Archive for March, 2007

Mar
28

The Old Bridge Over River Kwai..

Posted by: | Comments (2)

I didn’t realise that there was another bridge over River Kwai still in existence. The information was only just given to me by our tour guide when we all had got back onto the tour bus.

I thought, “What a pleasant surprise!” and FYI, this River Kwai Bridge however, was much older and is still in use today!

We were also told that we would be driven to a train station and wait for the train to arrive. This train would take us all the way over the Bridge over River Kwai.Wow!! Great experience I’d say :-)

The journey to the train station took about 30-40 mins but the weather was becoming unbearable. It was too hot and dry for my liking and the air conditioning in the bus wasn’t sufficient to cool any of us. It was bad!

Anyhow, we got to the Thakilen train station and waited for the train. Thailand trains are never on schedule so we had no choice but to wait in the heat of the dry sun! Bad experience but I was pretty sure that it was all soon going to be worth it!

I took some pictures whilst we were waiting for the train to arrive. These photos were taken within the vicinity of the train station…

The train station:

Thakilen Train Station

The Old Train Wooden Planks..

Old Train Wooden Planks

A Village House In Thakilen

Village House In Thakilen

I was instantly relieved when heared the sound of the train. I was beginning to think that it would never come :-)

Here is the video of the train arriving at Thakilen train station...A God send!!! :)

The train journey experience was amazing as the train was quite antique in my mind. It was old and rickity but despite all that, it was great fun. :)

During the journey, we passed next to an old hospital that was specially made in a cave. All those injured during the war was treated here. I took a video of the cave and I hope that you can see it in the video. Otherwise, try and replay it again till you finally see it :)

The train crossed the old Bridge of River Kwai.I could not snap any photos or videos this time as everyone on the train was snapping away so due to ‘safety reasons’ I had decided to sit and enjoyed the view. Hope I didn’t let you down :)

Mar
28

Trip To The Bridge Over River Kwai

Posted by: | Comments (0)

The trip from the war cemetary didn’t take that long to get to River Kwai and we got there just in time for lunch. I remember the day real well. It was a hot and dry afternoon and all I wanted for the day was to drink shed loads of super icy cold water. The heat was too overwhelming…

I have always wanted to come see the bridge over River Kwai so I had no choice but to subconsciously ‘delete’ the thought of being burned under the tropical sun for a little while. :)

There’s a small River Kwai train station which is not too far to the infamous bridge. The rail tracks are still in use but the tourists and locals use it and walk over it. I mean, what if there was an oncoming train!! That’d be dangerous!

(I believe the exclusive Eastern & Oriental Express train passes through here also..)

and here is the River Kwai Bridge train station sign…

River Kwai Bridge Sign

I immediately got weak in the knees when I found out that you could actually walk on the bridge over the River Kwai. There wasn’t a foot path per se, but you walk through the centre of the rail tracks leading to the other end of the bridge

I thought that was crazy. It was definitely a health and safety hazard. The train still passes through this route. I mean what if the train comes, what would I do? Walk to the precipice of the bridge and witness the sheer drop to River Kwai? Oh No No….

Look at this…

Walking On The Bridge Over River Kwai

It may look harmless in this picture but I tell ya, I was a bit petrified! :)

Ok despite the fear I actually did walk over the bridge. It would be a great shame otherwise :) Yes, I know I moan a lot :)

and here’s the view of River Kwai from the bridge…

The River Kwai, Thailand

and here is the floating ‘homes’ or ‘restaurant’ (Not sure)

Floating Homes On River Kwai

I walked to the middle of the bridge when it finally dawned on me that this was a bit too much. I started feeling quesy so I walked back to safety….and no I didn’t walk to the other end of the bridge. Hell no :)

FYI, the bridge was originally built in wood but as time passed, the Thai government replaced it with steel structure. Nonetheless, it is still a beautiful bridge.

The Bridge Over River Kwai

Categories : River Kwai, Thailand
Comments (0)

River Kwai have always been a trip worth looking forward to. It is so historical and beautiful that you just have to go.

I left the hotel early in the morning to join the group tour and we left immediately for River Kwai. Our first stop was the Kanchanaburi War Cemetary which is 129 kilometres away in the North West of Bangkok.

Upon arrival, I entered the war museum which is next to the cemetary. It was a small museum but it provided all the information you need in relations to the war and graphic stories on what the prisoners had to endure. Some of the details that I read and the pictures that I saw were just a bit too overwhelming and I felt really saddened by the whole experience. Sad because the pain and the dread that these prisoners of war had to endure when building the rail network for the Japanese. I had to exit early. It was too sombre and too much to take in.

I then walked across the road to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetary. More than 5,000 Commonwealth and 1,800 Dutch casualties are buried or commemorated in the cemetery.

The prisoners that died here were very young. On average, they were all less than 25 years old. Many were 18-19. It was too sad. My tears were falling. Reading the many tombstone inscriptions here made me sad. I felt so sorry for these young men who lost their lives too early. They didnt deserve it.

Kanchanaburi War Cemetary, River Kwai

War Cemetary In River Kwai

Categories : River Kwai, Thailand
Comments (0)

We ended our Ayutthaya day trip with a ride on a big boat back to Bangkok. We had our lunch on the boat and as the journey took a couple of hours, I had decided to laze underneath the sun by the front of the boat and capture this video… It was the best way to spend quality time in Thailand :)

Categories : Ayutthaya, Bangkok, Thailand
Comments (0)
Mar
28

Ayutthaya Old City Ruins, Thailand

Posted by: | Comments (0)

Ayutthaya was an amazing experience. It was different and unique. I had never been to an old city ruins before so this was indeed a fabulous visit.

I did the wander about of the whole place and went inside one of the old buildings. I didnt spend too much time in it though because it stank like mad. I was probably in there for less than 5 seconds. It was too acrid. A bit overpowering to be honest :-) (Its in that little small entry that you see on the first pic below)

Here are some of the pictures that I took during my walk…

Ayutthaya Old City Ruins

Ayutthaya Old City

Ayutthaya Old City

Ayutthaya Old City

and here is moi with the old city ruins in the background :)

Moi In Ayutthaya

You can hear a bit of the Ayutthaya history from our tour guide in the video below. I didn’t record it all but hopely it will give you a brief idea… :)

Categories : Ayutthaya, Thailand
Comments (0)

We continued our tour towards the palace residences which were open for tourists to venture into. I didn’t think that we were allowed to snap any photos so yeah – no matter how tempting it was to break that law, I didn’t think I had the guts. The last thing you wanted to get into trouble is with the palace police. :)

Anyhow, the visit was really nice. I had the chance to see how the kings of Thailand lived centuries ago. So yeah, it was a bit of an eye-opener.

Here is the video that I took by the lake in the Summer Palace. Enjoy..

Categories : Ayutthaya, Thailand
Comments (0)

Today was another exciting day for me as I was preparing for another great tour to the infamous Ayutthaya Old City. But before we headed to Ayutthaya, we stopped by at the Summer Palace for the Kings of Thailand or more aptly named – Bang Pa In.

During the journey, I had befriended this really lovely American lady from New York who travelled to Thailand with her son. We got on so well that we had completely lost track of time by chatting away – making the 40 odd miles journey to the Summer Palace a total breeze :-)

Anyway, the tour company paid our entry tickets and we immediately hired a golf buggy to travel around the Palace. It was a hot day and we couldnt be asked walking around the palace areas. It was also easier to travel in a buggy and super cheap as well :-)

Here we were enjoying the views when we had to put the buggy to a complete stop. I saw this really big lizard relaxing away under the sun and thought it was a perfect moment to record a video. The lizard was so big. I couldnt believe that an animal like this one was allowed to remain and roam freely within the grounds of the palace! I mean, what if there were little toddlers around…

Well, I just had to keep my comments to myself. Who knows, it could be the King’s pet lizard. :-)

Now lets watch the lizard shall we?…

Categories : Ayutthaya, Thailand
Comments (0)