Thailand - Kanchanaburi

Just northwest of Bangkok is Kanchanaburi and the infamous Bridge Over the River Kwai.

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There is a lot of history in Kanchanaburi. In WWII the Japanese were in Thailand and they wanted a land route from Thailand to Burma. At the time, they had to take boats south from Bangkok around Malaysia and Singapore and through the Straits of Malacca, which was slow and very dangerous. Even now there are pirates that raid ships in the Straits of Malacca. Unfortunately, the train route was through difficult mountains. But they had plenty of free manpower to make it work. Prisoners of war from all over southeast Asia were moved to work on the Thailand - Burma rail line, which is now known as the Death Railway. The conditions were horrible and the Japanese had no compassion for the prisoners. The Samurai code says it is more honorable to take your own life than to be taken prisoner in war. So the prisoners were expendable and were worked, starved, and/or beaten to death. On the other hand, the Japanese have a great reverence for the dead and the prisoners were allowed to hold funerals and make proper burials and headstones for their comrades. Almost all of the bodies were recovered after the war and relocated to the war memorial cemetery in Kanchanaburi. All of the US soldiers were sent back to the states to be reburied.

For each railroad tie in the the there was one Allied POW death. Thus the Death Railway name.

We took a trip on the train through the beautiful scenery. I was hanging out the side door to get some pics of the train. When I stepped back inside, I caught the heel of my flip-flop and it slipped off my foot and fell out the door. Lost and gone forever.

We stayed at a fantastic guest house called Apple's Guesthouse (by Apple and Noi). They also have a cooking school on the premises so the restaurant was fantastic with a great view of the river.

We booked one of the many package tours which included the Erawan National Park and the seven waterfalls.

It also included a ride on an elephant and a raft down the river. The ride on the elephant was a little less than I expected. We sat on the chairs on their backs and lumbered around the jungle for about a half hour or so. It was interesting to feel their skin and see how they used their trunks.

In the center of town we saw some people advertising it and they had tiger cub and lion cub tethered to a table. We got some pics and decided to go to the park the next day. At the entrance we saw some bigger tigers and some tiny leopard cubs.

It was no San Diego Zoo to say the least. We bought 6 bowls of small bananas that we could feed the animals out the safari bus window. We didn't try to feed the lions or tigers but when we got to the giraffe area we didn't have a choice. As soon as we stopped, giraffes started sticking their heads in the windows. They knew what we had and where to find them. While one was distracting Celia by eating a banana out of her hand, two others came in through the opposite side and started emptying the bowls on the floor of the bus. Within the first 5 minutes we were down to 1 bowl. I tried to save it for the less-greedy animals so I hid it where their long necks couldn't reach. Then I stood up and turned around and BAM! I got head-butted by a giraffe. I saw stars for a second but I was okay and he obviously didn't feel a thing.

The park wasn't busy that day but we went to the elephant show. By the time it started there was a Thai couple and their baby and two of us. A couple of times, they needed some volunteers. Uh, sure, we'll volunteer. I put my head in an elephant's mouth and laid down to get an "elephant massage." We laid down side by side with about 1 foot or so in between us, the huge elephant stepped next to you with one front leg and lifted the other and patted your stomach with the other. Now, these animals are so powerful and HEAVY that if he would have stepped down all of my entrails would have been forced out of my mouth and behind. But the elephants are surprisingly gentle and have great control when placing their feet.

I had a great time in Kanchanaburi, but it was time to move on! Back to the Beaches!!