Two days full of contrast. Yesterday started at the Urban Retreat Spa where the Sumo wrestler-look-a-like masseuse provided a relaxing 90-minute Thai massage. Across the street of the Spa lies the shopping mall Terminal 21, which is one of the coolest shopping malls I have seen. Each floor has its own city theme, and its shops, restaurants and even the toilets are styled accordingly, from Paris to San Francisco, to Rome and Istanbul.

After lunch (where I was kindly reminded that a bit spicy is, in fact, holy crappers hot), also a manicure and pedicure were part of the programme (after all, the flip flops should be worn in style).

The day flew by and the sun started to set, which we captured at the rooftopbar of the Okura hotel. On the way back, dinner was served at Madame Monsur, just off Khao San Road. We crossed the lively bars and experienced a bit of the backpackers life in the crowded but very relaxed streets. After yet another curry, a coconut juice and a Singha beer, it was time to sleep, as today a visit to the Bridge over the River Kwai was on the agenda.

Having enjoyed all the pampering of yesterday, this day brings us to visit the Bridge over the River Kwai. Mr Suttipong drives us the approx 120k to the Kanchanaburi province in his Buddha-decorated car, and the first stop is the Jeath war museum, just along the River Kwai.

The museum has been constructed (let me quote the museum’s booklet): ‘not for the maintenance of the hatred among human beings, but to warn and teach us the lesson of how terrible war is’.

The open air museum shows a realistic reconstruction of a ‘Prisoners of War’ hut, and photographs and other items connected to the construction of the Death Railway by Prisoners of War during the Second World War (1942-1943), which leaves me impressed and respectful. The next museum we visit is the Death Railway Museum, located in front of a well-maintained graveyard filled with flowers, where some of the thousands of prisoners are buried.

The scenery around the Bridge over the River Kwai looks however more festive today. This week, the bridge is the central point of an annual festival, and hundreds of chairs are set up for the evening programme. After being pulled in front of a camera with some Asian women, we walk up the bridge and cross it to the other side of the river Kwai. Apart from the beautiful surroundings, it gives a strange feeling walking there, knowing that so many people, among them Asian, Australian, British, Dutch and other nationalities, have known such hardship constructing this bridge. Never forget.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere is lively and colourful, with children singing on the bridge, people smiling and the festival in full preparation for the evening. ‘May peace always conquer violence’.

Heading back to Bangkok with Mr Suttipong, I write this blog at the backseat of the car, leaving the Kanchanaburi province and all its history behind me and at the same time taking this part of the region’s past with me on my journey.

Back to packing the backpack (not exactly the Samsonite proportions I am used too), leaving Bangkok for Chiangmai region tomorrow and its jungles (without wi-fi but with elephants).