Blogs from Kanchanaburi, Western Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 53

Written April 14, 2006 in Siem Reap, Cambodia There’s something about a town that is built around a single event or attraction made famous by a movie. Tens of thousands of people every year head to a small Iowa town that boasts the famed “Field of Dreams.” Most probably don’t get to toss the ball around with Shoeless Joe so we wonder what they think of the town and the peripheral tourist-oriented businesses. Movies can do funny things to the places in which they are set, and from the various cinematic treatments of World War II we’d suspect those funny things are far wilder when history mingles with film and tourism. Kanchanaburi, Thailand and the beautiful surrounding region are about a two hour bus ride west of Bangkok. For most westerners the name will be unfamiliar ... read more

Well, today was Thai new years day, we had been warned about the excessive use of water and flour as a way of celebrating!!! WE did encounter some interesting locals who were enthusiastic to share their water with us... read on.... After a lovely nights sleep in our floatel, we went to Erawan waterfalls which is a national park. we went in the back of the jeep thing again and got really really dusty. along the way, we were drenched by kids throwing water at us - it was great cos really cooled us down!!! We arrived at the park and it was a three hour walk there and back to the seventh waterfall, and it was mega busy with locals as its new years day! It was lovely thouh, but was a mega hot day ... read more

If I could dedicate this to anyone, if there ever was such a thing with a blog (although the man in question deserves much, much more than a mere blog dedication...as do they all) I would like to dedicate it to the memory of Sandy Samuelson, a great and lovely man whom I never had the priviledge of meeting. He was my father's godfather and ex-Japanese POW. He worked on the Konyu cutting and the bridge and incredibly he survived the completion of the railway. He never spoke of his experiences. So this is to remember him, and all his friends, and all the men who worked alongside him. Im not entirely sure how to write about Kanchanaburi, the "Death Railway" and "Hellfire Pass." These places are so steeped in history and memory and sadness and ... read more

We briefly went through Bangkok, but Bangkok gets hotter and smoggier every time we go there, so we left as soon as we could for Kanchanaburi, which is 2 hours away and is supposed to be a bit cooler. Kanchanaburi is a laidback town on the river. There is a lot to do in the Kanchanaburi area and we had fun while we were there. Our main purpose for going there was to see the bridge on the River Kwai, which is one of Stevan's favorite movies. This infamous bridge was part of the Burma-Thai Railway (often referred to as the Death Railway) that the Japanese built using Asian coolies and Allied POW's. Since the Allies cut off the supply routes by sea, the Japanese built a railway through Thailand and Burma to supply troops and ... read more

Hugh and Siriporn met us at 8 this morning, and after a brief visit to the Post Office to check if the Weekly Telegraph had arrived, we went to the Cemetery where the POWs from Britain, Australia, Holland and America were buried. The first impression I got was how well kept it was. It had a very serene atmosphere and the graves of over 6000 POWs were kept immaculate. Various bushes of frangipani and orchids were scattered amongst the graves and in the morning sunlight, the cemetery shined. We had a walk amongst the graves, each having their own tragic story. Next we visited the Burma-Thai Railway Museum, also known as the Death Railway Museum. Hugh Cope is a part owner of the museum, and consequently his knowledge of the time is extensive. He kindly gave ... read more