We took the famous train from Thonburi Station in Bangkok, the journey is slow and picturesque, costs around $3pp and meanders through rolling green scenery until arriving at Kanchanaburi Station.
We stayed at a guesthouse in the main tourist area, they didn't have family rooms so I shared a floating room with the boys while the girls shared a room in the main building as Shoshi isn't a fan of river dwelling! Shoshi didn't really like the place, I thought it was decent value for money (for $14 per room per night, my expectations are pretty low!) although the beds were terrible, the view from the room made up for it...
We spent 5 nights here and it as probably the right amount of time, we got to do everything we wanted but it didn't feel too busy.
After arriving in late afternoon, we explored the town, headed to River Kwai Bridge and hit the sack early after a long day.
Day 2 - River Kwai Bridge, War Museum and War Cemetery.
This was a real highlight for me, as it let us relive some amazing WW2 history as captured in one of the greatest war films ever made - The Bridge on the River Kwai.. The Bridge is a tourist magnet but definitely something special and then visiting the Cemetery is a sombre reminder of how many British, Australian, Dutch and other soldiers died at the hands of the Japanese as POWs when building the Bangkok to Burma railway, also know as Death Railway. In total around 15,000 soldiers died and 7,000 of them are buried at the Kanchanaburi Cemetery.
In the evening, we found the Night Market where all the locals go to eat. We ended up coming here every night, great food, crazy prices, usually cost us around $6 for dinner for all of us. Very authentic, not touristy at all, grab some tasty, fresh local food then all back to bed, usually all by 9.30pm.
Day 3 - Erewan National Park
The Waterfalls and Park are stunning, we trekked all the way to the 7th Level and then worked our way back down. It was about 4 hours hiking through jungle-type trails, stopping at the various waterfalls for cooling dips.
Highlight of the trek was Shoshi and Guy being attacked by a monkey, that swooped down from the trees, grabbed the packet of tissues that Shoshi was holding, pushed Guy to the ground and then swung back up to the tree to eat his catch, only to discover it was a pack of tissues. Not sure who was in a bigger stats of shock - Shoshi and Guy after the attack or the poor monkey who got a mouthful of Kleenex.
Day 4 - Hellfire Pass
Our 3rd day was another early start and bus journey out to Hellfire Pass, a particularly notorious part of the Death Railway. It was here that POWs were forced to work in appalling conditions and many hundreds died in a 12 week period in 1943 called 'Speedo', when the Japanese forced them to work 24/7 in order to complete the section of the railway.
This is a beautifully preserved memorial (set up over the last 20 years by an Australian POW survivor and now run by a joint Australian/ Thai organization) to those who lost their lives and seeing the rock through which the soldiers were forced to excavate with their bare hands and basic tools, it was impossible not to be shocked by the level of hardship and brutality that the soldiers would have faced.The memorial and actual Pass form part of a 3km hike, which had some amazing views, all of which followed the route of the original rail-line. It was a strange juxtaposition between such natural beauty and the horrors of what went on there just 75 years ago.
We planned to return from Hellfire Pass on the special train which goes over the River Kwai Bridge into Kanchanaburi. We managed to hitch-hike to Nam Tok Station thanks to a kind lorry driver who squeezed us all in for the 20 min drive, then we enjoyed the 2 hour train journey back.Amazing views from the train, alongside the River, slowly crossing the Wampo Viaduct, the train slows to a crawl as everyone takes photos of the view and hundreds of locals stand alongside the train to watch us pass. The train finally arrived at River Kwai Station, crossing the famous bridge. As train journeys go, this is a absolute classic, combining the history and stunning scenery for a great 2 hours.
Sunday started with some schoolwork for the kids, which went unchallenged due to the promise of a day at the local water park to follow.The water park was only a 15 min walk from our guesthouse, just across the River. It was pretty quiet, despite it being the weekend, so no queuing for the slides, the kids (and Shoshi) were up and down all day long. Mili also took the opportunity to get in some swimming training! Around $20 entrance for all of us for the whole day, pretty good value for money and a relaxing day that the kids certainly needed after 3 days of trekking and war history.
Our last evening was spent at the Night Market, eating our usual assortment of Pad Thai, spicy chicken and fruit-shakes.
We're now back off to Bangkok to meet our friend the orthodontist and then fly down to Khao Sok on Monday afternoon to spend a few days in what we have been told is the most beautiful place in Thailand. Here's hoping...
