Today we went to two museums and a cemetery concerning the people who worked on the Bridge on the River Kwai. Here are transport carts that were pulled by water buffalo and used until WWII.
Actually, the name is Khwae which means bank. Kwai means stupid person or buffalo.
There were two bridges built – a smaller wooden bridge to transport items back and forth over the river in order to build the larger steel one. Below are some remaining pieces of the original wooden bridge.
The Railway Man is a good movie to view that deals accurately with what happened here.
We were able to see another cemetery which were mostly British and Dutch.
It was a horrible time. They would hear the trumpet sound that indicated someone had died. This happened four times a day. Many of the grave markers listed their age as in their early twenties.
This grave marker caught my eye because of the name of the soldier.
Japan was far reaching in its endeavors to claim lands of their neighboring countries.
And here are the battles that stopped them and eventually forced a surrender.
The Death Railway museum was very thorough in their explanations, and we took many pictures of the information. Mostly Australians visit here. Mod has been a guide for seven years, and we are the first Americans that he has brought here.
It was a short walk to the steel bridge. There are many people. One even offered to take our picture.
Here is Rob posing for a shot. There is a lot of posing going on by everyone.
At last, the big moment has arrived. Rob and I will attempt whistling and marching while on the bridge. Watch here for a big laugh:
It is time to eat lunch. Rob orders Pineapple Fried Rice and it came in this cute presentation.
We head back to Bangkok to ring in the new year. Even though the bridge near The Grand Palace is the most popular place to gather, we decided to stand outside our hotel and ring in the new year with other travelers doing the same.
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