Tuesday, October 24. Quiet day. Visited a WWII memorial. Then took a Long-Tail Boat ride down the Kwai River. Saw a few herons and one beautiful sandpiper. There is very little wildlife larger than a butterfly here. Multiple floating resorts sit along the Kwai. Some remarkably odd in shape. There were elephants carrying passengers. Saw one deliberately dumping its passenger into the water, then lifting him back up on his trunk. It looked fun for the elephant, but the mahout was holding a pointed stick, so I’m not sure.
Visited a small market where I asked, when faced with four snack shops selling essentially the same thing, how does all four profit? The answer is that they are hidden cooperatives. Interesting.
Stopped at a home-based basket weaving outlet. The husband splits bamboo trees, the wife weaves the (very large) baskets. Husband has a machine to help, wife does not. Hmm.
The rest of the day was just relaxing high above the river. Hot and buggy. At night we experienced a cloudburst. I woke up to so much noise I thought it was a mechanical problem. Incredible sound of rain hitting the tent.
