Kanchanaburi and Bridge over the River Kwai

Today we got up quite early to catch the train to Kanchanaburi. In fact, we got up so early that the Starbucks next to our hotel was still closed and so we had to go to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and some early morning sugar instead. Of course we wanted to have a Thai breakfast but it just wouldn't travel as nicely on the train.

The train was quite old but one of the cleanest trains I have ever traveled on. In fact there were several people who continued to clean the train throughout the ride. Also, the bathroom was regularly sprinkled with lemon juice to keep it smelling nice. Thailand is definitely one of the cleaner countries we have visited. Unlike Kathmandu, the dead animals on the road disappear overnight.

Kanchanaburi is three hours northwest of Bangkok and sits right along the Mae Nam Khwae River or River Kwai where prisoners of war built the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai during WWII. Over 100,000 allied POWs died during the construction of the bridge which was built in order for the Japanese to get supplies overland through Burma. It was a somber place, but had a rather strange assortment of memorabilia in the museum. For example, there was an entire room full of an assortment of wood chips. I am guessing from every sort of tree you find in Thailand but I can't be sure since I still don't read Thai as well as I speak it. Tomorrow we are planning to take the train through HellFire Pass and to visit the seven-tiered Erwan Falls where we are hoping to take a dip in a refreshing cascade of water. However, we aren't getting our expectations too high because if there is one thing we have learned since starting our travels it is to keep the expectations low and wait to be pleasantly surprised.