"How to visit Kanchanaburi & the Bridge on the ,,," Topic
4 Posts
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Tango01 | 19 Jan 2018 2:51 p.m. PST |
,,,River Kwai "During World War 2, the Japanese used Allied prisoners of war to build a railway from Thailand to Burma so they could supply their army without the dangers of sending supplies by sea. Many prisoners died under appalling conditions and the line became known as the 'Death Railway'. David Lean's famous 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai centres around one of the line's main engineering feats, the bridge across the Kwae Yai river just north of Kanchanaburi. Although the film was shot in Sri Lanka, the Bridge on the River Kwai really exists, and still carries regular local passenger trains from Bangkok as far as Nam Tok. For anyone interested in 20th century history, a visit to Kanchanaburi and the infamous Death Railway is a must. This page explains how to travel by train from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi for just 100 baht ($2) and visit the Bridge on the River Kwai, the Wampo Viaduct and Hellfire Pass (Konyu Cutting). You can see the Bridge on the River Kwai as a day trip from Bangkok using the morning train out and afternoon train back, but a 2 or 3 day trip is better as there's more to see than just the Bridge. For example, take the morning train from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi on day 1, stay a night or two in Kanchanaburi, then take the afternoon train back on day 2 or 3, and visit Hellfire Pass (less well known than the Bridge, but not be missed) and ride the Death Railway over the dramatic Wampo Viaduct as far as its current terminus at Nam Tok…." Main page link Amicalement Armand |
Narratio | 19 Jan 2018 7:52 p.m. PST |
Been there, done that about 30 years back. Tourist trap heck. The real bridge was demolished a long time back, new one constructed in a different spot but, if you can avoid the purveyors of everything gimcrack and touristy, you can find some interesting stuff scattered around. |
Legion 4 | 20 Jan 2018 8:39 a.m. PST |
Much the ' of '57 film was as much fiction as history. It did bring the bridge and again some of the war crimes that were committed to light. In building it, some the suffering the POWs underwent, etc. Which was very "sanitized" in many cases in the film. And the war had only ended 12 years before. It was all still very "fresh" in a lot of people's minds. |
Tango01 | 20 Jan 2018 11:43 a.m. PST |
So… this IS NOT the real bridge…?… they say that only some parts have been fixed…. Amicalement Armand |
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