The Bridge That Was in That Movie
Trip Start
Aug 23, 1996
1
264
453
Trip End
Ongoing
Kanchanaburi,
Thailand
Sunday, May 7, 2006
We jumped on, and we were moving
We got caught in a traffic jam.
We started to move again
As we got closer to the Kok, we got caught in another jam, and did not move for a 1/2 hour.
We arrived at the bus station at 17:35, it would have been quicker to take the train !!! We grabbed a taxi, and got it to drop us off at the nearest Skytrain station.
Now, I have failed to mention that we had to pick up our passports from the Cambodian Embassy between 17:00 and 18:00.
The Skytrain started, and then it was time to change. We jumped straight onto another, and arrived at our station at 17:50.
We jumped off and ran, and ran, and in through the gate at 1i:01. Now, if this was an Indian or Bangladeshi Embassy, it would have been closed, but the guy smiled, gave us our passports, and wished us a pleasant trip !!!
We grabbed another cab, and went to the Southern bus station, where we found our bus which would take us to Kanchanaburi
After finding a hotel, we were told we would have to check out tomorrow as the hotel was full. In the morning we did this, found another, had breakfast and went sight seeing.
There are a few attractions here, the most famous being The Death Railway, which was turned into a movie, The Bridge On The River Kwai. We walked over the bridge. Loads of both Western and Japanese tourists. As we were coming back, a train started to cross it. It is quite amazing really, as 3/4's of the bridge is original. Built by the Allied prisoners of WW2. But seriously, my history, well the one from the movie, only showed us Allies as building it, well, over 90000 Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Laos, Vietnamese and Burmese died. Only 10000 Allied prisoners perished, so we were quite lucky. After crossing back over the bridge, we went to look at some old engines that use to be used by the Japs. There was also one that could also be used off rails as it looked more like a truck.
We walked into town and came across a war cemetery. Now, I thought my history was pretty good, but fuck me, there were loads of Dutchies buried here as well. I really think they need to re-make this movie and show that there were one or two Dutchies doing their part !!! Also, I was quite amazed at how many of them were Jewish. I always thought that the majority of the Dutch Jews were caught and sent to the gas chamber, ah, my history really needs some brushing up !!! As I walked around, just like the WW1 battlefields of Europe, it made me think how lucky we are today that there is no conscription so that neither Uncle Tony or Uncle John could send me to Iraq at the bequest of Uncle George !!! It was a very sombre affair, and I took it whilst being roasted. If today was hot, I think it would horrifying to do what these guys had to do. We walked out and went into town to the JEATH (Japan, English, Australia, Thai, Holland) Museum. A Monk had built a memorial for what had happened. He had modelled it on the living quarters of the prisoners, complete with guards house. Inside, were paintings and maps dating back to WW2 and there were also old paper clippings of soldiers who had survived. There were quite a few on Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, who was a famous surgeon who survived three years here. What he achieved with the tools he had and what he used to improvise for the tools he did not have is amazing. If you don't know about him, do a search and you will read about a man who saved loads of Allied soldiers lives. As we walked out, there was a huge Wat, so we wandered around it. It was quite nice, and as we walked, the heavens opened up and it was a great way to end the day.
But before I go any further, just a quick note on the Thai-Burma railway. Apparently, in the early 19pp's, the British did a survey and decided that the terrain was to rough to build a link between the two countries, then the Japanese did the same in 1939 and thought the same. It was only during WW2 that they needed supply routes between Burma nad the rest of South East Asia, that the decision was taken to build the line. The engineers were at first quoted 5 years, but it was completed in around 20 months.
We were meant to get up early and get back to the bridge, but we decided to sleep in. There is always tomorrow !!! But once we were up, we power walked into town and jumped onto a bus. We were now on our way to Hellfire Pass. This is more of the Thai-Burma Railway. This pass is up to 25 metres deep. It was hand cut as there were no tools. We moved onto different parts with names like, Hammer and Tap Cutting, Embankment, Three-Tier Bridge, Hintok Cutting, Hintok Station, Pack of Cards Bridge and Compressor Cutting. It was quite horrifying once again. The loss of 100000 men, just for a railway. There were old sleepers still in the ground, and bits of metal where the old bridges used to be. As I walked, all I could think of was a song, brought out in 1984, by an Aussie group called Redgum, I was only 19. And two lines kept coming into my head
And the ANZAC legend never mentioned mud and blood and tears
And the stories that my Father told me never seemed quite real
Kind of summed it up, considering what these guys had to go through to build this railway. Words cannot do this place justice, so after following the path past the end, and into an overgrown section, we thought it would be a good time to turn around. On the return trip back, once up at Hellfire Pass, we noticed a set of rails, sitting on some sleepers. Apparently, the Australian Army, found these in Thailand, and they are meant to have come from the railway, so they have just been re-laid this year as a memorial to all those that worked on this project. One other thing that astounded me was that the Australian POW's wer moved onto the railway to begin work on April the 25th, 1942. Not a good way to celebrate ANZAC DAY.
Up at the museum, we read why Japan entered the war and how horrid they treated their POW's. If you do not work well, you will be beaten. After being beaten, you cannot work, so you are beaten again, and again, and again !!! Then, in the last section, it explained that after the war, the guards who were working on the project got the harsher sentences, whilst the engineers who designed it and wanted this built quickly, were given a tap on the wrist. Apparently, when someone dies who has worked on this line, they pull out an old engine and use it. The Japanese believe that as the line was built so quickly, it should be an achievement of mankind, but should it, considering the amount of human life that was lost. I do have Japanese friends, and this is now a different time, just like Germany.
As we had been so slack in the morning, we went down to see the sunset at the bridge. It was ok, but the clouds came in and it rained. So now, we will have to get up in the morning tomorrow and actually do it this time !!!
Getting up was hard, and after the 25 minute walk down the road, we found that there was already another couple on the bridge. They quickly moved away, and we had it all to ourselves. It was nice and quiet and we were able to take it in much better than the previous two occasions we had been here. It was definitely worth getting up for.
With this done, we had now completed our visit. Yeah, we missed Erawan waterfalls, but we can always do that another time. So now it is back to Bangkok, and start another part of our trip
