Hello and welcome to this week’s post for the mrlukeniktravels blog. This week I am in Kanchanaburi, central Thailand. I have travelled a couple of hours north out of the capital Bangkok and into cleaner air. If you are unfamiliar with the town’s name, Kanchanaburi is the site of the famous railway bridge built on the Thai-Burma railway by Prisoners of War under Japanese occupation. It’s place in history was sealed by the 1957 film Bridge over the River Kwai, starring Sir Alec Guinness and William Holden. For me it is a good stop off travelling between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. As I write this post I sit on a veranda being cooled by fan, things could be worse!
This post is not a history lesson, but I thought I would include a few points. The bridge that stands today was built by the Japanese government as a peace initiative after the Second World War. The wooden bridge built by the POWs was bombed by the Allies multiple times during the conflict. The remaining damaged structure was already beginning to rot. The rest of the Thai-Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway remains today. It is still a functioning railway with several trains a day passing through, dispersing crowds of tourists. On each bank of the river now stand restaurants, hotels and museums- quite different to how it would have looked during wartime. The town has a large cemetery holding the remains of British, Commonwealth and Allied troops who died on the railway. It is sobering reminder of the toll construction took on its builders.
After seeing the railway and the cemetery, I headed out of the town for some hiking and swimming in waterfalls. I hired a motorbike from the town and headed out on the second day. Riding in the countryside is much less stressful! The Erawan Falls are spectacular in the rainy season as there is plenty of water going over them. The downside to that was mud everywhere. It was sometimes difficult to not slip over on the rocks and mud. I’m pretty used to negotiating both of these. It amazed me how something can be both slippery and sticky at the same time. A reminder of clay soils back home in the UK. I enjoyed hiking with a few fellow travellers from my hostel to share the experience. I don’t mind plenty of rain whilst I’m swimming!
It is only a short update this week as is my time in Kanchanaburi. Next week I shall be at the fullest extent of my travels north in Chiang Mai/Rai. A full-length post will be available next week! From now until then, there is my Twitter feed at @mrlukeniktravels. If you like photos, you can follow me on Instagram with the handle @mrlukeniktravels. For email newsletters of my posts on this blog, you can subscribe using the button below. From now until next time, as always, stay safe and travel on!