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[ explore.dream.discover ]

your life is your message to the world. make sure it's inspiring.

Have you ever, stumbled upon a place so serene, magical and leaves a lasting impression in your travels? Yes I know, all the places you have been to are serene, magical and leaves a lasting impression;but I am talking about a lasting impression of a different kind. The kind that makes you feel safe, protected, happy and content. For me, Kanchanaburi is one such place.

I was planning to go to Kanchanaburi one weekend but I had a small argument with someone, so I decided to stay back in Bangkok to sulk. As the day progressed, I realized how stupid it can be to sulk when I can leave it behind and go exploring. Well, it didn’t take me long to pack, so I was out from the hotel in the next 10 minutes. Naturally I missed the morning train, so I had to scramble to make it for the last train departing at 2pm to Kanchanaburi. If I miss that, I can only go again the following weekend.

Getting to Kanchanaburi is well, a little bit complicated. You see, most trains in Thailand depart and arrives in the huge Hua Lampong station which you can access by tuk tuk, cab or the MRT which is directly connected. The train to Kanchanaburi, however, departs from the Thonburi station. So where is Thonburi?

I don’t know, nor did most of the tuk tuk or cab drivers.

I took the BTS to Thon Buri station, thinking that the Thon Buri Railway station should be nearby. Turned out that the station is about 1 hour away by cab! The driver told me he will try his best to make it in 45 minutes. The time was 1.20pm.

We zoomed, raced, zig zagged and sped to glory through the ever chaotic Bangkok’s Saturday traffic. I kept looking at the time on the dashboard. At one point, I saw a signboard written ‘ Thonburi ‘ and felt relieved, only to note that the station is 5 minutes away, but we won’t get there on time because of the massive traffic jam ahead. The time was 1.50pm.

The cab driver did something unthinkable. He dashed out of his car in the middle of the traffic, shouted at one of the motorbike riders to get me at any cost to the railway station. I paid the cab fare, thanked him profusely and jumped on the motorbike.

The ride was only 5 minutes, but it was unforgettable. He sneaked and snaked his way through the narrowest opening in the road to get to the front of the traffic jam, and made a sharp turn to his right where I saw what appears to be a market, and beyond that, a tiny railway station and signboard proclaiming ‘ Thonburi ‘.

I jumped off, paid the rider 50 baht ( he only asked for 30 ), and RAN with all my might to the ticketing counter where the staff handed me a ticket to Kanchanaburi. I ran towards the train and jumped on, just as the doors were closing and the train started moving. The time was exactly 2pm.

The train looked old with wooden seats, and not the type of 3^rd class seats I was used to in my Thailand train travels. I was struck on how different this train is. Turned out, this is the train that will be passing the Death Railway in Kanchanaburi! I chose my window seat, still reeling from the adventure, and settled in for my exciting trip ahead.

We arrived at Kanchanaburi station at about 530pm, and after dropping off half of the train occupants, we moved forward. We chugged along the River Kwai Bridge, where hundreds of locals and tourists were already waiting to snap some picture of the infamous train of the River Kwai. For some reason, it didn’t strike me to get off at the Kanchanaburi station. I figured there will be another station close, where I can disembark and perhaps find a place to stay the night and go exploring the next day.

It turned out that there wasn’t any other stations close by. The closest was the last station, Tha Klien, and there isn’t any accommodation close. Sensing something amiss, I walked along the corridor and found someone who was wearing the train uniform, and asked them if the train will turn back to Kanchanaburi. He said yes. It will turn back the next day!

I was horrified. I told him I missed the station and that I need to get back to Kanchanaburi. He was really nice, because he immediately radioed someone, stopped the train in the middle of nowhere and asked me to get off and cross the track and get on into another train coming from the opposite direction, going back to Kanchanaburi. The train coming from the opposite direction stopped as well, and started moving again when I was safely seated.

Once again we stopped in the Kanchaburi station, where I got off this time. I walked into the small little town, found a guesthouse ( Tara Guesthouse ), checked in and bought a tour from them for the next day, going to the Erawan Waterfalls, Hellfire Pass, the museum and a ride back into town on the Death Railway.

We started our tour the next morning at 8am. Our first stop was the 8 tier Erawan Waterfalls, where I only managed to go up to the 3^rd tier. Big, menacing fishes occupied the water, waiting to pounce on anyone who invades their territory. But invade we did, while trying to evade the fishes! The falls wee lovely with beautiful pristine turquoise waters and serene surroundings.

We spent about 1.5 hours there and had lunch at one of the stalls in the National Park compound, before heading to Hellfire Pass and the POW Museum, maintained by the Australian Government. This place is made famous for the building of the Thailand-Burma Railway line over River Kwai during World War II, in 1942. More than 200,000 Allied Prisoners of War (POWs), were made to work in the inhumane conditions by the Japanese, and about 100,000 of them died of starvation, disease, horrific working conditions and sickness.
It was a poignant moment for everyone, when we walked into the museum and trekked down to the path leading to the place called Hellfire Pass. It was rumored that the name struck because the prisoners were forced to work at night, to speed the building of the tracks, under the glow of fire. The scene was eerily depicted and earned its nickname – Hellfire Pass.

The place was so calm, serene and so eerily quiet that it was entirely possible to imagine what took place in this area circa 1942 ; it was as though the spirits of all the departed soldiers were watching us as we descended the stairs to the remnants of the tracks. On the left and right of the rock openings there were little white crosses with flowers and teddy bears. It brought tears to our eyes.

After that, we watched a short video and viewed the exhibition before leaving Hellfire Pass to Thamkra Sae Railway station to sample our dose of riding on the infamous Death Railway. While waiting for the train to arrive, we visited Krasae Cave, which was situated next to the tracks. A small Buddhist temple situated inside the cave, and functioned as a hospital during WWII. I said a prayer for the departed, hung about on the tracks before scrambling on to the platform when we heard the whistle of the approaching train.

We boarded the train and ran to the windows to get a better view of the River Kwai. The scenery was so breathtaking; views of the countryside, forests and river. We glided effortlessly and got off the Kanchanaburi station, where our tour ended. I popped into the War Museum while I was at it, and we completed everything by 5pm.

I went back to Tara’s and packed my things – and boarded a minivan to Bangkok the same evening. I would never forget a lost world such as Kanchanaburi – it would by far be the loveliest place I have ever visited in Thailand.

This piece also appeared in Tripzilla Magazine Singapore/Malaysia edition

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2 comments

janarthani10November 12, 2015 at 5:36 PM
Amazing pictures and bouyant writing.
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(behind the scene)

When not busy collecting stamps on my passport or climbing a mountain, I spend my time dreaming up places to visit, training for an upcoming climb, writing for my not so complete blog and trying to inspire others to follow their travel dreams.

Drop by to say hello or catch up for a chat for your next travel story to be written! Contact me at kunarajandran@gmail.com.

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