I am back tracking a bit on some of my blog posts because I have been super busy that I didn't get to them as speedily as I promised. However whilst I am in the process of job hunting here in sunny London (watching the rain fall....) What a perfect day to finally update you on all of my adventures.
In February this year I went with my dad to trek through the Thai Burma railway.
Dad and I had always spoken bout trekking the Kokoda trail together one day, however after a bit of research dad suggested the Thai-Burma railway instead. Not having known too much about it, I thought it was a great opportunity to learn more!
We set off to Bangkok (unsure at this time if we would be able to go due to political protests occurring in Bangkok), and settled in at our hotel. From the airport we drove through the streets that were lined with crazy amounts of market stalls. Our driver informed us that this was how Thai people protested, with market stalls and stages to voice their opinions on. When we settled into the hotel we took ourselves for a walk around Bangkok. The market stalls literally lined most streets selling items saying "Shutdown Bangkok, Restart Thailand". Voices boomed over loudspeakers of protesters passionately speaking in Thai to support the restart of Thailand. Dad and I meandered through the stalls, watching all the colours, and personalities, and fine dining choices (bugs!) of the locals.
That evening we settled at the bar to meet some of our travel companions who would be escorting us through the railway.
The next morning we got our bags packed, put on our hiking gear and went down to the lobby. Being that it was Valentines day, one of the guys on our trip bought flowers for the two females doing the trek (always nice to get flowers!). We jumped into the van and were on our way. We met up with a historian who was going to take us around the Thai Burma Railway. Little did we know before we left on the trip that he was THE historian on the railway, and had spent the last 30 years of his life finding information to keep the history alive for the POW's and families of POW's to have closure should they seek it.
For those of you who don't know much about the railway (which will probably be a few, since not much is put into the history of the railway) I will give you a brief history, as I am terrible with history lessons... Here is the main just you need to know:
-During WW2 the japanese wanted to build a supply railway through Thailand and Burma. This was said to be impossible.
- Prisoners of War from various places ended up being brought on to build this railway in terrible conditions and terrains.
- 415kms of railway through impossible terrain was built by POW's in only a year.
We were taken up to various pats of the railway during the day (which no longer exists as it got torn apart following the war, however you can still find and follow the tracks after hacking through some of the jungle)
We took a boat down the River Kwai and stopped at a beautiful jungle resort for the night. I thought we would be staying in tents mostly, so was surprised by this accommodation! Dad and I went for a wander through the grounds enjoying the scenery, and later that evening went to see a Thai dancing show in the theatre attached to the resort. Some of the dancers looked bored out of their brains and like they wanted to be anywhere but there, and some really got into the bouncing and jumping around that the Thai dancing appeared to involve!
After the show we sat and watched the water run down the Kwai river, and the watched embers of nearby fires fall down the cliff faces, like waterfalls of bright orange and red light, whilst solving the worlds problems.
The following day we continued to go hiking around several sites that the railway was. We hacked through some jungle to get to it. The views of the next following days were incredible. The thai jungle is absolutely beautiful and we learnt so much history along the way.
The sad thing is that a lot of this history will be lost as there is no one to pass it onto. We hiked up steep embankments of the railway, and Rod (the historian) insisted that we climb down the steep embankments, grab the largest rock we can, and climb back up the side of the embankment. This was to demonstrate the hard work the POW's had to do each day in worse conditions, both weatherise and health wise. Being healthy and in good weather I found this difficult enough to not slip and slide back down the side, so you can only imagine the hardship for those prisoners of war.
During the hike through the jungle we managed to accidentally hack through 2 hornets nests which had us running back through the jungle to avoid being stung by angry insects. It was all very amusing in hindsight :P.
We stayed in a resort with the cabins set up like tents, and a beautiful pool of water near the river Kwai. It confused me as to why we were staying in such lovely accommodation, however, who was I to question this beautiful place!
The next morning Rod took us around the campsite and explained to us that this was actually the site of a British POW camp, and the cabins were set as tents to pay respect to the history. The dining room where we ate was where the food was prepared in the POW camp, and the pool we swam in was the drinking source for the POW's also. There was even a giant cave in the ground which previously Rod had been down exploring only to find rubbish and tools used during the war and even further back. It was incredible as we had no idea at the time.
Rod took us on a hike again, and as we were walking along roads this time I became quite confused as to the significance of the walk. After arriving to our destination, Rod explained that this was the walk that was done several times every day by a POW to provide medicine to another campsite. The campsite we arrived at was the camp of Weary Dunlop.
I quite enjoyed Rod's way of explaining the history to us... have us experience something, and then inform us of the significance of why we did that. It really helped you understand a small portion of the hardships, as well as at times, the contrast between now and then.
We then went in the afternoon to go see some elephants and have a ride! woohoo!
During the afternoon Rod disappeared to go exploring and do more research on the railway, and we came back and relaxed in our tent/cabin. Rod came back in the evening and had gone back to the railway sites to find us each an old railway spike from the war. He very generously gave us each an authentic railway spike that the POW's would have nailed into the ground during the war. It is incredible to hold a piece of history in your hands like this, I am so grateful for it.
The following night we stayed in a national park and Dad and I went for a dip in the River Kwai, it was such a beautiful place!!
The following day we hiked to hellfire pass to gain a little more understanding of the history, before heading back to the war cemetery. We grouped at the cemetery to perform a war memorial service as tribute to the prisoners and soldiers of the Thai Burma railway. I can't really explain how incredible it was to be apart of this, and how nicely it finalised our time exploring and learning about the history of the Thai Burma railway. The entire thing was an unforgettable experience, and it made you feel so close to the history.
It is easy to think of something that happened many years ago to be just fiction, but it is different and more confronting to see it in this way. The work that Rod is doing with the history here is phenomenal, and I only wish more people would appreciate this part of history that is seldom told.
After finishing up with the history we went to the floating markets just outside Bangkok. There is so much colour here, but it can be quite awkward when the boat stops in front of a market, and you don't want to buy something, you are just stuck there floating in front, as you can't just wander off until the man in charge of the boat decides to move again. But it is definitely something everyone should go see, it is pretty freaking awesome!!
And we arrived back in Bangkok, with a night of reminiscing all together, and walking through the night protest markets before heading back to Australia.
The entire experience was very moving and quite incredible, and made even more so by being able to do it with Dad who has ties to the history of the military.
Much love,
B xo
