Thailand - Day Two

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Visit to Kanchanaburi Province

We knew that with only three days in Thailand, we would have to pick and choose among the icons that the country presents, missing some things that should not have been missed, and perhaps doing some things that might not have been as rewarding. We also knew that we were confident enough to use public transport within Bangkok, but would use a commercial tour company for any travel outside the city, whcih meant that we might not get the absolutely best arrangements, but those that made it attractive to a wide audience and were easy to run with a larger group. Some venues did not open every day, which might also limit our choices. Finally, we had wanted to have the major activities already booked before we left Australia, and we would not necessarily know whether other tour operator's offerings were better suited to our interest or better value.

So today we set off relatively early today to go out to Kanchanaburi Province to visit Bridge on the River Kwai and the Tiger Temple with World Travel Services. The logistics of the trip were relatively simple. In the morning, the company bus fleet operates as feeders from the various hotels, and come together at the company's depot so people can join the bus for their specific destination. In the evening, our small bus dropped off its own complement of passengers at their respective hotels. The trip out in the morning took about two hours to Kanchanaburi, with a further half hour onto the Tiger Temple. The guide provided a commentary in the morning on what we were seeing. When we returned, it took nearly four hours with the afternoon traffic, which meant that we spent about half the day on the bus. As we were returning essentially the same way as we had gone out in the morning, there was no commentary. Carrying a book to read other than our trusty Lonely Planet guide would have been useful.

Museum and War Cemetery

Our first stop was at a relatively recently opened exhibition next to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. While it graced itself with the title of a museum, it was focussed on telling the story of the Thai-Burma railroad using story-boards and some dioramas. The small number of original artifacts on display were adjuncts to the displays, rather than the focus.

The theme, layout and historical presentation were well done, and appeared to me to be relatively well balanced. For example, it presented the railroad within the strategic context of the Japanese war aims, but refrained from debating these. It did broach some of the more sensitive aspects of Japanese militarism where these were relevant to how the railroad was built and maintained. The layout led one through the exhibition in a relatively ordered sequence, but without stopping the viewer from repeating or skipping a section.

I found several of the displays brought a lump to my throat. Some of the more bluntly statistical could be just as moving. At the one dealing with the comparative mortality statistics of the various nations POWs and locally sourced indigenous labour, I realised just how little I understood about how non-European nationals had been exploited during the war with Japan.

It was a short walk then to the entrance of the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. Several small groups, couples and a few individuals were walking among the gravestones. A couple of people were sitting quietly in the alcoves off the entrance gate. A few people were in tears, others were obviously close.

There are broad areas of the cemetery for British, Dutch and Australian graves, and generally this pattern has been followed. But there are some burials among the soldiers of the other nations that break up this pattern.

Here and there among the Australian graves were those of men who had assumed other names on enlistment. What were they hiding? Or who they were hoping to protect by doing this? Did their mates know, or were they oblivious to their friends' real names? It seemed to be an Australian habit to do this, as it was not readily evident that soldiers from the other nations had engaged in this practice.

The Railway Bridge

Visiting the bridge was a far more matter-of-fact affair than I had imagined. To get to there we took the bus to the north end of the town, and were dropped off where we were later to have lunch. While it is a working railway bridge, it has been adapted for the substantial amount of foot traffic with visitors crossing to the opposite bank. Centre planking extends the whole length of the bridge, and there are stairs/ladders at the far end down into the park and local markets. These were selling souvenirs and other trinkets. A handler had a female elephant and her off-spring tethered nearby, and was selling packets of bamboo stalk for tourists to feed to the pair.

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Photos

Bridge on the River Kwai
Local construction.

Kanchanaburi - Local Boats
We had just seen a boat like these towing an enormous barge.