Bridge on the River Kwai

While in Thailand last month, I took the opportunity to visit the Bridge on the River Kwai, several hours outside of Bangkok, close to the border of Myanmar. To get there, you must take a train on a very infamous railway. The railway line was meant to transport cargo daily to India, to back up Japan's planned attack on India. The construction was done using POWs and Asian slave laborers in unfavorable conditions. The work started in October 1942 and was completed in a year. Due to the difficult terrain, thousands of laborers lost their lives. It is believed that one life was lost for each sleeper laid in the track.

Allied Forces bombed the iron bridge in 1944. Three sections of Bridge on the River Kwai were destroyed. The present bridge has two of its central spans rebuilt. The original parts of the bridge are now displayed in the War Museum located a few miles from it. The Bridge on the River Kwai became famous all over the world, when it was featured in movies and books. The cliff-hugging tracks and the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains and valleys were feature in the David Lean movie by the same name.

It was quite a moving experience - especially seeing the thousands of graves of those who died building this bridge while serving as Japaneses prisoners of war. Click here to see more photos.