Bridge over the River Kwai, plus the Erewan waterfalls and Hellfire Pass

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We left the hotel in Bangkok in good time to get to Bangkok Noi train station. Traffic was pretty bad so he took a small diversion but we were still able to follow our route on our map. When we got taken to Bangkok Thonburi station we were a little surprised. It seems that whilst the tourist maps say "Noi" that's not actually the name of the station. We had about an hour to kill after paying 100 Baht (£2) each for our tickets so we chilled out and bought some snacks off the nearby market.

The train had only third class compartments. This may sound terrible but it wasn't too bad. Ok, so the seats occasionally fell to bits but they were not to difficult to reassemble! The view was nice most of the time but it was quite disturbing to see the extent of some of the recent flood damage. In all it took a little over 3 hours to reach Kanchanaburi. Once there we decided to walk to the area where the guest houses are which took a little longer than expected, mainly because we couldn't cross the road where we left the train station which left us with quite a diversion!

We had planned to call in at the Pong Phen Guesthouse first and we were more than happy when they had a room on the top floor of one of their buildings which we could have. We were never sure how long we would stay and we eneded up with three nights there. It was nice but the mynah birds in cages were a major problem at sunrise when their wolf whistles and squeals began!! The pool was great for washing away the long journey there but we never did get around to using it again.

After a peaceful night where we avoided the backpacker bars but feasted on delicious sea bass (miles from the sea!) we set off on the 2km walk up to the Bridge over the River Kwai. Apparently Hollywood got it wrong (again!!) and it should be pronounced to rhyme with square, not why! As we got closer the touristy tat got worse and more intense. At the bridge there were an awful lot of tourists - a bit of a nightmare really. As we walked across, most of them turned back at the half way point and we had the second half of the bridge more or less to ourselves.

Other than the film, we didn't really know much about the history and significance of the region. The nearby World War II museum had plenty of information for us about the part this area played in the War. It also had a lot of displays about Thailand and war in general through the ages. Some of it was interesting, some disturbing, and some simply gaudy. The Avatar-esque figures of Churchill, Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler and all were a bit grim but I guess all of them played their part in history.

Our next stop was back in the centre of town where we visited the Commonwealth War Graves to pay our respects to the fallen. Over the road was the Burma Thailand Railway Museum. In there we learned all about the horrors faced by allied prisoners of war in the region, but we were also shocked at the number of people from neighbouring occupied countries who were conscripted to work on the construction of the railway line but were then treated the same as the prisoners. It was horrific.

That evening we took a tuk-tuk down to the floating restaurants on the river we had read about. We were shocked at the poor service and the abject denial that they had served us the wrong food! Not recommended which is a shame as they should be wonderful. We couldn't get a tuk-tuk back either so we ended up walking half an hour or so back to the guest house. Some of the roads were probably not the best to walk alone but we survived!!

The next day we were up with the mynahs for an early breakfast and an excursion. An hour in a minibus and we had reached the Erewan Waterfalls park. Our guide took us some way into the park then left us to explore the rest of the falls. There are 7 in total and at the second one you had to register any plastic bottles you were taking so that they knew you hadn't left any behind. It's a scheme that seems to be working as we didn't see any litter. We didn't get much beyond the fifth waterfall as the lure of the water was too great. It was wonderful but the fish nibbling at our feet were a bit of a shock!! We had been warned to watch out for the monkeys too but we had no problems. We did see some of them down at the bottom but as we had no food, I don't think they were very interested in us.

After lunch we were on our way to Hellfire Pass. This railway cutting was one of the worst places for POWs to be working during the war. Many people died and atrocities were committed which defy belief. It was a solemn place and we walked silently along the 500m track to the cutting. It is possible to walk the whole 4km but it is difficult in places and we didn't have much time as we were on a tour.

Our next stop was a rickety bridge alongside the river. Near here a cave had been cut into the rocks which served as a temporary field hospital during the war for the POWs. Nowadays it is a sort of temple with a few statues of Buddha. It is a peaceful place and you don't like to think about what it was once like. After exploring the area a train arrived and we boarded for a 30 minute journey across the rickety wooden bridge and beyond. We then continued by minibus back to the Bridge over the River Kwai.

It was an excellent day out and, whilst it is possible to do it independently, it would be difficult and take along time so we recommend the touristy trip.

Onwards and Southwards now!

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Comments

[Budokan]

You've got great pictures
And great documentations of Kanchanaburi. I did a similar trip a couple of years back and as a war buff, your entry brought back nice memories of the trips. Greetings