Hua Hin beach

 A very relaxing weekend getaway two and a half to three hour drive from Bangkok is Hua Hin, a small quiet beach resort town in the Gulf of Thailand.

beach

view of Gulf of Thailand from Hyatt

On Hua Hin beach:

Inspite of covid, the beach was surprisingly very busy.

Sand bubbler crabs:

While walking on the beach, I was fascinated by small sand balls all over. On closer inspection, I saw very tiny crabs almost the color of sand and almost unnoticeable. These shy crabs scutter to their holes at slightest movement. It was not easy to take pictures of them but I managed to take few pictures and came back to the room to find out more about these crabs.

Sand bubbler crabs are small crustaceans that live on sandy beaches of warm tropical waters.

intricate pattern made by these tiny crustaceans

small crabs, arrows pointing, one on right almost inside its hole

crab coming out of its hole

a close up

They remain inside their holes when the tide is high. As soon as the water recedes, they come out scrambling all over the place. They pick up sand particles, sifting through them to take in small plankton and microscopic food particles. After scrapping the sand of food, they make them into round balls. This way they do not pick the same sand again.

jelly fish surrounded by small sand balls

crab hole and a lone crab caught on camera

looking at the number of sand balls, the tide has been away for quite some time

Jellyfish:

With a penchant for searching beaches for some interesting finds, I saw beautiful jelly fishes, ofcourse all dead :)

Not fond of swimming in sea, I had no fear of a jellyfish sting, but got almarmed when my foot fell on something gooey.

white box jellyfish

Box jellyfish are very venomous. Their sting can prove to be very fatal, and leading to death at times.

Phyllorhiza punctata, Australian spotted or white spotted jellyfish. Had never seen a blue colored jellyfish earlier.

This species of jellyfish is native to Gulf of Thailand but has now become an invasive species all around.

ventral side of brown mosaic jellyfish, isn't it beautiful?

dorsal side, arms with tentacles all around

Though beautiful, deadly sea nettles's sting is said to be very nasty causing severe burns.

Cicada market:
Very close to Hyatt Regency on the main road is Hua Hin's weekly night market. The market is open on Friday to Sunday.

The open air market is a place where people come out on weekends to spend some time.

The market has everything: art and artifacts to buy or browse, decorative items, clothes, handmade accessories, paintings and many more things.

Huge lanterns hang from trees under which are tables and chairs are arranged to give a feeling of space.

Live shows:

The visitors are entertained by live shows and music.

a magic show in progress

Open-air amphitheatre provides a platform for artists to perform. It some times gets well known artists from Bangkok.

Not only shows keep the visitors entertained, a live band plays with others enjoying food

man making beautiful blow glass decorations

artifacts on display

Bags, hats, clothes, cosmetics everything is there. There is so much to shop.

food attracts us all

There is large variety of food to chose from, snacks, salads, sea food, stir fries..... 

som tam( papaya salad)

Horse in a souvenir shop here? Probably because they have horse riding along the beach, a horse club. There are also ponnies for children to ride along the beach.

The market gets pretty crowded on weekends but we went during the covid days, so did not see many people.

Overall, it is a good outing with fun filled activities.

The Bridge on River Kwai, Kanchanaburi

The River Kwai or Khwae Noi flows in the western Thailand. It is also known as Khwae Sai Yok. It meets Khwae Yai at Kanchanaburi and is called Mae Klong. This continues and empties into the Gulf of Thailand.
Khwae or Kwai means a small river, tributary in Thai. This got to be used frequently giving the river its present name Kwai.

History:
In 1942, during World War II, Kanchanaburi came under Japanese control. Myanmar border is just 1 hour and 15 minutes from here.  Kanchanaburi thus became a very important outpost for Japanese to enter India, at that time, a British colony through Myanmar. A land route access to India was needed through Myanmar and the extension of this railway would solve the purpose.

A steel bridge was made over the river by Japanese with prisoners of war from US, UK, Australia, Holland and Thailand. Though, Thailand was never colonized, the credit of which goes to King Chulalonkorn, who was one of the most beloved monarchs of Thailand, but it continued to be occupied off and on by foreign powers. Chulalonkorn did a lot for the modernization of country, abolition of slavery, prostration ritual in front of the King and many social and government reforms which included introduction of postal and telegraph service.

But, why has it been called the Death Railway?
The number of lives lost in inhumane conditions and forced labor is said to be more than 13,000. The bridge was completed in 1943, and became operational for a short time, after which it was bombed in 1945 by British and American air forces.

Around 40 kms of track was destroyed thereby preventing access to Myanmar from Thailand.

The damaged portions of the bridge was renovated by Thai government in 1946, but it never again reached the Myanmar border.

Every year, in the month of November-December, the bridge on river Kwai memorial week is held where stage performances, carnival, shops are set up very close to the bridge. I have posted some pictures in my earlier post.

train crossing the bridge

The arched sections of the bridge are original. Some part of bridge was destroyed by Allied aircrafts. The bridge was bombed at least ten times.  The trapezoidal trusses were rebuilt by Japan as war reparations after the War.

river Kwai railway station

steel bridge

train approaching on bridge

train from Bangkok to Nam Tok

steel plates to make walking easier, I was overly cautious with my mobile, fearing it may slip and fall into the river:(

shops by riverside

viewing platform

Every time as the train approaches, the security personnel whistles to make sure visitors stand on the viewing platform.

Japan flag at entrance to bridge, this was a part of memorial week celebration

a wat close to bridge

actors taking their pictures, chairs on side for the event

pretty girls pose for a picture

Many people gathered at the entrance to see the light, sound and stage performances. We also made our way to chairs which were assigned to us. I was excited to take some pictures of the event. But, sadly they announced that we should not use any flash on our phones, which I feel is quite right or else it can be very disturbing to see flashes coming from all directions.

lighted up bridge

The anchors were good and spoke in english as well to make us feel welcome. I am posting whatever my camera could capture that evening.

daily life

torture of POW's

POW's making the bridge

torture of POW's

a video on train crossing the bridge during war

War begins, aircrafts fly by

bridge gets destroyed by Allied forces and end of WWII

Holy spirit, Ta Kien Tong

It is customary in Thailand to worship the holy spirits who protect you. This is situated very close to the bridge. Thank you Ms. Ploy for helping me understand what is written here.

It was a wonderful experience to watch the show.