2nd February: Bangkok, Thailand
Our room is conveniently located next to Hua Lamphong station for our two really starts on this visit to Bangkok. It was there we arrived to an early morning hive of activity at 6:15 to catch the Excursion Train to Sai Yok Noi. The grand old station is still the departure point for all of the excursion trains and five were due to leave before 7am today, including the fancy Royal Blossom.
We were in the much less luxurious 3rd class service departing from an adjacent platform. It was the opening windows of this train that we were keen on as this journey was all about the views.
Leaving Bangkok, burning was a regular sight and a fascinatingly thin layer of smoke, seemingly just a few centimetres thick sat a couple of metres above the ground. The sun rose over our left shoulders. Our first stop was for 40 minutes in Nakhon Pathom to allow for a visit to Phra Pathom Chedi. This is the site of the oldest stupa in Thailand, dating from over 2,200 years ago. Today, what stands out is its imposing height. The top of the current golden stupa is 120 metres tall, which makes it one of the tallest in the world. From the station, it dominates the skyline along an axis bustling with a thriving Sunday morning market. We got coffee and two bags of mini pancakes for less than £2 for the onward journey!
At Nong Pla Duk Junction our train split, with our half taking the Thai-Burma Railway west towards the Burmese border. This is the official start of what is commonly known as the ‘Death Railway’. The next stop of the day was at the (in)famous bridge over the River Kwai (or Kwae, pronounced Quare). Most of the Oscar-winning film, played to death on British TV, is actually a work of fiction but what is true is that over 100,000 people died during the construction of this line under a brutal Japanese occupation. Approximately 90,000 civilians and 16,000 prisoners of war died as a result of abuse, disease, and malnutrition whilst building the 450km line through thick jungle.
We walked over the railway bridge, taking in the scale of the horror that had taken place here. Soon, we were shaken from our thoughts by a train whistle. We didn’t intend on running today, but that’s exactly what we had to do! The train then made its own way slowly over the bridge, as people watched on from atop the pillars.
The landscape grew karst-like and the red soils were full of corn, cassava, papaya, and banana. Soon, the jungle took over and looking down over the river, it felt like an untouched landscape. When we came to another area of human habitation, we passed over the famous wooden trestles which looked as if they shouldn’t hold a train!
Finally, we reached the final station at Nam Tok. However, this wasn’t the end for use as our train conveniently continued until the very end of the line to deposit us a bit nearer to the waterfall! First though, lunch from one of a handful of cafes down on the main road to Burma. We were only around 20 km from the border (and less than 100 km from the Andaman Sea / Indian Ocean), and border patrols were carrying out random inspections.
We walked back up the steps in the heat, clutching an iced smoothie and a cold coconut. Today must’ve been one of the three hottest days of the trip at 36C, with only Kutaisi and Doha being hotter. Thankfully, we had just the place to cool off. Taking our shoes off, we gingerly walked up the steps through flowing water towards the base of the waterfall. I went for it and dunked myself under the dry season trickle. Such was the heat that within 5 minutes I was dry again! The pools at the bottom seemed to be a very popular spot with local families. After 3 hours at the falls, the train whistle sounded and it was time for the hot journey back.
This time, the journey was broken with a stop in Kanchanaburi. We were too warm to contemplate visiting the war cemetery, so found some shade to chill with coconut ice cream and watermelon smoothies from the sparse market. By the time we reached Bangkok we were again so dusty and sticky that my hair stood upright! Tomorrow, we’ll do it all again. Time for another 6 hours sleep!
