07:30 - The drive through Samut Sakhon
As our minivan sped through Samut Sakhon province we admired a flat semi-wilderness shaped by coconut palms, fruit orchards and salt fields. Neil, our fact-filled guide for the day, wasted no time in bestowing on us the benefits of this private Floating Market and River Kwai tour.
"Here in Mae Khlong the market takes place on the railway tracks" he announced. "When trains come people move everything, only to set up shop again as soon as it's gone". Our driver slowed down, so we could admire this wacky slice of life on the tracks. It was a classic 'Only in Thailand' sight that a tour bus would never dream of slowing down for, and we savoured its authenticity.
At a crafts centre we learnt what happens to the offspring of Samut Songkhram's ubiquitous coconut trees. Neil demonstrated the backbreaking way coconut milk was once made, and how palm sugar is extracted from the sap of coconut flowers. Huge woks bubbled over a blazing furnace, and the result was crumbly and coarse with a distinct caramel flavour.
09:00 - The Floating Market
The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market presents a dilemma: do you lament the over-commercialization or join in the fray? Over 30 years ago it featured in a classic James Bond chase scene - it was already a tourist attraction. Today, with more Europeans than vendors, many see it as a joke. Thankfully, we outclassed it beforehand with a twisty long-tail ride though nearby canals and past temples, stilt houses and waving children. It was an unsullied glimpse into a charismatic way of life.
Once we arrived we got stuck in, enjoyed it for what it is: an aquatic cultural show festooned with abundant colour and souvenirs. The variety of goods - everything from rattan balls, traditional puppets and fresh fruits to embroidered handbags, noodle soup and wide brimmed bamboo hats - was impressive, and, much of what we saw, undeniably photogenic. The sight of old ladies nimbly paddling sampans packed with tourists twice their size - and probably less than half their age - was a joy.
10:35 - To Kanchanaburi
At the Royal Thai Handicrafts Centre, gangs of craftsmen and women diligently chipped away at huge hunks of teak. The workmanship was astounding: Buddhist statues were enigmatic and serene, and elephant statues had hides like the real thing. The current fashion, however, seemed to be for large 3D wall hangings depicting scenes from Old Siam or wild elephants tearing through jungle.
"Where do they all go?," I asked Neil. In the past craftsmen carved the kingdom's history into wood, he explained, so that younger generations could learn about the rich cultural heritage into which they were born. Judging by all the purchase orders from foreign clients, the goal today is different: exoticism for export.
12:05 - Kanchanaburi Town
We were pleased to arrive in Kanchanaburi, a small rustic town with a laidback mood. Its scenic charm was instantly endearing. Monks roamed its wide avenues. Lush, undulating mountains loomed in the distance. Most impressive though was its dignified poise - the result of its role as burial ground for thousands of WWII POWs who, under the callous care of the Japanese Army, never made it home.
Our first encounter with this tragic heritage came after a ride up a wide shimmering stretch of the Mae Khlong River. At Chungkai War Cemetery - a manicured field filled with small tombstones laid with geometric precision - thoughts were drawn from nature's joys. It was a stirring sight. The epitaphs were heart wrenching. One read: 'Peacefully sleeping, free from pain, we would not wake him to suffer again'.
13:00 - Lunch on the River Kwai
Next was the infamous iron overpass. Made famous by the 1957 Oscar-winning film, The Bridge on the River Kwai, here POWs and Asian labourers were forced to build a railroad bridge to connect the Japanese supply route from Thailand to Burma, and so extend the Rising Sun's thrust into Asia. The cruelty of their captors meant 100,000 people died in the process - if not from exhaustion, then hunger, brutality or disease.
After lunch overlooking its iron girders and scorched white pillars, we crossed. Tourist trains rumble back and forth, but we opted to walk. Pacing over a bridge I'd only seen on TV cast it in a new, morbid light. How much pain went into sealing every rivet? How many lives were spent laying each yard of track? The sun beat down with all the mercy of a Japanese soldier's bamboo stick; it's no wonder few survived both.
14:10 - Death Railway Museum and Research Centre
Here we gained an interactive and air-conditioned insight into every aspect of the bridge and its construction. The museum refused to trivialize the tragic, and we learnt much: the motivations for building the bridge, the problems encountered, and how prisoners scrapped maggots off rotting meat to survive. Most poignant of all were the belongings left languishing in the dust. Mess tins with crude drawings and messages scratched into them - silent screams to the outside world - were haunting. Afterwards, we strolled the adjacent Kanchanaburi cemetery, where a further 7,000 Australian, British and Dutch troops are buried. It was a fitting end to a sombre, enlightening journey.
16:45 - Nakhom Pathom
After an hour's drive towards Bangkok our minivan approached the vast chedi (or stupa) that dominates the centre of the ancient city of Nakhom Pathom - it was time for a dose of the sacred. Standing 120 metres tall and built by King Rama IV, it's the biggest in the world. Learning that this low slung city was the first to espouse Buddhism only heightened its stature. We crept up steep steps and into the elevated temple complex. The large Buddha statue in the stop-fighting posture - one-hand raised in a pacifying plea - was gorgeous and serene.
A queue of the faithful was writing their names, and those of loved ones, on a huge saffron coloured sash. Their spiritual devotion was infectious and we wasted no time in joining them. Called a 'paa hom', it would be wrapped around the base of the stupa from where it would bestow us good luck. Then, encircling the stupa was a wide courtyard with alcoves containing many Buddha images. It had a mystery to it that, as the sounds of monks chanting permeated the air, made me want to linger - as if the statues were about to reveal some strange, exotic secret. It was just one of many we encountered on our journey.
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