After coffee, we caught the bus towards Sangkhlaburi. This time we were getting off at the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum.
The museum tells the somber story of the WWII prisoners of war and the Asian labourers, who built the railway between Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand. The name 'Hellfire Pass' comes from the fires lit while the men worked.
The pain and suffering of the soldiers is truly beyond comprehension. The museum has a 4km walk along the original rail bed, where you get to see various cuttings through solid rock. The cuttings were manually cut with hammers and drill bits, allowing the train to pass through. You also get to see various sites where bridges were built, using only materials from the jungle. And, the craters where bombs were dropped by Allied forces.
The whole experience was one we shall never forget and we learnt so much. For example; The British engineers, who surveyed the area before the war, predicted 6 years were required to build the railway. The actual railway was built in 15 months!
This really highlighted to us the terrible conditions the prisoners must have been forced to work under. Working 16 hours a day, a little rice to eat, every tropical disease going; malaria, cholera, dysentry... horrendous beatings by the Japanese! About half the workforce died, thousand upon thousands of men.
The photos, drawings and videos showing the men suffering terribly from malnutrition were haunting. The descriptions of the tropical ulsers the men suffered, harrowing.
Whilst we walked the rail bed, we listened to the audio guide provided. It explained everything so well and with such dignity. An amazing, though upsetting day for us ... but one we shall remember.
There was a poem written by a doctor, who was also a POW. The poem was entitled 'Mates' and talked of how you can get through anything as long as your mate is beside you. A mate was all these men had to keep them alive ...
The museum tells the somber story of the WWII prisoners of war and the Asian labourers, who built the railway between Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand. The name 'Hellfire Pass' comes from the fires lit while the men worked.
The pain and suffering of the soldiers is truly beyond comprehension. The museum has a 4km walk along the original rail bed, where you get to see various cuttings through solid rock. The cuttings were manually cut with hammers and drill bits, allowing the train to pass through. You also get to see various sites where bridges were built, using only materials from the jungle. And, the craters where bombs were dropped by Allied forces.
The whole experience was one we shall never forget and we learnt so much. For example; The British engineers, who surveyed the area before the war, predicted 6 years were required to build the railway. The actual railway was built in 15 months!
This really highlighted to us the terrible conditions the prisoners must have been forced to work under. Working 16 hours a day, a little rice to eat, every tropical disease going; malaria, cholera, dysentry... horrendous beatings by the Japanese! About half the workforce died, thousand upon thousands of men.
The photos, drawings and videos showing the men suffering terribly from malnutrition were haunting. The descriptions of the tropical ulsers the men suffered, harrowing.
Whilst we walked the rail bed, we listened to the audio guide provided. It explained everything so well and with such dignity. An amazing, though upsetting day for us ... but one we shall remember.
There was a poem written by a doctor, who was also a POW. The poem was entitled 'Mates' and talked of how you can get through anything as long as your mate is beside you. A mate was all these men had to keep them alive ...
