Kanchanaburi will be my province for the next three days. The scenery is breathtaking. I manage to get a good room beside the river. The place is actually a bamboo raft house floating in the river. So I'm literally sleeping on the river tonight. After depositing my backpack in my lovely room I joined a number of other backpackers as they walk towards Asia's famous bridge - the bridge over the River Kwai.
The moribund view of the beach totally got me speechless. The view is just amazing. It's ironical that this scenic bridge was responsible for the death of thousands during the second world war. About a hundred thousand conscripted Asian labourers and 16,000 prisoners of war died on the whole project.
It gave me the goose bumps to think that fellow pinoys actually gave up their lives to construct the bridge that would then join Thailand and Burma. Sixty years after, I, a proud filipino would cross the very same bridge that cost them their lives.
It's so peaceful here. And the quietness around actually gives you this haunting feeling. After crossing the bridge, I went to the War Mesuem just beside it. I was overwhelmed with the different horror stories during the second world war which was skillfully displayed in the museum.
I'll be having an early day tomorrow. I'm planning to take the train to Wang Pho, a 2 hour ride south of Kanchinaburi to cross the infamous death trail. It's slowly becoming a very different trip for me. It's becoming an eye-opener and I like it that it's off the usually "tourist tour" track. I get to learn more and I have more time to just be and experience the local color. I just saw the sun setting, that definitely made my day.
More travel stories soon.
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