Items and articles relating to Visiting different parts of the world including the US.
Bridge on the River Kwai, is the bridge that the Japanese built with civilians and Allied POV’s during WWII (1943) to complete the rail-line between Bangkok and Rangoon in Burma (now known as Yangoon in Myanmar). As many as 12,000 people perished during the construction. A Movie with the name “The Bridge on the River Kwai” was made in 1957, starring Alec Guiness and William Holden and directed by David Lean.
(Kho) Phi Phi Island is in what is called the Andaman Sea, part of the Eastern Indian Ocean and separated from the bay of Bengali by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
You get to the island on a ferry from either Krabi (about 90 min) to the East or Phuket (about 2 hrs) to the West.
Once you arrive you need to pay the fee for entry into the national park area, payable by csh – it is currently August 2018 THB 400 for foreigners, add another THB 200 if you plan on going diving in the waters off the islands.
Once on the island, it is really up to you to decide which Phi Phi you prefer, wild ride or tranquility. If you chose to stay in “town”, that is by the ferry landing – it will likely be on the wilder side of things. The little town is bustling with bars, restaurants and other places of activity. However, if you prefer the tranquility part you may want to stay a little bit out from the ferry landing, just remember that you are pretty much at the mercy of the long tail boats for transportation into town.
There are no cars or really no motorized vehicles allowed, there are a few utility vehicles and there are also some “law-breakers” that have scooters, but not many. You can walk, but I can not recommend it and especially not if you have been in town imbibing, the walk is pretty long and at times treacherous. The long tail boats run most of the time, but there are exceptions, such as at low tide and with too high surf, they may not run, the captains are very much adverse to taking any risks with their boats so if the tide is too low or the surf too high you will have a hard time talking them into making the trip, offering better pay of course may help – standard fare somewhere between 100-200 THB (Thai Baht) each way ($3-6 USD) some of the resorts located further out on the island also may offer some boat services that are included.
On of the most beautiful places in the world to watch the sun setting, is by the Malacca Straits and in particular with the “Floating Mosque” as a backdrop. These pictures were taken on Wednesday July 25 by our correspondent. The pictures were taken in the timespan of about 41 minutes with the first one taken at 19:06 local Malaysian time (GMT +8) and the last one at 19:47. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
French Quarter Fest in New Orleans in April this year, saw it’s 35:th edition go off with only a minor hitch – one day was “stormed out’ – Saturday’s events had to be cancelled due to high winds and a copious amount of rain.
One of the more popular stages at the FQF is the Chevron Cajun-Zydeco Showcase on Decatur Street with bands such as the Grammy nominated Lost Bayou Ramblers performing. Let me tell you that these Cajun tunes are catchy as can be, especially when combined with the rhythmic Cajun/Creole music.
Lost Baju Ramblers consists of 6 band members and they are: Brothers Louis Michot (fiddle and lead vocals) and Andre Michot (accordion and lapsteel), Bryan Webre (electric bass), Johnny Campos (electric guitar), Eric Heigle (electronics and acoustic guitar), and Kirkland Middleton (drums).
Their latest record to date at the time of FQF in April 2018 is “Kalenda” and you can buy it from their store here . I strongly recommend that you buy this great record and support the band!
Below is a little snippet from their performance to show how good this band is and how catchy their music is.
New Orleans was claimed by the French in 1682 and the city of New Orleans was formed in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. The city is celebrating 300 years this year 2018, read about the events here.
Finally an image of the Nachez stamboat that offers Cruises with dinner and Jazz, go here for more info and tickets.
