Kanchanaburi, Thailand

We arrived in Kanchanaburi, Thailand early in the morning after a few days decompressing in Bangkok. We decided to take the third-class, hard-seater train, which turned out to be wonderful- with no A/C, there were great opportunities to gaze out the gigantic windows, watching Thai life fly by. The best part of the train journey (this being Thailand,) were the food vendors who would slip on the train and ride for a little while, selling their goodies. Sate grilled chicken and little baggies of steamed rice- absolutely heavenly.

The Lonely Planet, ever our trusted guide, promised that Kanchanaburi would be a convenient "catch basin" for travelers over-whelmed by big sister Bangkok, with plenty of historical and cultural sights to keep us busy. Kanchanaburi is also a good jumping off point to enjoy the "softer side" of Thai trekking and outdorsy activities, with plenty of forests, waterfalls and (sadly) elephant trekking opportunities within a stone's throw. Perhaps the town is most infamous, though, (aside for being The Place for loud, obnoxious, unbelievably decibled karaoke for Bangkokians on weekends) for being the eastern terminus of the notorious "death railway," a demanding, deadly rail route that was constructed to link Thailand with Burma/present-day Myanmar as a Japanese supply-line during the second world war. The railway was built by captured Allied POWs and conscripted Asian laborers and it is estimated that almost 100,000 prisoners and forced laborers died at the hands of their brutal Japanese captors. The story of the death railway was immortalized in Pierre Boulle's book "The Bridge Over the River Kwai" and a movie of the same name. The bridge itself, several museums, and some respectfully maintained cemeteries are all popular sights associated with the railway. Another big draw for Kanchanaburi is the nearby "Tiger Temple." More on that, later.

Upon arrival at the train station, we immediately sensed a noticeable downshift in pace and stress level. Cyclo drivers peddled by, fruit vendors lazed under umbrellas, half-heartedly calling out "buy something?", and the motorbike traffic was sporadic and casual. Per usual, we had no destination in mind, so we just started walking in the general direction of downtown and waited for fate to intervene. It eventually did, in the persistent and kind form of "Jon," an elderly cyclo driver with a brochure for every guesthouse in town. It is quite an art, as a cyclo driver, street vendor, or taxi driver to be able to nab a customer. Typically we are untrusting and just keep walking, but we liked and trusted Jon instantly. He wheeled us (and our packs) on his bike to Blue Star, a great guesthouse on the riverside with bungalows and rooms on offer. We dug it, and voila- home for the next few nights. We immediately set about arranging activities for the rest of the afternoon and first on the list was a visit to the controversial, unique, bizarre Tiger Temple.

The Tiger Temple, or Wat Luang Ta Bua Yanna Sampanno, has an interesting story. Paraphrased perhaps most accurately from the guidebook, "what could quite possibly be one of the worst tourist traps in history is actually an incredible photo opportunity." This couldn't be further from the truth. This forest monastery, about a 45 minute drive out of Kanchanaburi is a veritable petting zoo for, you guessed it, tigers. The temple adopted its first tiger cub 8 years ago after discovering that its mother had been killed by poachers and soon other orphan tigers were brought to the monks for care. Currently 10 tigers live at the monastery. In the afternoons, the tigers are released from their cages for exercise and napping in the shade of the canyons on the premises. Visitors are unbelievably allowed to be photographed up-close with the unrestrained tigers while they nap and rest in the shade, and touch and pet them as well. This is not without controversy, though- although the temple has been lauded as a wonderful outreach effort for these endangered big boys and featured on Animal Planet and National Geographic, critics speculate that the price for admission is too high and whisper that the monks are using the money on superfluous purchases for themselves. Regardless, an opportunity to take a photo and meet a tiger up close? Not an experience we wanted to miss:

the main monk who works magic on the tigers...

sleepy

almost looks like a house cat, eh?

Megan and Catt walking with the tigers

Catt and the tiger

Megan with the tiger cub

okay, it was a little bit scary. just a little.

the canyon, where we visited the tigers

After the visit, we felt a little bit conflicted. True, it had been amazing to see the giants up close. But we worried that the repeated impact of subjecting them to hundreds of tourist visitors, day after day, could have a toll on the psychological well-being of creatures that are intended, really, to be left in the wild. In an imperfect world, though, this seemed like a better solution than most. The monks also claim to be constructing a "floating island," where the tigers will be able to live without cages in the future. We discussed this, and more, with new Kiwi friends Pascal and Sandra over beers that night. They have been travelling for three months and normally work for a kayaking company near Able Tasman National Park, in the northern part of the South Island (nearish to Nelson.) It was great meeting you guys, and can't wait to catch up in NZ this summer!

The next few days we mostly devoted to visiting sights associated with the Death Railway, which was an emotionally steeling experience. There are some very well-preserved museums in Kanchanaburi- namely, the Thailand-Burma Railway Center and the JEATH Museum. Both museums succeed in offering unbiased, historical background on the construction of the bridge, and its role in the greater context of WW2. After the museum visits, we rented bicycles and took to the countryside to check out the Allied War Cemetery, the Chung Kai Allied War Cemetery and Wat Tham Khao Pun. The War Cemetery was formerly a POW camp and the plaques bear short epitaphs for the Dutch, British, French and Australian soldiers that perished during the construction of the railway. All of the American dead were transported back to the US at the end of the war for burial at Arlington.

The bike ride was great- flat road, mostly through sugarcane fields. We had a chance to see village life, and the weather was beautiful. Wat Tham Khao Pun was interesting, as well- apparently this quiet cave temple played host to a violent murder of a British tourist in 1995, when a drug-addicted monk murdered the traveler in the cave passages. It is said that the cave was also used by the Japanese to torture and imprison Allied soldiers during WW2. Knowledge of this background makes the journey through the subterranean passageways, filled with Buddha images, a bit harrowing.

Last of all we visited the Bridge itself. The little railway bridge is actually quite small, and mostly a reproduction- the Allies bombed out the first version in 1945. Parts of the bridge are still from the original construction, though.

Here are some pictures from Kanchanaburi:

"Ahh, the perfect souvenir... megnets...

Local Bar, Kanchanaburi

maintaining the Allied War Cemetery

Blue Star Bungalows

Memorial at the Bridge over the River Kwai

A poster depicting Thai massage techniques, or "the beat down" massage, as Catt likes to call it. Ouch!

After Kanchanaburi, we headed back to Bangkok to catch our flight to one of our favorite spots so far, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Stay tuned!