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Today was awesome. We rented a scotter for $6 and drove ourselves around. I was scared shitless of getting on the back of a bike with Tris driving, as I've only never driven a bike myself or been on the back with my dad driving... but by mid afternoon I started feeling comfortable, and I stopped holding on for dear life. I had to remind him quite a few times that they drive on the OPPOSITE side of the road here... he still will have to catch on to that... but he got pretty good with passing slow pokes, and dodging dogs that scoot across the road.
Kanchanaburi is famous for its part in WWII and the bridge over river kwai, so we set out to learn some history. Since we learned it, we'll now tell/show ya what we learned!
The bridge over river Kwai - Internationally famous, thanks the several motion pictures and books, the black iron bridge was brought from Java by the Japanese supervision by Allied prisoner-of-war labour as part of the Death Railway linking Thailand with Burma. Still in use today, the bridge was the target of frequent Allied bombing raids during World War II
and was rebuild after war ended. The curved spans of the bridge are the original sections. A daily train is still following the historical route from Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok Railway Station which we'll be taking back to Bangkok tomorrow.
'Death Railway' - In 1943 thousands of Allied Prisoners of War (PoW) and Asian labourers worked on the Death Railway under the imperial Japanese army in order to construct part of the 415 km long Burma-Thailand railway. Most of these men were Australians, Dutch and British and they had been working steadily southwards from Thanbyuzayat (Burma) to link with other PoW on the Thai side of the railway. This railway was intended to move men and supplies to the Burmese front where the Japanese were fighting the British. Japanese army engineers selected the route which traversed deep valleys and hills. All the heavy work was done manually either by hand or by elephant as earth moving equipment was not available. The railway line originally ran within 50 meters of the Three Pagodas Pass which marks nowadays the border to Burma. However after the war the entire railway was removed and sold as it was deemed unsafe and politically undesirable.
The prisoners lived in squalor with a near starvation diet. They were subjected to captor brutality and thus thousands perished. The men worked from dawn until after dark and often had to trudge many kilometres through the jungle to return to base camp where Allied doctors tended the injured and diseased by many died. After the war the dead were collectively reburied in the War Cemeteries and will remain forever witness to a brutal and tragic ordeal.
Don Rak War Cemetary - This War Cemetery is also known as the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. It is located opposite Kanchanaburi's Railway Station on Saengchootoe Road. It contains the remains of 6,982 Australian, Dutch and British war prisoners who lost their lives during the construction of the Death Railway.
JEATH War Museum - We weren't allowed to take photos here. It was built to resemble a bamboo hut that the POW lived in. There were a ton of old photos.
JEATH is an acronym for the primary nations which participated in local action. These nations are: Japan, England, Australia, Thailand and Holland. The museum inside Wat Chai Chumphon has been constructed largely in the form of an Allied Prisoner of
War camp which is managed by a Thai monk. The thatched detention hut with cramped, elevated bamboo bunks contains photographic, pictorial and physical memorabilia dating from the Second World War
WWII Museum by the bridge - We were allowed to take photos here, so you will see them below.
The private sector Museum that collects lots of World War II Stories, such as war instruments, photographs, uniforms, etc. It is located on the bank of Kwai River nearby the Bridge on the River Kwai. Inside the building is also an Art Gallery on 2nd and 3rd floor. The paintings on the second floor relate ancient battles between the Thais and Burmese, while third-floor murals tell Thai history and provide portraits of prime ministers and other important political figures. This private museum also features Khmer-style woodcarvings, a pair of elaborate Burmese Buddhas, and excellent paintings of Chinese deities.
Thai Burmese Railway Centre - There was a big tour group going in here when we arrived, and we got passed entrance tickets when we waited in line... turns out we didn't have to pay to go here haha. I snapped one photo at this centre until I got told
"No photos Mam." This museum was the most imformative, and very interesting. We really enjoyed this one.
The TBRC is an interactive museum dedicated to the history of the Thailand-Burma Railway. The Death Railway runs once 415 km from Ban Pong (Thailand) to Thanbuyuzayat (Burma).
After the museums we drove 1 hr along the highway to Erawan Falls. We had a blast here. I will describe each picture, rather then write everything here.
These famous 7-tiered waterfalls are located in the Erawan National Park which is 65 km from Kanchanaburi on Highway 3199. The falls are situated amongst rough jungle and are truly one of the most beautiful falls in Asia.
Later in the evening we headed to the night market. Its pretty cool, you can find almost anything there. Its really cheap, a good place to find a bargain. We just had a snack though as we are still trying not to buy anything
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