The Thai-Burma Death Railway
Kanchanaburi Thailand, also known as Thai-Burma Death Railway was constructed by the Prisoners of War (POWs) during the World War II. More than 100,000 POWs died during the construction of this death railway due to the torturing working conditions and many died from falling. It was also believed that many POWs were intentionally buried by the Japanese soldiers to act as the physical “pillars” of the railway. Now, kanchanaburi has become a famous destination where tourists flocked to see the infamous Death Railway, cemeteries and museum.
The cemeteries, which house the tombs of thousands of POWs who died during the construction, are nothing eerie. These tombs rest in a beautiful green garden with colorful flowers and managed by gardeners. Nonetheless, these tombs remind everyone of the pain and sufferings of these prisoners.
You can try walking along the Death Railway bridge too (provided that the train is not passing by!). Nothing fantastic but it gave a great sense of emotion to be able to walk along the railway which was built back in World War I and hold such memorable history to it. You can also enjoy the scenic view of River Kwai below the bridge. I am not too sure of how far you can walk before you hit a dead-end but I made a U-turn after about 20 minutes. The railway seems endlessly long.
Kanchanaburi Thailand, also known as Thai-Burma Death Railway was constructed by the Prisoners of War (POWs) during the World War II. More than 100,000 POWs died during the construction of this death railway due to the torturing working conditions and many died from falling. It was also believed that many POWs were intentionally buried by the Japanese soldiers to act as the physical “pillars” of the railway. Now, kanchanaburi has become a famous destination where tourists flocked to see the infamous Death Railway, cemeteries and museum.
The cemeteries, which house the tombs of thousands of POWs who died during the construction, are nothing eerie. These tombs rest in a beautiful green garden with colorful flowers and managed by gardeners. Nonetheless, these tombs remind everyone of the pain and sufferings of these prisoners.
You can try walking along the Death Railway bridge too (provided that the train is not passing by!). Nothing fantastic but it gave a great sense of emotion to be able to walk along the railway which was built back in World War I and hold such memorable history to it. You can also enjoy the scenic view of River Kwai below the bridge. I am not too sure of how far you can walk before you hit a dead-end but I made a U-turn after about 20 minutes. The railway seems endlessly long.
There is a nice restaurant along River Kwai which serves nice Thai food. They even offered free bananas where you can pluck from the pole and consume as many as you want (you wont need to order much food then). There are also lunch cruises for tourists which provide a ride in the river and lunch on-board. The cruises look rather expensive to me though but me (probably looking like a local) was not offered by any touts for the rides.
Another place not to miss is the Kanchanaburi National Park which is an hour drive away from the Death Railway. There is a “small” waterfall in there and you can find more locals than tourists in this place. Entrance ticket is at 30bahts for local and about 200bahts for tourists. I sneaked in as a local safely though with my few thai words and slang ( You should learn few important words as you can get much cheaper rates to many places in Thailand!) Most importantly, I discovered that Thai people are less suspicious (than Singaporean?) and they usually let you through as “locals” if you can speak a couple of Thai words (and of course you got to look like them!).
There are also other places in Kanchanaburi if you love tigers or monkeys. Otherwise, you can finish the place in a day’s time and drive back to Bangkok which is about 3-4 hours drive away.
No comments:
Post a Comment