Central Thailand / Kanchanaburi / The Bridge over the River Kwai

By Serge Kreutz

This famous bridge is about 4km (3mi) north from downtown Kanchanaburi, crossing the Kwai Yai river. It was brought from Java by the Japanese Army and was assembled at the River Kwai by the prisoners. Bombed several times in 1945, it was rebuilt after the war. The curved spans of the bridge are the original sections. An estimated 16,000 war prisoners and 49,000 forcibly recruited laborers died during the construction of the bridge and the Death Railway that leads to Burma.

The railway line was hewn from the solid rock cliff-sides. Workers would lower themselves from the top of the cliff, bore a hole and plant a charge of dynamite in the hole, light the fuse and scurry up the rope. If they didn't get far enough away they didn't stand a Chinaman's chance. At the time of the construction the whole region was jungle and the railway opened the land for cultivation and made transport of produce possible.