On the trail of a dark history: Train journey Bangkok – Kanchanaburi on the Death Railway (video)
A train journey from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi is more than just a means of transportation; it is a journey through time, through landscapes full of stories and tragic events from the Second World War. From the bustling heart of Bangkok, the trail leads you to the historic bridge over the River Kwai, right through the enchanting Thai landscape. This trip offers a unique combination of natural beauty and gripping history, making it an unforgettable experience for any traveler.
Excursion to Kanchanaburi (1 or 2 days)
A popular excursion from Bangkok is a trip to Kanchanaburi. The province is best known for the Burma railway and the cemetery of honor. But there is more: natural beauty, Mon village, Sai Yok waterfall, Lawa cave, the river Kwai. And then relax in your hammock on your floatel.
Agenda: Remembrance Day Kanchanaburi August 15, 2024
On August 15, a Remembrance Service will take place to commemorate the end of the Second World War in Asia for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and for all victims who were involved in the work on the Thailand-Burma railway during the Second World War.
Book & Movie: “The Bridge over the River Kwai – Honour, Loyalty and Survival in the Shadow of War”
Today attention on Thailand blog for a world famous book. “The Bridge Over the River Kwai” is a novel written by French author Pierre Boulle, first published in 1952. The story is set during World War II in Thailand, where Allied prisoners of war are forced to build a bridge over the River Kwai. River Kwai for the Japanese occupation forces.
The Dutch war cemeteries in Kanchanaburi
A visit to Kanchanaburi War Cemetery is a captivating experience. In the bright, shimmering light of the Brazen Ploert blazing mercilessly overhead, it seems that row upon row of the clean-lined uniform gravestones in the trimmed lawns reach to the horizon. Despite the traffic in the adjacent streets, it can sometimes be very quiet. And that's great because this is a place where memory slowly but surely turns into history...
And that's where the gold diggers show up again!
I have previously written on Thailandblog about the Thai version of the Loch Ness Monster; a persistent myth that pops up with the regularity of a clock. Although in this specific case it is not about a prehistoric aquatic creature, but about an even more imaginative enormous treasure that the retreating Japanese troops are said to have buried near the infamous Burma-Thai Railway at the end of the Second World War.
The unknown Railway of Death
Lung Jan has been working for a few years on a book in which he tries to reconstruct the almost forgotten story of the romusha. Romusha was the collective name for the voluntary and forced Asian laborers who were employed by the Japanese occupier in the construction and maintenance of the Thai-Burma railway, which soon and quite rightly became known, or rather, infamous, as the infamous Railway of Death, the Railway of Death….
Boonpong Sirivejjabhandu, better known by his nickname Boon Pong, together with his wife Boopa and daughter Panee, played an important role in helping the prisoner-of-war forced laborers on the death railway from Burma to Thailand.
What happened to the Railway of Death?
Japan capitulated on August 15, 1945. With that, the Thai-Burma railway, the infamous Railway of Death, lost the purpose for which it was originally built, which was to bring troops and supplies to the Japanese troops in Burma. The economic usefulness of this connection was limited and it was therefore not very clear after the war what to do with it.
Gold diggers: In search of hidden Japanese spoils of war…
Thailand has its own version of the Loch Ness Monster; a persistent myth that pops up with the regularity of a clock. Although in this specific case it is not about a prehistoric aquatic creature, but about an even more imaginative enormous treasure that the retreating Japanese troops are said to have buried near the infamous Burma-Thai Railway at the end of World War II.
NPO Doc: Trail of 100.000 dead (video)
Today, August 15, the Netherlands commemorates all victims of the war against Japan and the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies during World War II.
Unique photos of war graves in Thailand
On 15 August, the Dutch dead of the Second World War in Southeast Asia will be commemorated at the military cemetery in Kanchanaburi. On the occasion of this commemoration, Lung Jan publishes a number of unique photos taken shortly after the Second World War in Thailand of military cemeteries, which have long since been cleared, where the victims of the construction of the infamous Burma railway were buried. This historically very important photographic material comes from the enormously rich and publicly released collection of the Australian War Memorial (AWM).
'The sun is scorching hot, the rain lashes in gusts, and both bite deep into our bones', we still carry our burdens like ghosts, but have died and petrified for years. ' (An excerpt from the poem 'Pagoderoad' written by the Dutch forced laborer Arie Lodewijk Grendel on 29.05.1942 in Tavoy)
Working on the margins of the 'Railway of Death'
On August 15, the military cemeteries of Kanchanaburi and Chungkai will once again reflect on the end of the Second World War in Asia. The focus is – almost inevitably I would say – on the tragic fate of the Allied prisoners of war who were forced into forced labor by the Japanese during the construction of the infamous Thai-Burma railway. I would like to take a moment to reflect on what happened to the Allied prisoners of war and the romusha, the Asian workers who had been deployed in this ambitious project that cost tens of thousands of lives, after the Railway of Death was completed on October 17, 1943.
Julius Ernst, KNIL veteran of the Burma Railway
Gringo wondered if there were any Dutch survivors who worked on the Burma railway. There are. One of those survivors is Julius Ernst, a KNIL veteran who was over 90 years old, who was imprisoned in the Rintin camp. Last year Dick Schaap made an interview with him for Checkpoint, a monthly magazine for and about veterans. On Thailandblog the complete story.
The difficult processing of the Thai war past
Now almost 76 years ago, on August 15, 1945, the Second World War ended with the Japanese surrender. This past has largely remained unprocessed throughout Southeast Asia and certainly also in Thailand.
The Second World War in “The East”
On August 15, we commemorate the end of World War II in Asia. Although the war years in 'De Oost' were not inferior in intensity to what happened in Europe, the battle in the Dutch East Indies attracts much less attention than that in the Netherlands.
Wreath laying during Remembrance Day in Kanchanaburi
Yesterday, August 15, 2020, the honorary cemeteries in Kanchanaburi commemorated the end of World War II for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and all victims of the war against Japan and the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies were commemorated.
KNIL veteran Julius Ernst on the Burma Railway
You have read the pre-announcement of the Remembrance Day on August 15 in Kanchanaburi, a beautiful tradition that is very rightly maintained by the Dutch embassy in Thailand.
Report of a hike along the Burma Railway
It was an interesting morning, Thursday morning 30 January in the Dutch embassy in Bangkok. Emiel Garstenveld and Jesse Jordans had completed the journey on foot along the Burma railway and told about this at the embassy.
Coffee morning with lecture about 450 km along the Burma railway
Two Dutch soldiers walked 450 km along the Burma railway. They were completely self-sufficient on their journey and had to see where they would sleep. On Thursday morning, January 30, Emiel and Jesse will tell more about this during a coffee morning at the embassy, organized by NVT Bangkok. The coffee morning is from 10 am to 12 am at the residence of the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, 106 Thanon Witthayu.
Two Dutchmen march down Death Railway as a tribute
On January 1, the Algemeen Dagblad website featured a story about Emiel Garstenveld from Groenlo, who is making a march along the 450-kilometre Burma Railway with his companion Jesse Jordens.