Bridge on the River Kwai

On what seems to be the hottest day thus far in our trip, being a Sunday, we decided to brave the heat and grab a Tuk Tuk to the Kwai River Bridge. You know, that famous Bridge on the River Kwai that was built during World War II with Prisoners of War and local Thai forced labor. The bridge looks the same from historical photos after it was rebuilt after USA bombings. A trip to the Jeath Museum next door confirms that.

Like a lot of tourists on the bridge, we got stuck as the Eastern & Oriental Express was crossing. Luckily, the bridge has these platforms that extend away from the railroad tracks, and over the water, for us to wait out the time

The heat eventually drove us to take a boat ride on the river to cool off. The boat driver got the hint and cruised at a very fast clip, creating a welcomed breeze with cool river water mist. We made two stops, one in each direction on the 1.5 hr cruise.

Our first stop was at the Koapoon Cave Temple pier, where sits a huge Buhda and a beautiful goddess statue (see pics below). The 2nd stop was at the Jeath Museum. There you get to see and experience first hand, the brutality of forced labor the Americans, Australians, British, and Dutch POWs endured along with the local Thai population as they labored over 16 months or so to construct a 400 plus kilometer railroad from Myanmar to Thailand, by the Japanese Imperial Army.

We captured some spectacular views from the hillside of the Temple Pier.

Jeath Museum