Overlooking the rugged Atlantic Coast in the hills of Barbados is the Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill, the largest existing windmill in Barbados. This historical monument is this week’s featured travel photo.

Built in 1727, the Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill ceased grinding cane commercially in 1947 and was donated to The Barbados National Trust, an organization responsible for preserving the history, natural beauty and cultural heritage of this small island. The restoration of this antiquated windmill was completed in 1999 and it is now open to the public as a museum.

Morgan Lewis Mill is an historical remnant of Barbados’s once prominent sugar cane industry and its colonial legacy. There are some wonderful photo opportunities in this rural part of Barbados and a stop at this windmill is highly recommended.

Known primary for its magnificent beaches and gleaming resorts, I’m sure that most people do not associate Barbados with windmills, but here is an astounding fact - Behind Holland, this small Island Nation of only 166 square miles has the 2nd most windmills of any country in the world. SHOCKING!

One of my favorite vistas in Thailand is the featured Travel Photo of the Week. Located about 5,000 feet above sea level in Northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province is Mae Fah Luang Arboretum.

Located in the center of the arboretum, there is a large grassy area surrounded by native trees with wonderful panoramic views of the mountains in nearby Myanmar. The views are absolutely unforgettable, and it is such a wonderful place to just relax, meditate and enjoy nature. Such a spiritual place.

The revered Princess Mother, an ardent conservationist, was responsible for the development of this beautiful arboretum/park. Her objective was to create a refuge for the indigenous trees and plants of the area and to curb the accelerating deforestation in Northern Thailand.

The late Princess Mother who died in 1995 is the mother of the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Located near the city of Kanchanaburi in Western Thailand, The Bridge over River Kwai is our featured travel photo of the week. The Japanese occupied Thailand and Burma during WW2 - the famous bridge was built by Allied Prisoners of War under the supervision of their Japanese captors. The plan was to build a railway line that would connect Rangoon, Burma with Bangkok, Thailand in order to facilitate the movement of Japanese troops between the two occupied countries. By car, Bangkok is a mere 2 ½ hours by car from Kanchanaburi.

The Bridge was bombed repeatedly by Allied Forces to thwart the Japanese war effort and eventually was destroyed before the end of World War 2. Because so many prisoners of war as well as Asian Laborers died during the construction of this railway, it was renamed the Death Railway by the Allied Forces. After the war, the dead were reburied in specially created War cemeteries located in Kanchanaburi town.

After the Thai Government rebuilt the bridge sometime after the war, Kanchanaburi has become quite a popular tourist town primarily because it’s historical significance in World War 2. In addition to the Bridge and the Death Railway, other historical attractions are the WW2 museum and the War cemeteries. However It was the famous award-winning movie of 1957, Bridge over the River Kwai starring William Holden and Alec Guinness, that really put this particular bridge and Kanchanaburi on the map.

While walking across the famous bridge, I couldn’t help but start humming Colonel Bogey, the theme song of Bridge over River Kwai. A most memorable moment!

Trivia – The movie, Bridge Over the River Kwai was filmed entirely in Ceylon

This week’s travel photo of the week is appropriately named THAI PUSSY NAPPING. Many of you who have arrived at this blog were expecting to see some naked Thai girl rather than some ordinary Thai pussycat. If so, I am very sorry to have mislead you.

If that’s all you’re interested in, then you can mosey along now (as they say in Twitter). However if you have a genuine interest in Thailand, I’m sure you’ll find lots of provocative (non porn) material and articles on Thailand on this travel blog.

What’s the back-story behind the picture?

While having dinner at Morgan Cafe in the popular beach town of Kai Bae on Koh Chang Island (circa August 2005), I met this particular Meow-Meow. I believe she was the “house pussy” for the restaurant, but I’m not sure. One thing I do know - she sure was a lot better company than most of the THAIgers in the area. Let’s say, she took a particular liking to me! Meow!

Now believe it or not, in Thai language, a cat is called maa-ou (pronounced meow). Strange but true!

Continuing with the theme of children, this week’s travel photo of the week features some Malaysian children that I met on my Air Asia flight between Chiang Mai and Kuala Lumpur in November 2008.

I was admiring their beautiful T-shirts with the stylized elephants - simple but elegant - so I asked them where they got them. Smiling, the older one said “We bought them at a boutique in Chiang Mai.” Taking out my camera, they hammed it up while I took a picture of them.

Just my observation, but Malaysian children (of Chinese ethnic origins) seem to be somewhat more mischievous and more animated than their Thai counterparts. Crawling all over their seats like “little monkeys”, the Malaysian kids could not sit still at all. I believe their parents were two rows behind them.

This installment of the Travel Photo of the Week feature continues with the theme of children. I’ve have stated previously that children are great subjects for photography. Unlike adults, they don’t have any hang-ups or issues about a stranger taking their picture.

From my experience most children are absolutely delighted to pose in front of the camera. In Thailand, I have had children run after me on a number of occasions, begging me to take their picture.

For this photograph, I was touring the rural countryside of Northern Thailand’s Nan Province when I encountered some Thai children huddled together in back of a large flatbed truck. They were returning from school to their rural village. When the driver stopped along the roadside to pick up some bags of rice, the children got off the truck and posed for me in this special group shot.

Most of the kids are wearing some funky T-Shirts. If you look in the upper right corner of the photo, observe that one of the young girls is flashing the victory sign at me.