The Train Over the River Kwai ... Riding Thailand's Railway of Death

I’d spent four days in Bangkok in 1993, but nine years later, entering the city high above-ground on the airport expressway, I was seeing a totally unfamiliar place: A massive sprawl of buildings, but no central cluster of towers like those that define the center of most American cities. There was no shortage of tall, modern office towers: some all glass and steel, some graceful concrete shapes, many colorfully lit at night. But they seemed to have been plunked down almost randomly.

Before, I’d stayed at a riverfront hotel and commuted mainly by river taxi; the Bangkok I knew was mainly within a mile or less of the Chao Phraya River that winds its way south through the city. Now I was discovering the rest of the place and learning how drastically nine years can change a city’s face.

Fortunately, I also discovered that Bangkok’s magnificent gold-encrusted Buddhist temples, its river taxis and tranquil "long-tail boat" canal cruises and, yes, The Train Over the River Kwai were still as I’d remembered them. The photos in this journal combine my favorite memories of 1993 with those of the city as I found it in November, 2002. Enjoy.

Quick Tips:

See my entry on the water taxi system. The wide, commerce-heavy Chao Phraya River flows south through Bangkok in a series of sweeping curves, with far too few bridges for a city of this size. Most of the tourist destinations you’ll want to visit will probably be along or within walking distance of the river. Given Bangkok’s horrendous traffic jams and lack of bridges, a riverfront hotel, though pricey, might be best for a non-business traveller. Those visiting on business might be better off at a hotel near the new Skytrain light-rail line.

(I thoroughly enjoyed riding the length of Skytrain’s lines, but they seemed geared mainly toward getting office workers to and from bus stations and their jobs. At 60-80 Thai Baht for a full-length ride, the train cost as much as one of Bangkok’s cheap taxicabs. It does, however, run through the Sukhumvit night-life district and might be an alternative to Bangkok’s road traffic if you’re heading there. And, it has a terminal where you can transfer to the river taxis.)

Best Way To Get Around:

Bangkok taxis are incredibly cheap by Western standards; you can hire one for an hour for less than U.S. . Tuk-Tuks --- rickshaw-like tricycles with propane-powered motorcycle engines --- are even cheaper. They’re more agile navigating traffic jams than taxis, but much less comfortable.

The water taxis ---the long, slender, canopied motor launches with red lettering on the bow --- are one of the world’s greatest travel bargains: less than U.S. 25 cents to ride the north-south length of the city. They’re frequent and relatively fast, with stops usually no more than a half-mile apart on either side of the river. Unfortunately, you have to be reasonably agile to use them. They don’t really dock: they just touch their sterns to the pier long enough for passengers to hop on and off --- like a hummingbird swooping down onto a flower, touching it momentarily and then moving on. A conductor/fare collector supervises, but I was always afraid he’d shout the Thai word for "GO!" before I was quite ready. Some of the piers lack handrails.

I’d ridden the water taxis, then called "Express Boats", all over in 1993. Nine years later, my now-arthritic legs weren’t up to it.

This is a large (26-floor) high-rise hotel in the Sukhumvit District, said to be a hot spot for Bangkok nightlife. For me, alas, it was a very fine hotel in an unfortunate location --- a block east of what’s possibly the most congested intersection of all in a city notorious for horrendous traffic jams. At times, the last mile to the hotel could take 20-30 minutes to negotiate.

That’s a shame, because I’ve rarely encountered such attentive service and comfortable appointments in a mid-priced hotel. Amenities included a large outdoor swimming pool with adjoining bar --- on a fourth-floor deck well above traffic noise --- and a free-to-guests workout room. If only they’d had a Jacuzzi!

My "single" room had twin beds --- one for me and one for my luggage --- and a pleasant city view. Rooms on the north side have a superb view of the skyline and the Skytrain scooting along far below them. On the south, you look down on the swimming pool and into an apartment building across the street. (If you can see into their rooms, they can see into yours.) Still, there was enough of a city view for me to park an easy chair in front of the window and gaze out on it for awhile before going to bed.

Financial junkies could receive both CNN/Asia and the Bloomberg news channels. Many popular movies were available on demand, but pricey.

The Rembrandt had some of the best dining options I’ve experienced in an Asian city. Even if you don’t have dinner there. visit the Indian restaurant on the 26th floor and spend some time on the open-air observation terrace there. Da Vinci Ristorante Italiano, by the fourth-floor pool deck, didn’t have the view but does have an Italian chef who did marvelous things by applying Italian traditions to locally-sourced ingredients. I plan to review this restaurant separately in the future.

The hotel is within a 10-15 minute walk of the Asok Skytrain station if you’re willing to cross a very intimidating intersection and climb about 30 feet of stairway. My problem with the light-rail was that, once I’d taken a sightseeing tour of the system, it didn’t go anywhere I really wanted to go. Exception: If your destination is on or near the river, and you’re agile enough to use the water taxis, riding Skytrain to its one riverfront stop might be a way to go. Boats call frequently at a pier just below the tracks.

Re the Rembrandt’s address: "Sukhumvit, 18" is NOT an address on Sukhumvit Road. It’s short for "Sukhumvit, Soi 18" which means, roughly, "Sidesteet #18 in the Sukhumvit District". The hotel is at least 150 meters off the main road.

If you’re not concerned about rush-hour traffic, The Rembrandt combines comfort, many amenities, and great value. I, for one, would still return there.

In November, 2002, many Southeast Asian hotels were offering substantial discounts to their published rates for stays booked through tour operators the internet.

A Bangkok hotel imports a chef from Italy and the results are ...

Based on a combination of cuisine, service and value, one of the best restaurants I’ve found in Southeast Asia. Da Vinci serves up a delightful meld of Italian style and local ingredients.

It’s a relatively small room --- approximately 100 by 60 feet --- with only 18 tables. Tables are far more comfortably separated than in most restaurants; you’re never elbow to elbow with a stranger next to you. A low ceiling with heavy, dark beams, with equally heavy and dark wooden tables team with cream-colored walls and ceiling to create a sort of "Italian dining room meets Old English banquet hall" atmosphere. Even though there’s a swimming pool outside the windows, Da Vinci provides a quiet, relaxing atmosphere perfect for composing one’s travel notes over a whiskey or two.

(Yes, both American and Scotch whiskeys were available, at prices comparable to a mid-range Chicago restaurant. Food prices were 10-15% lower that at home.)

The host urged me to try one of the Chef’s favorites: Marinated chicken breast in a wine sauce so rich and darkly flavored that the chicken tasted almost like a good cut of beef, accented with mushrooms. It came with a sprig of sage and medley of vegetables, mostly routine but one memorable one like nothing I’d encountered before; something like a cross between roasted mushroom and carmelized onion. It turned out to be a heavily fried and seasoned slice of eggplant, and went equally well with the salmon steak I had two nights later.

Still another entree I especially liked was roast breast of duck, in dark marsala wine sauce and equally dark cherries, over a somewhat bland bed of baked polenta.

Kudos go, too, to Da Vinci’s minestrone. It’s far less dependent on beans and pasta than most minestrones, with a greater variety of greens, carrots and other veggies, in an intensely flavored, smokey broth laced with bacon bits and basil. Ignore the faux "spring rolls", however.

Service was team-style. Three or even four servers would stand at Parade Rest around the room; whoever first perceived that you needed something would take care of it. Which one to tip wasn’t an issue: There WAS NO tipping.

Da Vinci serves dinner from 5 pm --- a definite advantage in a country where many restaurants open much later. Non-hotel guests should make reservations if possible.

The World War II based film, "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", which depicted war prisoners buiding a railroad the Japanese could use to invade Burma, wasn’t entirely Hollywood fiction. There WAS such a bridge ... it WAS built by a combination of Allied prisoners of war and civilian conscripts ... and an estimated 60,000 of them died building "The Railway of Death."

Come ride it with me.

Allied bombers destroyed the original bridge in 1945, but it was rebuilt with some of the original steelwork. The barges that once housed equipment or prisoners are now pricey floating resort camps, easily photographed from the train or while crossing the bridge. The train will stop at the site of at least one of the huge P.O.W. camps as it winds through narrow rights-of-way carved out of the jungle and over WW II-era wooden trestles. At Nam Tok, 210 km northwest of Bangkok, you can get off and stretch while the locomotive is switched for the return trip. And, watch the hordes of tourists who boarded at the bridge return to their waiting buses and let you and a few locals have the train to yourselves again.

If you’re willing to take a bus back to Bangkok, you can leave the train at Kanchanaburi (The Kwai Bridge Station, not downtown), walk across the bridge as often as your like, and visit the five-nation military cemetery and museum nearby. Be warned that there are two bus terminals, one for air-conditioned "executive" buses and the other for locals. They are 3-4 km from the bridge and you may have trouble finding a ride. (Mine was an elderly Thai gentleman who gestured me onto the back of his motor scooter but took me to the wrong bus station.)

There are two River Kwai trains. The first is an air-conditioned tourist special, using "Sprinter Express" equipment designed for intercity service and leaving from Hua Lumphong Station at 0630. It allows time for visiting the bridge and cemetery as well as Nam Tok, saving you the bus ride. The second is a 3rd-class local from Bangkok Noi, about a 1-km walk from the river taxi pier at Thon Buri, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya. It leaves at the more civilized hour of 0735, from a station more conveniently reached from riverfront hotels --- IF you’re agile enough to ride the boats. The equipment is somewhat more modern that it was when I photographed it in 1993, but still has open windows and those antique metal sun louvers. I much preferred it to the sealed windows of the tourist special.

This trip can be one of your more memorable days in Southeast Asia --- especially if you saw the movie.

Rarely have I encountered a visual extravaganza as nearly-overwhelming as the inside courtyards of Bangkok’s Grand Palace.

Spires and icons of pure gold ... carved jade and marble ... a succession of temples and chapels each more opulent than the one before ... a grinning man/monkey icon guarding a door that only the faithful can enter. You need photographs --- not words --- to adequately describe this place,

The Grand Palace is more a center for Buddhist contemplation and worship than it is a Royal residence. Visitors can retain their shoes in the courtyards, but must remove them before entering many of the chapels. There are other protocols to observe. Though most Buddhists I’ve encountered don’t mind being photographed while at worship, it helps if non-Buddhists maintain an attitude of respect for their surroundings.

On my 1993 visit, I was met at the gate by a 30-something Thai man who spoke good English and insisted that I would need a guide for my tour. He’d be pleased to do that.

"I am a Thai kick-boxer," he added helpfully.

Though there’s a nominal admission fee, I doubt that the rules really required me to hire a guide. However, his honorarium was reasonable and he did, in my opinion, add considerable value to my experience. And, he made sure my shoes would be there when I returned.

Though the Grand Palace is walled, it has many open-air courtyards that provide a photographer’s paradise in mid-day sunlight. With a convenient water-taxi pier on the river, and being fairly easy to reach from upscale shopping and hotels, it’s a spectacle every visitor should budget at least an hour or two for.

The web of canals angling off from the Chao Phraya River’s west bank provides a marvelously relaxing, waterborne way of seeing how people live, worship and market their wares away from the chaos of east-bank Bangkok.

The usual conveyance is a "long-tailed boat" --- a narrow, high-prowed affair some 20 feet long, powered by a cast-off automobile engine driving a long propeller shaft. It can carry a dozen or more people, but if you prefer sighteeing at your own pace, and escpecially if you’re a serious photographer, forget group tours and charter your own. I forget what my cruise cost, but it couldn’t have been more than U.S. $5 plus a liter of beer for the driver. Though he spoke no English, he obviously had a great deal of experience piloting photographers: Responding just to hand signals, he’d position the boat for exactly the right sun angle and composition.

Leaving from the boat dock near the Grand Palace or one of the riverfront hotels, most drivers stop in front of Wat Arun ---"Temple of the Dawn" --- before entering the canals. "Temple of the Dawn" is an apt name for this popular attraction, because it’s best admired and photographed in early morning sunlight. Photos made late in the day will be hopelessly backlighted; despite the skipper’s best effort to find me a good camera angle, my own photo needed considerable retouching to even be publishable.

Once inside the canals, photography become pure fun. Waterfront temples ... communities ... people: I’d stand in the bow, playing Cecil B. DeMille with gestures to the driver, and shoot away. When women from a canal-side store paddled out to meet us with refreshments, I spent a dollar or two buying a liter of beer for the him and some pop for two teenage boys who hitched a ride on our stern while they were swimming.

I’d paid the driver for an hour but he stayed out at least an hour and a half. This is a low-energy change-of-pace tour that I’d heartily recommend. I hope you get a driver like the one I had.

If you enjoyed the train over the River Kwai as much as I expected you would, you’ve discovered that you get a far more intimate look at a country when going by train instead of by highway. The highway cuts an isolating swath through the countryside; rail takes you within a few feet of the jungle’s edge and the backyards of the canal-dwellers. Here are two more day-trip options for seeing Thailand by rail:

The "MAEKLONG COMMUTER" is a 32-kilometer, 55-minute meander through a variety of suburban Bangkok landscapes: The jumble of working-class homes and markets on the far side of the Chao Phraya river, canal-side villages and trackside temples, occasional patches of jungle punctuated by palms and banana plants and, yes, shantytowns and outright slums. In other words, a lot of scenic variety on a very short trip.

Trains originate at Wongwian Yai, on the west side of the river. The station’s hidden from the street and very hard to find if the driver doesn’t know where to look. Your destination is Maha Chai, a humongous outdoor/indoor market near the coast of the Bight of Bangkok. You’ll have 65-75 minutes there --- more time than you need, really. Be sure to escape the market long enough to stroll along the seawall and visit the harborside park. If you’re adventuresome, you might even take a motor launch across the bay and back.

On the return trip, consider stopping for photographs along the way. I found the canalfront village of Rang Pho to be an attractive photo subject; at Wat Sing, closer to Bangkok, there’s an attractive temple complex to explore. Round trip fare for this journey? Twenty Thai Baht --- about 50 cents U.S.

HUA HIN(WAH-heen) became a popular seaside resort when the railroad reached in it the early 1920’s and the State Railway of Thailand built the country’s first public golf course there. When the then-King of Siam chose Hua Hin for his summer palace, the tourists followed. Among other hotels, there’s an attractive Hilton on the waterfront near the center of town.

Hua Hin is 229 kilometers by rail from Bangkok --- about five hours each way --- so should be considered a "day trip" only for fairly serious rail enthusiasts. Others wanting a day on the beach and a sunset supper overlooking the ocean should consider taking the 0715 morning train down one day and returning on the 1400 afternoon train the the next.

The railroad offers a nice panorama of southestern Thailand’s scenery, and, if you take the third-class local, open windows to hang out of. It’s nice to feel fresh air in your face after a few days of Bangkok traffic, and doubly pleasant to get a clear view of the distant ocean as the train climbs a high ridge a mile or so from the coast. The waterfront, Hilton, and a superb little restaurant with a deck extending 50 feet over the ocean were a 10-minute walk from the train station at Hua Hin, but we opted for a bicycle-rickshaw ride instead.

Trains leave from ether the main Bangkok station, Hua Lumphong, or the Bangkok Noi station across the river. The first train’s faster and has somewhat more comfortable seats, but we preferred the open windows of the third-class train. Fares were about U.S. $10 each way and an excellent lunch for two was about $8 --- pretty inexpensive for a full day of sightseeing.