I woke up yesterday feeling….honestly? Just very happy that I was in Kanchanaburi. I had been very much looking forward to this bit of the trip. The journey made it just that much sweeter that I was safe and sound. I woke up with a plan to go out to the Erawan Waterfalls. I knew that a public bus headed out there and back a few times a day. Just had to get myself to the bus station. I asked the owner of my guesthouse how to get there. She gave me a map. None of the streets were labeled. Okay, let’s see how this goes. I started walking and it’s, surprisingly, not to hard to find. I see my bus, and, praise jesus, other tourists. You have no idea how happy this makes me. We board what looks to be the oldest and most beat up bus I have ever seen. I’m talking door doesn’t close and windows are held together with duct tape old. But it runs. And in 1½ hours we reach the Erawan Waterfalls. It’s a huge 7 tiered waterfall that you can hike to the top of. The falls themselves do not compare to the beauty of the waterfalls in Laos, but it was a challenging hour climb up to the top, which was great fun. Scrambling over rocks and ledges….I now have the scratches and scrapes to prove that I made it up all 7 tiers (I’m pretty clumsy).

My plan for today was to go out to Hellfire Pass and the Bridge over the River Kwai. I'm sure that for some of you (and I'm pretty sure I know who you are), you have no idea what I'm talking about. Let me sum up. During WW2, the Japanese had invaded and gained control of most of SE Asia. They wanted to build a railroad in order to more easily move weapons and supplies into Burma, planning to invade India. It took 20 months to complete the 415km track infamously known as the "Death Railway". The line extended from Thailand into Burma, through mountains and dense jungle. They initially used around 60,000 Allied POWs as labor, but when they began to die due to starvation, disease, overwork, and torture, they brought in 200,000 Asian forced laborers. 90,000 of these laborers and 12,800 Allied POWs died while constructing the railway. Hellfire Pass was said to be the deepest and most difficult part of the railway to construct. Cutting through the mountain to build the railway required the men to often work 20 hours a day.

At night, workers continued to cut by the light of bamboo torches and bonfires. The eerie flickering light and the shadows of gaunt, starving men was said to resemble a scene from hell...hence Hellfire Pass. Both the railway (renamed the Thai-Burma railway and now owned by the Thai government) and the pass are open to the public. The railway runs from Hellfire Pass down to Bangkok. It runs over the Bridge over the River Kwai, made famous by the movie of the same name.

I walked the 4km of track by Hellfire Pass that is open and it was it was an extraordinary experience. Most people (ie. tour groups) only visit the museum and walk the 500m of the pass itself. I didn't want to do this, so I hired a taxi to take me up to the pass. It took me about 2 hours to walk down and back, and in that time, I didn't see another living soul (they do give you a walkie talkie and check on you periodically to make sure you are okay). It was incredible. Just imagining what those people went through. Many pushed through the back breaking labor, disease, and hunger with just the hope of going home.

I took the train back from Hellfire and as we crossed over the River Kwai, the sun began to set. It was a moving and beautiful day, and I was happy that I had made the journey up to this part of Thailand. Tomorrow it's back to Bangkok.