Kicking back in Kanchanaburi

Posted by: extragoya | June 5, 2010

Kicking back in Kanchanaburi

After my eventful stay in Bangkok, I was ready for a little bit of peace of quiet. Nearby the city is a town called Kanchanaburi, well known as the site of the famous Bridge Over River Kwai, an integral part of the Thailand-Burma railway built by the Japanese during WW2. The railway’s more sinister moniker is the Death Railway, as it was built using POWs and Asian labourers under the most deplorable conditions imaginable. Estimates are that over a hundred thousand people died from their horrendous treatment. Today, most people have probably heard of the bridge from the famous Hollywood movie.

So off I dashed out of Bangkok on a short bus ride to Kanchanaburi. When I arrived in town, I quickly chartered a cyclo (like a tuk-tuk, but pedal powered) as I didn’t relish the prospect of a 3km walk with my big bag in the stifling heat. During the ride I marveled at the size of the driver’s calves as he powered his way through the streets. By the time we arrived at my hostel, I was incredibly sweaty but my driver had barely a drop! Amazed, I think I was still shaking my head the next day. It made me wonder if Thais were equally dumbfounded at those Westerners who profusely sweat.

In any event, I paid up and checked out the guesthouse. It was amazing. I had a bungalow on the river Kwai, it had a huge garden and a great restaurant and bar. Incredibly it was the same price as the cesspool I stayed at in Bangkok (3 dollars!!!), but exceptionally better in every single way imaginable. That’s another thing I noticed about SE Asia – prices don’t usually correspond to quality.

In fact, I’ve found distinctly different places almost side-by-side that sell rooms at the same price. One will have dimly lit rooms, stained sheets, cracked bathroom tiles, a toilet minus its seat, and a dribbling excuse for a shower. On the other hand, its neighbour will have amazingly quaint and clean rooms, free and clean towels, DVD lounges, satellite TV, wifi, and hot water showers. Not to mention wonderful staff and owners. It pays to shop around for sure.

After checking in I decided to visit the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, a museum dedicated to documenting and exhibiting information related to the railway and its toll on life. Outside the museum, a sign promoted the place by offering free coffee with admission. I wondered whether the place was having trouble garnering visitors.

The place itself was a small but incredibly well-put-together museum that easily provoked emotion. Thousands of Allied POWs wasted away in the wretched jungle. More horribly, an even greater amount of Asian labourers also died, almost always forced or deceived into working on the railway. Sadder still, the Japanese kept no records on their Asian labourers, meaning that the Asians who died do not have grave markers or even exact statistics on their death toll. They just lay in thousands of graves along the railway, lost to human knowledge forever.

While perusing the museum, I never ran into another visitor, strengthening my initial misgivings on museum attendance. Directly across from the museum lay the largest cemetery of POWs who died building the Death Railway. Generously donated and maintained by the Thai government, the cemetery consists of mainly the remains of British, Australian and New Zealand nationals. It was immaculately kept up. But once more, I was alone. I don’t know if my experiences of these empty war memorials were an exception.Maybe I just happened to come on an exceptionally slow day? I hope so. But I know many travelers going to or having been to Kanchanaburi, indifferent to the cemetery and the idea of paying respect to the dead Allied soldiers.

Well after a good afternoon of war on the brain, I was looking forward to a night out. Striking out of my guesthouse onto the main (but small) bar strip I immediately set out for a string of establishments blaring music. And at every single one of them groups of Thai girls would cry out “Hello! Want to drink?”. Looking inside, the clientele consisted of mainly old white dudes and their Thai “girlfriends”. I went home early that night.

Probably for the better, as tomorrow promised an early morning start for a visit to the Erawan waterfalls. These are a popular series of waterfalls often frequented by Thai tourists. I grabbed a local bus, reveling in the money saved. I didn’t realize that a local bus also included a 1.5 to 2 hour ride.

Once there, I realized how popular the place really was. It was brimming with Thai families. Actually it was a Thai tourist trap! Occasionally I’d come across some foreigners. Most of them were good about respecting the somewhat conservative Thai conventions; as in cover up shoulders, legs, and midriffs if you are a women. In fact most Thai men wear shirts while swimming. These considerate tourists were in marked contrast to the Russian tourists I saw, all of whom obliviously pranced around in thong bikinis and speedos.

On the way back I asked to be dropped off at the famous Bridge Over River Kwai. The target of numerous Allied bombing raids during the war, the concrete supports of the bridge still exhibit shrapnel damage. It was rebuilt several times, and today is an actual functioning bridge for Thailand’s railway system.

The bridge itself is a fairly normal looking structure. Sometimes people tell me this as a complaint. But honestly, it was a war-time bridge spanning the river Kwai. Do people expect the Golden Gate? For me, it was wonderful. It brought out the trembling history dork in me. I felt enormously privileged to stand on a structure so heavy with historical significance and impact.

Today the bridge itself is a focal point of attention regarding the Death Railway. However, in reality the greatest hardship and suffering took place further in the jungle, away from towns like Kanchanaburi. There in the no-man’s land between Thailand and Myanmar lie the remains of long forgotten bridges and railway, weighted down, perhaps, with the scale of the suffering used to erect them.

Pictures! Sorry guys, no thong bikini pics.