Kanchanaburi, is situated 80km NW Bangkok and was reached by train taking about 3 hours. We think it was a 2nd class train as seats were still padded and reasonably comfortable. Very full though and throughout the trip we had hawkers going up and down the aisles selling beer, soft drink and all types of different food at inflated prices naturally. Fascinating to watch the daily goings on of the Thai people. Arrived at our destination to the inevitable taxi/tuk tuk drivers but we knew we had only a short walk to our hotel and set off, only to find when we got there that (no have) again!!! But this time it was the wrong hotel. Apparently the owner of our hotel has several in and around this area (quite an entrepreneur) and once the problem was sorted a tuk tuk (one which we waved away earlier) arrived to pick us up and take us to the correct “hotel” (which they paid for!). A common mistake we understand and one that could easily be rectified by the strategic placement of a couple of signs. Our room is one of several constructed on a floating pontoon and sitting on the River Kwai (pronounced square without the “s”). Quite pleasant watching the water flow by and the longtail boats zoom up and down, while having a beer on our little balcony. Just like home.
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| Our home for 3 nights on the River Kwai |
Once settled in we headed for the Thai-Burma Railway Centre Museum just up the road. A very moving and informative experience covering the construction of the railway, treatment of the POW’S and what happened after construction. No photos were allowed unfortunately. Across the road is the Allied War Cemetery where over 6,500 POW’s are buried from Britain, Australia and Netherlands. It’s beautifully maintained and due to the fact that Anzac Day was only a few weeks ago there were still Aussie flags, red poppies and wreaths around the cemetery. Very touching.
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| Allied War Cemetery |
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| Hellfire Pass |
Next day we were up early catching the train to Nam Tok, 50km NW now the end of the upgraded?? original railway track. We crossed the legendary River Kwai bridge and had a very enjoyable 2hr roller coaster thrill ride before disembarking and catching a local bus the final 30km to Hellfire Pass. Just as we arrived at the Museum the rain that had been threatening all morning decided to fall. Oh well, just made the experience more realistic. The museum is quite informative, but it’s the walk along the remains of the railway track that really touch you and it is quite gut wrenching to try and imagine what the PoW’s went through seeing the terrain they had to toil in. And what makes it even more saddening is that the scenery is beautiful with the hills in the distance dividing Thailand from Myanmar (Burma). The greatest irony however is that so many men died from starvation in one of the most fertile valleys on the planet.
The original bridge over river Kwai still exists after the bombing, but the central section has been replaced. We travelled over this on the way to Hellfire Pass by train and walked over it the next day. The original bridge was all curved sections.
Two days later after our stay in Kanchanaburi it was back to Bangkok by bus and taxi to collect our passports which we left at the Chinese Embassy for our 30 day visa to China which hopefully can be extended to 60 days otherwise another diversion maybe necessary. If you have ever heard horrible stories about Bangkok taxi drivers believe me they are all true. From Bangkok it was another overnight train to Nong Kai in the NE province of Thailand and 2 tuk tuks across the border to Vientiane in Laos where we have solved our shortened Thai visa dilemma. Our first choice to solve the problem was thwarted when we couldn’t get confirmation from the Thai immigration office that the border crossing to Myanmar (Burma) at Mae Sot would be open for a quick visa run on the way up to Chiang Mai (it and the others have been closed on and off due to constant border clashes and refugee problems). Getting into and out of Laos is easy with a 30 day VOA .
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| An adopted local who lived in our roof we named Kwai |
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| The unwanted neighbour that tried to eat our Kwai |
Without prebooking accommodation in Vientiane we winged it and found a pleasant guesthouse on the Mekong riverfront and made inquiries about a 2 day river trip up the Mekong from Luang Prabang to Huay Xia (approx 400km) which joins the northern Thai border and allows us to re-enter Thailand to complete our intended itinerary and then on into China via the Mekong again. We booked the trip at 1700 on 12th May and had to board the boat at 0645 on the 14th which meant securing tickets to Luang Prabang a 12hr bus trip for Friday 13th. We tried pre-booking tickets on the 0800 VIP bus with our guesthouse manager but found his “bus no have, must catch different bus” reply very deceptive, so decided to wing it and just turn up at 0630. After much haggling with several tuk tuk drivers the next morning we arrived at the bus station and promptly bought 2 tickets for the so called full 0800 VIP bus. Another attempted con job.
2 fantastic days cruising up the Mekong River and a night at an ecolodge we arrived at Huay Xai. After several anxious phone calls initiated by concerns raised by a fellow river passenger we found out that the Mekong ferry from Thailand to China we intend taking could be cancelled due to a lack of numbers so if we cross the border into Thailand tomorrow as intended we may get stuck and have to go all the way back to Bangkok and fly into China. No way are we doing that!!
Another alternative (number 3) and current favourite is to take 2 local buses (best travelled with blindfolds) up through the mountains to a Laos/China border crossing which we hope is still open. Northern Thailand will have to wait now till we return to Thailand in September.
We have posted this blog without a definite destination tomorrow (so much for pre-planning) and may not have internet for a while so watch this space and all will be revealed eventually. If this blog is a bit messy it's because we rushed it.
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| Our 40m long river boat on the mighty Mekong which we shared with 4 other couples, 2 guides and 4 crew |
2 fantastic days cruising up the Mekong River and a night at an ecolodge we arrived at Huay Xai. After several anxious phone calls initiated by concerns raised by a fellow river passenger we found out that the Mekong ferry from Thailand to China we intend taking could be cancelled due to a lack of numbers so if we cross the border into Thailand tomorrow as intended we may get stuck and have to go all the way back to Bangkok and fly into China. No way are we doing that!!
Another alternative (number 3) and current favourite is to take 2 local buses (best travelled with blindfolds) up through the mountains to a Laos/China border crossing which we hope is still open. Northern Thailand will have to wait now till we return to Thailand in September.
We have posted this blog without a definite destination tomorrow (so much for pre-planning) and may not have internet for a while so watch this space and all will be revealed eventually. If this blog is a bit messy it's because we rushed it.
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