Amazing the difference a good nights sleep makes. I woke up in a much more positive frame of mind this morning. Mind you, stepping straight out of your door to a wonderful river view does rather help. Here’s where I’m staying.

There’s such wildlife to enjoy here (and I’m not talking about the ‘girly’ bars). The river’s teeming with fish and the birdlife (of the feathered variety) is amazing. I’m quite content to pass the time sat outside my room on the verandah and watch the world go by. I’d only booked a couple of nights but I’ve decided to extend that by a few days as today’s been spent exploring the town and catching up on picture editing. It’s a sleepy place in the mornings. The town doesn’t really wake up until the heat of the day’s passed – apart from around the bridge where the tourist tat stalls are. A couple of bars open for the hardened drinkers, all old Western men who’ve either retired here or take long holidays to Thailand. I passed one such large group of Englishmen tucking into their beers at 10 am!

One place I did visit today is the war cemetery run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A group of Thai workers were busy keeping it looking immaculate. A party of Thai schoolchildren on a trip were there at the same time. Each child picked a grave at random and wrote down the details of the soldier contained on the plaque. It’s a sobering place. Each one of these allied soldiers died building the railway, along with an estimated 100,000 Asian forced labourers.

The youngest soldiers (and a sailor) I found were 20. The oldest was 51. The average age would have been mid 20s. Such a waste of life – and sadly it’s still going on today thanks to the meglomania of old men like Putin. We never learn.

Now I’m back at my room, relaxing as the sun sets before heading off to eat. Tonight I’ll be busy finishing off some work so expect more pictures and commentary later. It’s Friday, so the place is beginning to fill up with folks from Bangkok who come here for weekend breaks. This could get interesting…

21:20 (Thai time).

Having had a wander for a bite to eat and enjoyed some fiery noodle soup (my fault, I loaded it with dried chilies) I’m now relaxing at home whilst the town gears up for the weekend. Here’s a couple of pictures taken on the main drag.

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