Blog on a River Kwai

Our final stop on DawnO’s 40th bday trip is a small town called Kanchanaburi. This is where the infamous bridge on the River Kwai is located. It was constructed by prisoners of war of the Japanese army. Once constructed, the bridge allowed Japan to expand its forces further west. Thousands of POWs and civilians died in in order to complete it.

I’m not certain but I don’t believe it is quite the bridge it used to be as this was made of metal. I believe the original was constructed out of wood. People are allowed to walk on it but trains still use it. There are platforms off to the side where people can stand out of harms way.

Near one end of the bridge is the WWII and Jeath Museum which only I visited. There was a sign at the entrance that claimed you hadn’t truly arrived in Kanchanaburi if you didn’t enter the museum… I guess DawnO is forever on the doorstep.

The museum was filled with old WWII relics and though it was pretty disorganized, it was worth a walk around. Where else would I find the following words of wisdom:

Kanchanaburi allowed us to check off another bucket list item. One of their forms of transportation is a scooter with a sidecar. Riding in a sidecar just happens to be on our list.

On our last day we took a day trip out to Erawan and hiked to a series of 7 waterfalls. Dawn convinced me to take my swimming trunks but I wasn’t sure I’d want to jump in the water. By the time we reached the final waterfall I suited up and took the plunge.

Thailand has been a lovely country to visit. We’ve enjoyed every day of our trip. Luckily the weather cooperated and we didn’t see too much rain at all. We are leaving here wanting to return some day and see more. I asked DawnO to give me a rating out of 40 and she gave me a solid 40 so I guess the surprise birthday holiday was a success.