Mar

War Cemetary at Kanchanaburi Thailand

River Kwai have always been a trip worth looking forward to. It is so historical and beautiful that you just have to go.

I left the hotel early in the morning to join the group tour and we left immediately for River Kwai. Our first stop was the Kanchanaburi War Cemetary which is 129 kilometres away in the North West of Bangkok.

Upon arrival, I entered the war museum which is next to the cemetary. It was a small museum but it provided all the information you need in relations to the war and graphic stories on what the prisoners had to endure. Some of the details that I read and the pictures that I saw were just a bit too overwhelming and I felt really saddened by the whole experience. Sad because the pain and the dread that these prisoners of war had to endure when building the rail network for the Japanese. I had to exit early. It was too sombre and too much to take in.

I then walked across the road to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetary. More than 5,000 Commonwealth and 1,800 Dutch casualties are buried or commemorated in the cemetery.

The prisoners that died here were very young. On average, they were all less than 25 years old. Many were 18-19. It was too sad. My tears were falling. Reading the many tombstone inscriptions here made me sad. I felt so sorry for these young men who lost their lives too early. They didnt deserve it.