Bridge Over River Kwai (Death Railway Trip)

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Bridge Over the River Kwai:
(Death Railway Trip)

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Thailand Tourism authority offers a great service of train tours. These are low cost trips that you can take that range from day trips to long weekends to various scenic parts of Thailand. Most of the trips begin and end in the Hua Laphong Rail Station, the main rail hub for passengers for the entire country. Pictures of this station are shown above. This station is clean and organized but beware, it is also VERY busy. As a side note: Thailand uses their rail and bus system as their major artery moving people and products throughout their borders.

The tour that I choose was a day trip that took me almost to the Thai border with Burma, ending in the Soiyak Water Falls but making stops in Phra Pathom Chedi, Bridge over the Rive Kwai, the "Death Railway", the Kanchanabury WWII Cemetery. I will describe each of these stops in detail below. The trip was a full day, starting at 7 am and not returning to Hua Laphong Station until after dark, around 7 pm. The train was un-air conditioned but was comfortable, at least while we were moving. The inside of the train car I was in is shown below:

Phra Pathom Chedi

Our first stop was at the temple called Phra Pathom Chedi , The Temple main feature was a huge pagoda (see the pictures below. The stop was just long enough to walk from the train station to the Temple without too much rush. To get to the temple we walk through a city market area where you can get anything from a quick snack to a glass of ice coffee.

Bridge over the River Kwai

The Bridge was made famous by a 1960's film of the same name. The film, however was in fact fiction based loosely on the events surrounding this bridge. I will not go into detail of the differences between the film and this bridge but will let that up to you. Briefly, the bridge is located in Thailand, not Burma but many people (mostly British soldiers) did give their lives to the Japanese building this bridge. This is why this railway is known as the "Death Railway" in Thailand.

The picture below is from a short movie (MP4) I took using my phone which you can view by clicking on the hyperlink. You can see from this video that construction of this railway would be dangerous under the best of conditions.

Download Movie

Kanchanaburi WWII Cemetery

The WWII Cemetery in Kanchanaburi is filled with the bodies of the people who gave their lives constructing the Kwai Bridge.

Soiyak Water Falls

The Soiyak Water Fall is the final stop of this trip and it is quite refreshing. The waterfall is augmented in areas with concrete and being an geologist is could tell immediately that it wasn't natural. The industrious Thai People have taken and natural water supply and made is a tourist stop. The surrounding area is a natural area and protected from development, shich is good. There are hiking trails leading to the water falls source; a small stream filled with small fish and is icy cold.

Also along the trail is a few caves to explore. The Thai People find these areas sacred, as evidenced by the presence of sacred images located in the caves.

The trail is quite interesting, having many native plants and animals to observe along the way.

At the very end of the Railway sits an historic train, once used by the Japanese during the construction of the railway. The plaque commemorating the train and the people who died in its construction gave the trip some meaning for me. You can read the plaque by clicking of the picture below.

We got back to Bangkok rather late, but the trip was worthwhile and I would recommend this trip to anyone interesting the historical Thailand that is everywhere.

For more information about the short trips available with the Thailand Transportation Ministry who is responsible for the Thai Rail System:

http://www.railway.co.th/English/Travel.asp