Today I did a tour of the Allied War Graves in Kanchanaburi in Thailand and saw the Bridge on the River Kwai. There is so much to say, so I had better start at the beginning. I was picked up at about 6:30 by a MiniBus, and we were then taken outsize Bangkok where another MiniBus met us, and everyone from both busses joined onto a bigger bus for the tour of Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai. The first stop was the Allied War Graves and the Thai Burma Railway Centre. The latter is a museum to the people who died building the railway and overlooks the allied war graves.

This following plaque stands at the entrance to the site. And to me this is more important than the other grave military sites I have seen, from US Civil War to War Memorial in Canberra. You see, one of my great uncles is buried here.

I found it rather sobering walking into this place – I was almost in tears. Russell West had only ever been a name to me until now. He died in Thailand at the age 30 defending his country by defending another country. For me just visiting this single site has made the entire trip worthwhile, and made this person real to me.

There is a register there of all the people who are buried. I did not need to see his name in the register, just the plaque. That was enough.

Following this we then visited the Bridge. This was one of the bridges that was bombed by the Allies in 1945 I believe, and has since been reopened.

It is not what I would call the safest bridge to be walking on. It certainly does not have the safety features of climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I was a bit scared at times since the water was moving quite quickly. I can see why there was so much effort put in to building the bridge.

More to come on the train ride.