Bridge over the River Kwai

After our time in Bangkok, we were off to Kanchanaburi home of the famous river and the infamous bridge. Our main reasons for coming to Kanchanaburi was for both the history and the elephants. We decided to omit the beach resorts in southern Thailand as we weren't keen for full moon parties or a party atmosphere. Don't get me wrong I've nothing against the beaches on southern Thailand, in fact the beaches do look extraordinary and I would like to visit them, we just preferred to head to Kanchanaburi Provence.

The region features the famous river Kwai and we were lucky enough to stay on the river itself. The guesthouse had rooms floating on the river an are accessible by a pier. It was a cool place to relax, as speed boats raced past and occasionally somebody might go for a swim. I decided against it, the river is not exactly crystal clear. Best of all about the guesthouse it was only a short walk away to the bridge.

The bridge was originally constructed in world war 2 by 16,000 prisoners of war and over 90,000 Asian workers, a large amount being slaves. The bridge is a part of the death railway that goes through Thailand and Myanmar. The railway is named as such due to the shear number of people who dies trying to complete this railway for the empire of Japan, mostly the Asian workers. The original bridge was bombed by American Soldiers and what we see today is the reconstruction by the Japanese.

The bridge itself is traversable on foot as metal plates have been put across the length of the bridge. The railway track is also operational, with trains traveling on it just as they had done in WW2. The bridge offers spectacular views of the river and walking across it gives you a chill, thinking about how many lives had been lost in order to create this railway. The bridge was a sombre experience, but I am very glad we went there a I do enjoy learning about the history of the second world war. In the U.K. we tend to learn about the western fronts and do not particularly focus on the east and the pacific. The accompanying museums by the bridge are also a great way to learn about the history of this area. The common wealth war graves located about a mile away from the bridge also give you a notion of just how many people died in the creation of the bridge and railway

The next day lead us from a historic lesson into one of natures masterpieces. The Erawan national park is located just over an hour away from kanchanburi, and is accessible by the local buses. The park has 7 tiers of different waterfalls, each as magnificent as the last. The ascent to the top was well worth the effort required as you are rewarded with stunning views and even a swim in the natural pool. The waters are perfect from colour to temperature and a each tier there is the opportunity of swim by the respective waterfall.  You can even get a cheeky jump into them off of nearby rocks. The local wildlife are also something to watch out for in this park. The local monkeys hang about looking for any cast away food, best not to feed them though. The waterfalls are a great day out and being able to swim in a natural pool beneath a waterfall in Thailand is about as good as it gets.