Triip to Thailand, Laos & Vietnam: Kanchanaburi, River Kwai

The following day was devoted to sightseeing and the River Kwai Festival. My first stop was the JEATH Museum at the lower edge of town. JEATH is an acronym for the primary nations which participated in local action. These nations are: Japan, England, Australia, Thailand and Holland. The museum inside Wat Chai Chumphon has been constructed largely in the form of an Allied Prisoner of War camp which is managed by a Thai monk. The thatched detention hut with cramped, elevated bamboo bunks contains photographic, pictorial and physical memorabilia dating from the Second World War . Some of them are becoming quite faded and hard to read but the place is very moving nonetheless.

A reconstructed guard tower outside one of the huts.

My next stop was the Railroad Museum near one of the cemetaries. Since I had taken many photos of the cemetaries on my last to trips I didn't take any this time. The Railroad Museum is a beautifully organized place focusing more on the mechanics of the railroad. The Japanese had special trucks which could travel on land or on railroad rails.

The town version of a tuk tuk. Some of them had covers.

My hotel street. Deserted in the daytime.

That evening I had an almost front row seat to the River Kwai Festival. Its held every year during the last week of November and the first week of December. Here the announcers begin the program in Thai and English. There was a huge orchestra to the right of them.

The program was in three parts: Before the War, The War and The War is Over. Here monks give blessings to villagers before the war.

Fireworks going off around a statue across the River.Moving stories of three families affected by the war, Japanese, British and Thai. In the section The War is Over there was a huge display of fireworks which were right over my head which was a wonderful experience.

If you are interested, the whole program is on YouTube in four sections.

Before the War:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmmAHJP1k_Q&feature=related

The War:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unSJnIOIUfI&feature=related

The War is Over (Fireworks)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmVXpX3W804&feature=related

The Finale (Music by the Orchestra)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuSTIZ5ycN8&feature=related

River Kwai Raft Floating and our Hotel

Walking down the hill to our hotel. The main dining room and kitchen are straight ahead.
The back of some of the guest rooms. Some of them had airconditioning but it wasn't really necessary the night we were there. There were also big fans in the rooms.

View from the river.

We took a speedboat out to the rafts.

We weren't allowed to wear shoes in the hotel and crossing the bamboo could be an "ouch".

The dining area out on the river. That is a bathroom in the corner for the use of tour groups who just come to the restaurant for lunch.

The main dining area.

The snack bar with nice cold sodas.

We took the speed boat out to the rafts for a run.

They tied several rafts together.

There sere several beautiful houses and hotels along our stretch of the river.

Ohhhhh. That feels good.

A classier boat outside an upscale hotel.

Here we go.

Our hotel from the river. Our rooms were on the far right. The cost of the tour for two days, all meals, elephant ride and overnight was 1200 baht. ($35) The same tour booked online from the U.S. was at least $100. We booked it locally the day before we went. I find this variation in price is true pretty much everywhere, and most especially in India. I didn't have to pay extra for a single room either.

Kanchanaburi, Bridge Over the River Kwai

Early the next morning it was time to leave for our overnight stay on the River Kwai and Kanchanaburi. The first stop was one of the Allied cemetaries in Kanchanaburi. Always a moving event. This one contains mostly British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers.

Most tour busses stop at what I call the "fake" museum next to the bridge, mostly for convenience and probably a kickback from admissions. It is a private museum and has the name Jeath in the title which tries to make you think it is the real Jeath which is actually much further downtown. It has a mixed bag of relics. The buildings themselves are actually better than the contents.

A museum visitor.

Old cyclos.

Dioramas of the prisoners who worked on the bridge.

You can easily view the bridge from the museum patio.

A confiscated American jeep used by the Japanese.

Then it was time to go to the Waterfall up the road for a swim.

A nice clump of bamboo.

An old train on the grounds.

You can see my son in law Michael airborne leaping into the water. Barbara is just ahead.

Snacks in town across the road.

And orchids for sale.

Then it was time for a ride on the "Death Train" You can see more photos of this and the pool and museum on last September's blogs.

Approaching the famous trestle.

We stayed overnight and had all our meals at a floating hotel on the river. I had expected the rooms to be rather grungy but they were actually quite ok and the food was fairly good.

The bridge between some of the floating buildings. Each one had a porch with chairs where you could sit and enjoy the river.

My bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet. You flushed the toilet from a big barrel of water provided.

And there was an extra dining area attached to the main buildings.