Up and Down the 323.

We are staying at Sangkhla Buri, where there is a large painting of a Wooden Bridge in the foyer, which needs investigating. Long ago some tribal battles occurred here, but now it is tourist attraction and a place for strolling. The Wooden Bridge sure is impressive, there are crowds of people on it and some even jumping off it into the river below. We look at the souvenirs and the crowds and decide not to walk across it. We have heard about the 3 Pagoda Pass and as it is only 20 kms Up the 323, pack the bike and set off after breakfast. This is where the infamous Thai-Burma rail that was force-constructed by the Japanese in WW2 ends. On the Thai side there is a memorial. On the Burmese side the tracks are still in place. We meet up with some Germans, one of them having lived in the Far East for more than 36 years. He offers lots of historical information, including the story of the ransacking of Ayuthaya for its gold.

In the 12th century, Ayuthaya was the capital of Siam, a moated city, just 70 kms north of Bangkok. It was burnt to the ground and all the gold was stolen by the Burmese. Apparently there is a solid gold Pagoda in Rangoon made from the Thai gold. The 3 Pagodas, which are white painted conical monuments draped in yellow ribbons were built at the border to remind the Thai people of this act of destruction. The immigration post is closed and there is a single red and white boom to divide the two countries, and a CCTV camera. The German chap knows the area well and suggests we go to the Hellfire Pass Museum on our way Down the 323 to Kanchanaburi.

On our previous trip in 2006 we had been to the Bridge on the River Kwai museum and as we had to go back down the 323 to get to Bangkok, we put it on the potential to-do list. On the way back down the 323 we noticed that there were plenty of mud-monster type 4x4’s, with monster truck super suspension, suitable for jungle trekking and river crossings. We saw lots of expedition advertisements and met up with a team of monster trucks at the garage. I especially liked the bright pink one. The trip Down the 323 was getting a bit tedious with excessive weekend traffic, trucks, pick-ups and big bikes (1000cc plus) all vying for road space. We turned off onto a side road to get away from the chaos, relying on google maps to re-route us to Hellfire Museum. Under the shade of a huge tree we saw a bunch of guys, all on Big Bikes, who waved us on over. We shared the shade and were introduced to ‘The Amazing Thailand Touring Group for Foreign Motorcycle Riders’. The world was represented with guys from USA, Canada, Israel, France and more, all living in Thailand for an average of 10 years. I asked in astonishment, “Are you all married to Thai ladies?” “ No, only married to our motorbikes,” they replied. Such great guys and they suggested a great place for lunch, it now being about 2pm. Over a swaying suspended foot bridge, a bit of a dirt trail and there you are. Sounds Good. The shocks are now no good at all and we never did find the restaurant, but stopped instead nearly an hour later by a floating raft/house on the River Kwai and had the dish of the day: rice and chicken.

We reviewed google maps for the Hellfire Museum which actually was now 20kms back Up the 323, so Up we went and also we went past the shady tree. Oops, a full circle. The Museum closes at 4pm, it is now 3.30. The short 3 minute video captured the horror of the conditions of the construction and the accompanying tableaus depicting details of the prisoners lives and drawings done at the time emphasized what those that survived endured. The Museum is a collaboration between Thailand and Australia. We had been to another Museum at the actual Bridge on the river Kwai site in 2006.

Once again, as it now way past 4pm, we need to find lodgings and as we are preparing to enter the traffic Down the 323, a little bell trings in my head. At the museum, one of the camps the men had stayed in was called Hintok Camp. The little bell in my head rang that there was a similar sign near the shady tree. Down the hill and round the corner we found the sign again. Somehow, instinct told us that this looked like a Resort sign, using the name Hintok Camp. And what a resort. Deluxe Air-Con Luxury Glamping. Unfortunately they were full, and the price was almost our weekly budget, but we did get offered a champagne glass of fruit juice when we rolled up on our dusty bike. We point to our tent, and cheekily ask if we can pitch our tent on their immaculate lawn. They politely declined and suggested we go next door to Baan Titawaan, where we are welcomed very favourably. Our little camouflage tent pops up and fits perfectly under a tree, protecting us from dew, with the zipper opening towards a view of the River Kwai some 100 steps below. The price for the bungalows were 2500 baht per night, but we camped for 100 baht and were treated like royalty. We were given another beach mat, which we slid under our tent. Our own beach mat we put inside the tent as a mattress. At sunset we went down the steps to the river’s edge where there was a large floating house, with lots of very comfortable looking mattress all laid out in a room. Apparently they were for a group of 30 people, who arrived a bit later with cool bags and rucksacs, for a night on the river. The communal dining area was a wooden /concrete platform on very long pillars, reaching up from almost river level below, up to the grassy verge level with the Tent-site, almost 100 metres. We enjoyed a jolly meal alongside with a Thai family who were BBQ-ing crabs. Dish after dish was served to us, including grapefruit segments, red cabbage and sweetcorn vegetables and rice/chicken. The best of all was the super-sweet dessert of some kind of green ‘junket strings’, ice blocks and sweet coconut milk. The whole meal was 100 baht (3 euros).

We were escorted to our tent by torchlight and crawled in to our little cosy ‘cave’. It was only 7.30 pm, but it had been a long day and we were glad to stretch out flat on our backs. Shortly after settling down for the night we heard a scuffling and giggling near the tent. “s’cuse me, s’cuse me” a voice called out. “can we help” we called back. “Lomantic sleep, lomantic sleep”, they replied. It is only when we go for a midnight loo visit do we realise that they placed two candles near our tent, how sweet, xx . On returning to the tent from the Loo visit, we were surprised to discover that the inside of the tent was dripping wet, we had our own rain forest from the condensation inside. It wasn’t very pleasant to be dripped on, so we slid under our beach mat and used it as a rain cover. It formed the perfect indoor roof and also insulated us from the dropping temperature. 35 degrees down to about 12 degrees. It was a long night as we drifted in and out of sleep, sandwiched between two beach mats in a small tent. Never mind, after a hot shower and a guitar serenade of ‘happy birthday’ (the only English song they knew) from our Thai neighbours we are ready to face the day and the 323 again.