Kanchanaburi
Trip Start
Aug 21, 2007
1
10
14
Trip End
Oct 04, 2007
Kanchanaburi,
Thailand
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Yesterday we had a ferocious day's sightseeing. We started off with a hearty breakfast of minced frog curry (not actually as nice as it sounds) and savoury creme caramel.
We then visited the Thai-Burma Railway Centre, which was a very well-presented and interesting insight into the history of the railway and the POWs who lived and died here. We also visited the Allied War Cemetery next door.
We then decided to walk to the infamous Bridge. Thanks to the brilliant map in our Lonely Planet we didn't realise how far it actually was. We walked for about an hour in the hottest part of the day, and refreshed ourselves with a banana shake when we arrived.
The bridge was bombed by the allies, but has been rebuilt so that you can walk over a pretty scary and rickety structure, risking life and limb from the trains which pass every so often. We got halfway over and then chickened out and came back to safety.
Next to the bridge is what is misleading called the World War II Museum, which is actually a fascinating treasure trove of weird and wonderful stuff. It includes some lifesize models of POWs getting blown to bits on the bridge, the original wooden bridge, lots of motorbikes allegedly used by the Japanese during the war (although it would be surprising if they were riding around on British 1950s models), some giant waxwork historical figures that look like exhumed corpses (and Churchill bears an uncanny family resemblance to Stalin), lots of pictures of a Thai royal dynasty from the 17th century, a Buddhist shrine, lots of photos and weapons, over a hundred skeletons, and a wall containing portraits of all the Miss Thailands from 1932 to 1997.
We were quite tired after all this culture, and came back to the guest house to rest. We got our dinner from the night market, lots of noodles and wontons and a donut on a stick which had a piece of frankfurter inside.
Today we were up early to catch a bus to Hellfire Pass. It took about an hour and a half to get there. Once there we embarked on an 8 kilometre trek up the railway line and back. Despite dire warnings at the visitors centre about the uneven trail and danger of seismic activity, it was actually a very pleasant flat walk through bamboo forest and we didn't see another soul for the three hours that it took.
We came back to the guest house for a much needed shower and are now working on an appetite for dinner.
Leaving tomorrow in a southerly direction.
