founded in 1994 as an animal sanctuary. They began accepting tiger cubs in 1999, both cubs whose mothers had been killed by poachers and illegal "pet" tigers that had become too difficult for their owners to keep. The display of tigers and other animals was quite a thrill to see, but the institution has been accused of mistreating the tigers, and also illegally exchanging them with a breeder in Laos. It is not clear that there is an alternative that would provide better care, however. Monkks and volunteers provide all the care for the animals. The water buffalo roam freely on the grounds, and are fed squashes daily from the back of a truck.
That night we went to a blues bar, called "Ad here the 13th" featuring pictures of B. B. King, Luther Allison, Robert Johnson, and Eric Clapton. 634-5789 featured prominently in the decor, if you can remember that great tune. Old Al Kooper and Elvin Bishop CDs played in the background as we sipped our drinks, then headed back to the hotel.