Day 3 Kanchanaburi

Day 3 dawned bright and sunny and we packed up and checked out. Goodbye for now Khaosan Palace and Bangkok. The minibus turned up on time and we did think they may have a problem getting all the cases in but it was fine. There were 2 others already on board and we collected one more and then headed off.

The journey to Kanchanaburi was uneventful but very pretty as we left the city and headed out into the countryside.

We arrived 2 hours later at the Sabai Kan hotel. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and the rooms are lovely, spacious and more plush than the previous hotel.

After a quick beer we headed towards the Bridge over The River Kwai, 900 metres down the road so easy walking distance. We had a quick look, checked train times and decided to head for lunch and then continue looking later.

Lunch consisted of duck (we thought it would be a breast or a leg but it was half a duck each for those who were having it) egg fried rice (which came with a runny fried egg) and Nigel opted for deep fried little fish (similar to white bait).

Suitably satisfied Nigel, Daryl and Kerith headed towards the bridge for a closer look. It is an amazing feeling to walk along the tracks thinking of the lives that were lost in the building of it. Not everyone has the same humbling thoughts as a Japanese lady walked past us and said "I think the British like this place as so many of them died"!!!

After walking the length of the bridge we headed towards the railway station to wait for the train which would take us to Tham Krasae Bridge where it was thought was the second bridge. We were told the journey would take approx 40 minutes and the train was due at 16:26. However the train did not turn up until 17:00 and the journey actually took 1 hour 45 mins.

As we approached Tham Krasae Bridge station we got up to leave. Daryl had spoken to a guard on the train and he immediately jumped up and said no no not this station the next one. At this point I would just like to say this station seemed busy and very bright.

The reason he did not want us to leave was we rode over the Wang Po Viaduct. I have uploaded a photo from the web as by the time we arrived there it was pitch black and we could see very little. Again although we couldn't see much I was very humbled to think of the POWs who were forced to work here and the many who never returned home.

We exited the train at the next stop but thought it very strange that it was very quiet and very dark. There were restaurants, shops etc but all were firmly closed and padlocked. There were a few dogs who came to see us off and some very bewildered Thai families who seemed to be enjoying their evening meals. We received some very strange looks. "Let's walk a little further along as there must be somewhere we can get a taxi". This we had been told at the information desk as the train we were on was the last of the day. No such luck. So there we were in the middle of nowhere, with no Thai language being spoken and the hope of getting a taxi very remote. However we approached a young Thai couple who were sitting in their shop (I think it was a shop but who knows) and asked if they spoke English. "A little" was the reply. "Can we get a taxi anywhere?" we asked to which we received a giggle and no. Oh dear we thought. Anyway after a conversation between them the lady made a call for us and 5 minutes later a "family car" which could take 4 people arrived. This was one occasion which we felt did not warrant bartering and we were very grateful to pile into the very posh air conditioned car driven by a lovely chap by the name of Jhun and head back to Kanchanaburi - a 40 minute journey.

No harm was done, no one was injured and we eventually got back safe and sound and could laugh about it. Tham Krasae Bridge is not actually a bridge and certainly not the second Bridge over the River Kwai which apparently was about 600 metres further along the river than the first one we saw!!

Oh well we had a story to tell the others when we got back. As this was so late we headed straight out for dinner across the road from the hotel. We decided to have a non-Thai evening and most opted for pizza or pasta. It was all delicious and once again we ordered far too much. There was also music which was nice. This turned out to be karaoke and once again Nigel too to the mike. We, of course sang along to every song that was played, incidentally nearly all by the group as only Nigel got up and sang even though the bar was busy. The main man who we think may have also been the bar owner did ask what we were doing seven days a week as I think we livened up the place considerably.

Another fantastic day and evening had by all and very different to Bangkok but easily as enjoyable.

Nigel says;

Just a bit of history reading I've done; the reason we all got so confused about the bridges is most of us were taking our history from David Lean's 1957 film "Bridge over the River Kwai" starring Alec Guinness. The only problem with that is it's only "based on" factual events and some of the interpretations are pretty ropey. The original book got the river wrong entirely - the two bridges were built over the Mae Klong (the clever Thai people renamed it to River Kwae in 1960 when they realised tourists were turning up to look for it). Also the film was made in Sri Lanka, so the bridge in the film bears little resemblance to the real thing.

Goodnight all :-)