Well I’m back in Bangkok, having taken the Death Railway here bright and early this morning. Fortunately there were no unforeseen circumstances. I’m not sure who coined the phrase “Death Railway”, but I figure Rupert Murdoch must have had a hand in it. It sounds like a headline from one of his tabloids.
Actually, the “Death Railway” runs over the “Bridge Over the River Kwai”, and was built under the direction of the Japanese during their occupation of Thailand during WWII. It was meant to provide Japan with an alternative supply route that would have allowed them to expand into India and Iran. The sad thing is that over 100,000 people died building the thing. Most of them were Indian, Chinese, and Malay laborers, but thousands were Allied POWs. Most of the POWs were from Australia, Britain, and Holland, so I’m not sure Americans know much about it. The bridge was targeted by the Allies, obviously, to interrupt the route. The alternative was for the Japanese to use the sea, but that route was attacked too easily.
Anyway, there are a number of really good museums on the whole thing. It’s a sobering thing to visit the area knowing about all the deaths, horrible conditions, and hardship that went into building it. Most of the railway was immediately dismantled after the end of WWII, but one leg of it remains back into Bangkok (which I rode this morning). There are big well-manicured Allied cemeteries around the area. I was surprised to learn that those home made radios hidden into broom handles on Hogan’s Heroes were actually based on fact! The museums had samples. Google “Death Railway”, “Hellfire Pass”, or “Bridge over the River Kwai” if you want to know more.
I have a couple of days here in old BKK before I hop on my flight back to Perth (Sunday). I’ve been hoping to do a bit of shopping before I return. Hand ideas of cheap clothing, but I’ve noticed waist sizes only going up to “30” around here. I haven’t been THAT size since high school!
