Kanchanaburi ........The 1st Teacher's overland convoy to Thailand
A trip organised by 4x4adventurers.com. It was a request by a teacher, who is a good friend of 4x4adventurers.com. This was the 1st Teacher's overland convoy to Thailand from Malaysia.
We travelled to the town of Surat Thani, Bangkok, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Kanchanaburi. We stayed at Felix River Kwai Resort in Kanchanaburi - One of the most famous addresses in Kanchanaburi known for luxury, tranquility and elegance, a five star hotel which is just beside the River Kwai.
The Province boasts some of the country’s most beautiful waterfalls and caves in its notional parks, as well as the historic bride over the River Kwai, and exciting activities like rafting trips are also available. Thus it is an ideal spot to explore the Thai countryside without travelling too far from Bangkok. Kanchanaburi has lots of character, and is a great plac3 to stay in raft house on the river. There are many places worth visiting around town, but top of most people’s list are the bridge and the war museums that chronicle the building of the famous “Death Railway” across the River Kwai and on into Burma during World War II. The hills and valleys around are scattered with intriguing temples and historical sites, and the lushly-wooded landscapes are ideal for cycling, trekking, raft trips or elephant rides.
Attraction :-
The Bridge on the River Khwae (the Death Railway Bridge)
Thanks to several films and books, the Bridge on the River Khwae has become notoriously famous and attracted both Thais and foreigners to the site. If an ordinary black iron bridge can tell a story, you can be sure it's a dramatic one.
The bridge spans across Maenam Khwae Yai which is a branch of Maenam Mae Klong. During the Japanese occupation of Thailand in World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army brought the iron bridge from Java. It was then resembled by Allied Prisoners of War (POW) under Japanese supervision. The bridge was part of a strategic railway route to Myanmar in which the Japanese aimed to secure supplies with which to conquer other western Asian countries. It was 415 kilometers long (about 303 kilometers in Thailand and about 112 kilometers in Burma) and passed through the Three Pagoda Pass in Sangkhlaburi District, the northern most part of Kanchanaburi province.
Construction started on September 16, 1942 at Nong Pladuk, and was completed on 25 December 1943. It is estimated that over 16,000 POWs from England, Australia, Holland and America died while building the bridge which was a target of bombing raids in 1945. In addition to this, approximate 90,000 laborers from Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia died during its construction.
Rebuilt after WWII, the bridge is still in use today with the curved portions of the bridge being that of the original. An attraction of note is the annual light and sound event at the bridge to commemorate the Allied attack in 1945.
The railway currently ends at Ban Tha Sao or Namtok Station, a distance of some 77 km. from Kanchanaburi Station. A special train running from Bangkok to Namtok Station is available on weekends and national holidays. For further details, please contact the State Railway of Thailand, Tel. 0 1690, 0 2220 4334 or www.railway.co.th.
Death Railway
The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma.
Japanese forces, supplies and equipment transported to Burma by sea, through the Strait of Malacca, were vulnerable to attack by Allied submarines, and an alternative means of transport was needed. A railway connection between Thailand and Burma had been surveyed at the beginning of the 20th century by the British government of Burma, but the route — through hilly jungle terrain divided by many rivers, was considered too difficult to complete.
The Japanese aimed at completing the railway in 14 months and work began in October 1942. The line, 424 kilometres long, was completed by December 1943.
The railway was constructed using an absolute minimum of mechanical equipment and a maximum of human effort, i.e. prisoners of war and forced labour.
During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar).
The graves of those who died during the construction and maintenance of the Burma-Siam railway (except for the Americans, whose remains were repatriated) were transferred from camp burial grounds and isolated sites along the railway into three cemeteries at Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar.
"JEATH" refers to the six countries involved in the building of the railway - Japan, England, America, Australia, Thailand and Holland - and this museum located to the south of the town centre nest to Wat Chaichumphon gives a vivid picture of the terrile conditions in which the Allied prisoners-of-war lived. The museum building is a copy of the long thatched bamboo huts that were used to house the prinsoners during the war. On display are painting, photographs and newspaper articles from the period, detailing the cruel torture methods used by the Japanese.
This museum, located just south of the bridge, contains war memorabilia in the form of bomb shells photos and sketches from the period, statues of important war leaders, and over 100 skeletons of Asian lobourers found in a mass grave. In a separate building there are display of Buddha images, Thai weapnry from the Ayutthaya period and portraits of the kongs of Thailand.
Perhaps even more moving than the bride or museums are the lines of identical gravestones in the cemetery located just near the train station. The remains of almost 7,000 Allied prisoners are buried here; many of the memorial slabs are unidentified, but several give details of the slodiers, showing that the great majority were very young indeed.
This pass is located approximately 240 kilometers from the city or 22 kilometers from Sangkhla Buri. This rugged Thai-Burmese border was once a strategic military route for both the Thai and Burmese; however, it is currently a small border market. The three miniature pagodas are memorials to the traditional invasion route favored by Burmese soldiers during the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767).
Visitors wishing to visit Myanmar are advised to obtain a pass, which allows visitors to visit Burmese settlements from Sangkhla Buri Immigration Office. A Fee of US$10 is applied. The border opens between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., depending on the political situation.
Tiger Temple
http://www.tigertemple.org/Eng/index.php
Although this temple (real name Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno) is barely mentioned in most guidebooks, it is fast becoming one of the major attractions of Kanchanaburi.
Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua - Tiger Temple
Kanchanaburi-Sai Yok Road
Open daily: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Entry Fee: Adults - 200 Th.Baht
