It is hard to heard cats. Very hard. So today, we went our separate ways, and Mum, Dad and I took a day trip to Kanchanaburi province, 120km west, and roughly 3 hours drive from Bangkok. Given the distance, we hired a private van with a guide and driver.
In 1942, Kanchanaburi was under Japanese control, and it was during this time that forced civilian labourers and prisoners of war built the 415km Thailand-Burma Railway, also known as Death Railway. The railway supplied troops and weapons in the Burma campaign of World War II. Approximately 90,000 civilian labourers and 16,000 POWs (about 2800 Australian) died from disease, maltreatment or accidents while working on the railway. We visited the small JEATH (Japanese, English, Australian, American, Thai and Holland) museum which opened in 2003 to commemorate the dead. It is always upsetting reading about the atrocities that occurred during war. But necessary and important to remember. Most of the railway was dismantled shortly after the war.
We then set off on a teak boat down the Khwae Yai River, also known as the River Kwai, due to the frequent mispronunciation by the English. We walked over the Death Railway Bridge. Bombed by the Americans in Feb 1945 and repaired and operational a few months later. The repairs were done in a slightly different style to mark the event. We were lucky to have started the day early and avoided most crowds.
Erawan National Park is 550km2 in the Tenasserim Hills of Kanchanaburi and is famous for the seven-tiered Erawan Falls, named after the 3-headed white elephant of Hindu mythology. The seventh tier is said to resemble an elephant head. The total distance from start to the top tier is 1.5 km, and even though it was a slightly cooler temperature than previous days, we seemed to be sweating the most we have done during this trip. Probably due to the intense humidity and the altitude, the top tier was 996m up.
A dip in the ponds of the falls was necessary. It is mandatory to wear a life jacket in the ponds, so we hired those at the start of the walk. It was a bit of a shock, and you best believe I am feeling very proud of myself for swimming anyway, the ponds were full of carp! You know, the kind that people pay money to put their feet in tanks while they eat your skin. Except, some of these were quite large.
A bit of a hindrance to carry, they were actually very handy in this situation because I think I’d have forgotten how to swim while being eaten by these misfits. It did not hurt exactly, but it was an uncomfortable kind of feeling. The trick was to never stop moving. Or be eaten. After a while I did settle down and almost accepted it, but occasionally there were little gangs that would attack, particularly in the shallows, and focus on my feet. It was an experience for sure. The water was otherwise very cooling and calm.
We had lunch next to the Srinagarind Dam, named after Princess Srinagarindra, mother of Rama 8 and Rama 9. Thai kings. Building began in 1974 it was opened in 1980. The dam is 140m deep and is used for river regulation and hydroelectric power generation. It was massive.
The journey back to Bangkok was a long one. Making good time we reached the edge of the city around 6pm but it took us nearly 90 minutes to travel the 13km to our hotel. What an experience! Grateful for air conditioning and comfy van recliner seats.
Tonight’s choice of cuisine was Italian, where we met up with Tom and Luisa to hear about their day and enjoy pizza Singha beer. Tomorrow we become a group of seven again and we will attempt to heard all 7 cats in the same direction to enjoy our final days before T+L return to Germany.
A Small Adventure 