Bangkok to Wang Krachae in Kanchanaburi Province

The journey from Bangkok to our hotel on the River Kwai took us about 8 hours even though we only drove about 125 kilometers (75 miles).  This was because we made a couple of extended stops along the way and made the final leg of our trip by long-tail boat up the River Kwai.  Our first stop was at the Damnoen Saduak floating market.  From there, we stopped at the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre Museum in Kanchanaburi City which told the story of the construction of the railway using prisoners of war and conscripted labor from several Asian countries during World War II.  Finally, our bus dropped us off at Phutakien Pier where we boarded long-tail boats for a twenty minute ride up-stream to our hotel in the jungle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnoen_Saduak_Floating_Market

Produce For Sale

Buy A Take-Away Lunch Off A Boat

Big Engines on the Long-Tail Boats

We stopped at a shopping mall for lunch.  This was a great experience.  Inside the mall was a food court that had a wide variety of food (and cheap).  We lucked out and got a terrific duck and noodle plate for 45 Bhat ($1.50).  It was delicious.  After lunch, we roamed the mall.  Dwayne bought a collared, short sleeve, cotton shirt on sale for 100 Bhat ($3.25)  The weather was so hot and humid that knit polo shirts were soaked through with sweat in no time.  Thank goodness, the bus was air-conditioned.  The Tesco-Lotus stores are as close as the Thai's come to being like a Walmart.

Duck - Served Hot and Now

All This For 45 Bhat - $1.50  (Soup Included)

Tesco - Lotus

The stop at the Bridge Over the River Kwai and visit to the museum on the building of the railway was good exercise for the mind and body.  We walked the entire length of the bridge most of which was original and constructed by POWs.  Two spans were destroyed by air strikes during the war and replaced once the war was over.  The original spans have curved arches for support.  The replacement spans are trapezoids.  The museum's displays were in both English and Thai.  A brief video provided a good overview of the Japanese need for the railroad through Thailand and Burma.  Photos taken during the war gave one an appreciation for the harsh conditions under which the railroad was built.  More than 60,000 Allied Forces prisoners of war and 200,000 Asian laborers were impressed into building the railway.  Of these, 100,000 men died during its construction.  Among the interesting facts we learned was that the book The Bridge Over the River Kwai was a fictional novel and the movie was not historically accurate.  The bridge was not blown up by the POWs as in the book or movie.  It was attacked by air numerous times and repaired until eventually, two of the bridge spans were finally hit by bombs and the spans dropped into the river.  After that, the Japanese used ferries to transport men and material across the river.  This greatly delayed movement on the railway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridge_on_the_River_Kwai

Bridge Over the River Kwai

A few miles further up the highway from Kanchanaburi City the bus turned onto a narrow, winding road which took us down to Phutakien Pier on the River Kwai where we boarded long-tail boats for a 20 minute run up-stream to our hotel.  It was another fun ride in these amazingly fast and loud boats.

https://www.riverkwairesotel.net/