Blogs from Kanchanaburi, Western Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 52

Today we went to Kanchanaburi instead of doing a one day tour that would have cost 900Baht each, we opted to go on the public bus which cost just 99Baht each - bargain!! The bus drivers are no better at diving than the taxi drivers, after 2 white knukle hours we arrived in Kanchanaburi, which of course is infamous for the Bridge over the river Kwai, built by POWs in the WWII. From the bus stop e had to make our way to the bridge which was 6 km away, we were offered a good deal by a local rickshaw cyclist, so we couldn't resist. Only when we got to the rickshaw did we realise that it was probably built for children to ride in it! But the driver was adamant that he was fine to ... read more

As enjoyable as the first few days in Bangkok had been, I needed to get away for a day. Having always been interested in WWII history/relics, I decided to take a day trip to Kanchanaburi, about 2 hours west of Bangkok. This the area where Hellfire Pass and the Bridge over the River Kwai are located. Whilst in Japan I had tried to organize a several day bike trip from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and back, thinking that would be an interesting way to see the countryside. Apparently though I was the only crazy person who thought riding bikes in the heat and humidity of Thailand was a good idea, as the trip I had wanted to do could not go because I was the only person signed up! So the next best thing was a day ... read more

After a week of hedonism down on the beaches it was time to get educated from our visit to Thailand and see some of the local history. In an attempt to avoid yet another VIP bus, we decided to take the train out to Kanchanaburi, the location of the bridge over the River Kwai. This meant getting up at 5am to get a ferry across the Chao Phraya River to the train station, taking in a songthiew for good measure and by 9am we were on our third mode of transport for the day already! The train journey was great though and we got to take in some wonderful sights of the local scenery and seemingly endless paddy fields. We also got to marvel at the very camp and tight uniforms of the police officers that ... read more

My family and I visited the bridge over the river Kwai. Only the second bridge (made of prefabricated steel) built by Allied POWs during WWII remains. The original wood bridge was destroyed by British bombers and the steel one was partially destroyed by American bombers. The entire railway was built by POWs and other forced labor. A national cementary finaced by many of the allied countries is in the middle of town and includes mostly British and Australian soldiers. It was a strange day at the cemetary. It was empty, quiet, and serene within the fence but the streets around it were full of trucks with people celebrating Song Kran/Thai New Year. This is basically a huge moving waterfight and everyone gets soaked. Music was blaring from the trucks and there was plenty of dancing. I ... read more

We had a free weekend to do whatever we liked so we decided to go and see the Death Railway, this is the railway constructed by Siam's P.O.W instigated by the Japanese during world war 2 to transport goods from Siam (Thailand) to Burma! It's crazy to see the graves of so many poor people who died while constructing this monstosaty! They were starved, beaten and forced to tunnel through concrete in the blazing heat. We rode the railway and it was a good experience although I kind of felt like I was honouring the Japanese's work, the way I looked it was showing respect to those familys of the P.O.W as the money raised goes to them. Got home Sunday and saw a god dam scorpion, I was so amazed! We were all having such ... read more