On Saturday morning I rallied early with an eleven-hour time
change making it easy to do. Six in the morning is 5 in the evening back home.
I figured if I was going to ride the death railway and see the bridge over
River Kwai I’d better get going.
A taxi to Tiburon Station, a 100 Bhat ticket, and I was on
way on the outdated 3rd class train with hard wood seat. The 248
mile five hour ride would take me to the terminus at Nom Tok passing over the
famed bridge over River Kwai. I thought going the whole distance out and back
would be kind of long for a day and debated just getting off at the bridge and
taking a bus back to Bangkok.
The Burma Railway was built during WW2 under Japanese
Occupation to strategically move supplies. In the end tens of thousands of men
died under brutal work conditions thus the name Death Railway.
The ride to Kwai bridge takes around 2 ½ hours. A group of
lady boys sat on two facing benches to my left. It was Saturday and many Thai’s
were getting out of the city for the weekend. One of the lady boys looked like
a girl at first. Complete with see thru top and bra. A couple of the guys looked
fairly normal aside of on one wearing pants with text stitched to a back pocket
saying “Easy Now”. While one lady boy powdered his face, another, who was very
effeminate, kept checking himself with a small mirror about every 5 or 10
minutes. They were very nice and friendly without being too friendly if you
know what I mean. I didn’t have a problem with them. Their peculiarities were
mildly entertaining, however, when one started flirted with the other buy
trying to stick his finger through another’s pants in region of the anus I
thought that was really weird. Especially since the other guy didn’t seem to
mind. I might have preferred to move at that point but the train was packed.
The ride from Bangkok to Kwai bridge isn’t all that scenic.
I hadn’t really decided whether or not to go all the way to Nam Tok but that
decision was made for me when I failed realize I was at the Kwai bridge as the
train started leave. I was a little peeved at my absent mindedness but the
really interesting section of the death railway lays between the bridge and Nam
Tok.
A bunch of people had gotten off at the bridge. The lady
boys got off a little further at some resort looking place. I was really happy
I stayed on the train as it got quite scenic beyond the bridge. The most
impressive section was along a steep slope next to a river where the rails were
help up by trestles and scaffolding. Going out and back meant I got cross that
section twice.
The stop at Nam Tok was brief. The train ride back towards
Bangkok wasn’t crowded at all and in a couple of hours we arrived at the bridge
again. I got off figuring I’d shoot a few photos and find a bus back.
The Bridge over River Kwai was mostly blown up during the
war but it’s been nicely restored and is fully functioning. Trains still cross
a few times a day but tourists are allowed to walk on it between trains. The
trains stop before crossing to allow officials to clear the way. The east side
of the bridge is more or less tourist hell with the west side being nice and
quiet.
The trip back to Bangkok from that point was quite long.
First I took a motorcycle taxi to the bus station in Kanchanaburi. A motorcycle
taxi is just that. A guy with a motorcycle. You simply hop on back. The bus
station was a little confusing but easy enough. I hopped on a minivan bus to Mo
Chit which I assumed was the Bangkok Sky Train station which would be really
easy. Well, Mo Chit is an area of Bangkok. Not just a Sky Train Station. I
found this out when we arrived at a very busy dark bus station in a confusing
area not good for walking. I was told to get a taxi to the Sky Train Station.
It was then that I met a German guy who knew the area. He
said it was a 30-minute walk to the Sky Train and probably better to walk due
to traffic. However, it took a fair be longer due to Saturday night crowds
crawling through a busy market. The German needed to pick up a couple of things
at the market and suggested I continue on alone as there was no way I could get
lost. Being German I guessed his shopping would be very quick and efficient. I
knew it would be best to just stick with him.
His shopping spree took about 5 minutes, as I thought it
might, and we were back to picking our way through the crowds. Finally, we
arrived at the Sky Train. From there it was only about 10 minutes to Victory
Monument with another 10-minute walk to my accommodation. A long day but well
worth it. Of course the following morning I found out that I could have taken a
bus all the way from Kanchanaburi to a station right by Victory Monument. I
should have checked my options more carefully. Guess I was a little off my
game.
By time I got back to my accommodation I’d reached my limit
for the day. I was tired and beat. I simply showered and went to sleep. The
following day I’d be headed to Burma.
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