A Journey On Death Railway

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I didn’t know that train journeys in Thailand could be so much fun, until I had hopped on a passenger train going from Thonburi in downtown Bangkok to Nam Tok situated in the hilly north-western region along the border with Burma. Apart from the journey itself, it was the thrill of being on Death Railway that had sowed the seeds of excitement in the first place. The infamous Death Railway once connected Siam (Thailand) with Burma (Myanmar). But I was not going up to the last station; my destination was Kanchanaburi- a small town and a state capital situated on the banks of River Kwai- and it was three and a half hours away. Most of the travellers going to that part of Thailand make Kanchanaburi as their base to explore further. It is in Kanchanaburi that you find the world-famous bridge on River Kwai (made famous by a 1957 movie ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ ).

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Before I take you onto this journey, let me tell you an interesting fact about the naming of the bridge. When this bridge was constructed during Second World War, it was not on River Kwai actually. It was built on the mighty River Mae Klong, but wrongly documented as built on River Kwai, which is in fact a smaller tributary and merges into River Mae Klong a little further downstream. To correct this historical mistake, River Mae Klong up till the merger was renamed as Kwai Yai (literally meaning ‘the Big Kwai’) and the tributary River Kwai was renamed as Kwai Noi (literally meaning ‘the Small Kwai’). And after the point where two Kwais merge, the river name remains the same as Mae Klong. It does sound interesting, no??

The Journey Starts

We were three friends visiting Thailand together. It was the month of December in 2010 and the sun was rising a little late in the northern hemisphere. So, when the train started from the station at 7.50 in the morning, it was still pleasant in otherwise hot and humid Thailand. The trains covering short distances usually have 3rd class seating compartments and seats are not reserved. The train fare in Thailand is according to the distance travelled, but they charge a flat fare of 100 Baht from foreign tourists travelling on Death Railway no matter where one wants to alight.

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The railroad passes through some beautiful landscapes. As the train starts coming out of Bangkok and labyrinth of stone buildings starts thinning, green paddy fields and banana trees start meeting your eyes; and believe me, those are very soothing sights. You get to see a lot of country-side life on the way- quite opposite to what you witness in Bangkok. This is real Thailand.

And inside the compartment, you can get a chance to interact with this rural life of Thailand. Don’t be surprised if you find some of your co-passengers giving you constant glares and flashing a large grin the moment you happen to look straight into their eyes. After all, you are a foreigner and a rare and special commodity in the rural areas. You have to be lucky to get into conversation with one of them, because a very few of them know English.

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It is advisable that you take enough eatables with you as these trains don’t have a pantry car. Though, you will frequently have vendors inside the train selling beer cans, water bottles and small eatables. We had got some packets of fried rice with us. It was fun to sip beer while cool breeze from the open windows was blowing in my face.

One more thing you will like about the train journeys in Thailand is the stations are very clean and are not crowded with vendors. The bigger stations do have eateries and other shops, but those are inside the station premises and never on the platforms- quite opposite to what you see in India.

We reached Kanchanaburi almost on time. But sadly, we had not crossed the famous bridge yet. It is about 5 kilometres ahead of Kanchanaburi station towards Nam Tok. This bridge was to be crossed on our return journey which we took two days later from Wang Po- a beautiful place further up in hills in Sai Yok area and the second last station on this route.

The Return Journey

 

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The return journey was far more exciting- thrilling, to be accurate. We had stayed at Sai Yok the night before. It had a station named Wang Po. We boarded the train in after noon from there. Just after leaving Wang Po, the train crosses Wang Po viaduct- a wooden bridge which is in the last stages of its life. It is built along River Kwai Noi. The train speed is so low that it almost crawls. And below on the right side you see a sprawling water body. Don’t be surprised if your heart skips a beat... It was one of the most thrilling experiences I had in life. And on the banks of river, one can see lush green lawns of resorts. These resorts offer the beat stay in the area.

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The rail section between Nam Tok and Kanchanaburi runs through lush green hills and above the meandering river and it offers some great views. I had missed this on my journey two days before which had ended at Kanchanaburi. But the return leg compensated for the earlier miss. 

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Our final moment of exhilaration during this return leg came when we reached ‘the bridge’. As the train took a curve and the bridge came into sight, I could see many tourists taking a stroll on it. How the train is going to pass them!!! Well, the train slowed down and the strollers took refuge on small platforms built at regular intervals on both sides of the bridge. They waved when train passed them. It was an unforgettable moment. And it had completed my first experience as a train traveller in Thailand. My second train experience in Thailand came one year and two months later when I went to Chiang Mai. That I will describe in my next article.

Some Helpful Tips

• The trains usually run late in Thailand, and this was the case during my return journey and my journey to Chiang Mai. They will start on time, mind it… but will get delayed during journey. You can blame it on single line on most of the sections.
• For 3rd class compartments, there is no need to buy tickets in advance. But you should be at the station early to get good seat if you are starting from originating station.
• Outside Thonburi station, there are many vendors who sell cooked food. The food is good and clean.
• The train to Kanchanaburi departs two times daily from Thonburi station. First one at 7.50 and second one at 13.55. and the train from Nam Tok departs at 5.20 and 12.55 daily for Bangkok.
• The biggest station or the central station in Bangkok is called Hua Lamphong. It is located in the centre of the city in Pathum Wan area on Rama VI road.
• There is online booking system of train tickets in Thailand. You can check the availability of seats than can book your tickets at www.thairailticket.com The charge per transaction is 20 Baht and you can book four passengers in one transaction.
• Else, you can use private train travel agencies like www.thailandtrainticket.com, www.asia-discovery.com or www.thaifocus.com. These agencies charge a fee for booking tickets through them.

 Text and Photos by Ajay Garg

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A Paradise Called Maldives

 

For me, the pictures of those blue sapphire waters and tiny islands have always been mesmerising. Those pictures must have tingled something inside you also. Many a times you would have thought of going there and cherishing them with your own eyes, but could not. So, what do you do to go to Maldives when you know that lodging costs there are very high? An easy answer comes- cruise to Maldives. And this was exactly what I did. A short trip to Male was exciting, and seaplane ride to southern twin islands of Rangali was an experience of lifetime. And all this without actually staying anywhere on Maldivian land! In fact, this was a journey where every single minute turned into a happening statement.

Journey to Male

It was 24 hours' fun-filled journey from Cochin port to Maldives. Last December, Cochin became the first Indian city to steam off an international cruise, when Greek company Louis Cruises launched its Aquamarine ship from here. This ship sailed from Cochin on a three-night trip to Maldives. It was getting dark when the ship steamed off on a fine Wednesday evening. Our troop was on the sun deck as the ship started. As it left the port situated on Wellington island of Cochin at a snail's pace, a light wind started to blow. The ship was coming out the bay into Arabian Sea. The lights of city of Cochin soon started getting distant and ship headed right into darkness of sea, but there was a new wave of excitement building up inside me.

It was sunset time the next evening, when Aquamarine anchored just outside Male - the capital of Maldives. Saffron hues of sun going down into sea made the skyline of Male look even more beautiful. Male is situated on a tiny island not measuring more than 1.5 square kilometres. Boats, ferries and catamarans connect Male with other nearby islands of the country, and there are seaplanes to connect with islands situated far off. It was later in my trip that I realized how exciting and memorable a seaplane ride could turn out to be.

Three hours in Male

Male island is so small that one can circumvent it in less than an hour. It is located at the southern edge of North Male Atoll. The ferry from ship dropped us on the waterfront where most of the government buildings and agencies were located. Though, Male International Airport is on adjacent Hulhule Island which includes a seaplane base for internal transportation.

 

Three hours of easy walking on the island was enough to give you some everlasting memories. The presidential palace, a historic graveyard, the Islamic centre, vegetable market, fish market, lightened-up showrooms, busy roads, costly cars on streets, cosy restaurants - all the signs of a great city life, but yet a place where peace seemed to engulf you all the time. And it did give me creeps that I was on a tiny mass of land in the middle of a vast stretch of water with no imaginable limits. What a simple life, yet difficult!! Maldivians have to export their drinking water from neighbouring countries as what they get from sea around them is only salty water. And there are just two good hospitals in Male itself, and nowhere else on a country comprising of 1100 islands is another hospital. Though, dispensaries are there elsewhere.

Heaven, the next morning

After three hours on Male, we ferried back to our cruise ship. A little excitement had set in already, but none from our little group had imagined what amazement lay in store for us the next morning. Even if we would have been briefed about it, we could not have pictured it, because what we witnessed was just unimaginable.

The early morning, we were out in the sea on a catamaran. Vijay from Louis Cruises was tight-lipped about where we were headed to, until we got to Hulhule Island for a seaplane ride to twin islands of Rangali. Our 18-seater seaplane was soon air-borne, and what we were witnessing just a kilometre below was nothing less than paradise. Everybody on board was in awe. In sprawling blue waters were spread tiny bluish-green coral islands- their white sand shores seemingly melting into crystal clear waters of ocean. It looked like a divine fusion between land and water. And since most of the islands of Maldives are transformed into resorts, we could see a maze of hut-like structures spread right into heart of sea. It was a sight to behold. And that breathtaking view has not left my mind since. Thanks to Ally Ahmad of Crown Tours for making this happen.

Rangali where luxury is mortified

If this 35-minutes journey was a lifetime experience, then spending four hours in Conrad Resort on twin Rangali islands was no less. This resort belongs to Hilton group, is surrounded by a turquoise lagoon, and has twice been awarded as the best hotel in the world. The two islands are situated at some distance from each other, and there is a platform in the middle of both where seaplanes land to drop guests. From this platforms, two wooden footbridge arch away about 100 metres each side to embrace the islands. On one island there are elegant beach villas apart from spa villas with private treatment rooms out in the sea at the tip of the island, while on the other island are 50 water villas set on stilts over the sea. These water villas are pure mortification of luxury and come in four different categories based on facilities, size and tariff. 

18K dollars per night!!

We couldn't believe our years when we were told that during the peak season the premium water villas (there are only two in this category) are priced at US $18,000 per night. Woooopp... But, when we saw this villa, we were stunned. It was luxury written all over. Pure elegance! Private poll opening on one side to the sea; private open air jacuzzi; a bed that revolves 360 degrees; a telescope in bedroom; plazma TVs in every room, even in bathrooms!! That was amazing.

Itha- The Underwater Restaurant

 

Food lovers can find themselves at home among Conrad Maldives' seven world-class restaurants, while over 6,000 bottles of wine await discovery in underground Wine Cellar. We had food at one of the restaurants, and believe me, I had never had more delicious food than what I munched there. Conrad Resort can be foodies' paradise. And, courtesy Ali Ahmad of Crown Tours, we had the opportunity to enter the world's only all-glass under-sea restaurant. Spiral staircase took us down to a wonderland where a glass wall separated us from depths of sea. We could see all the marine life around us as a snorkeler would do. Well, dining cost there was 100 dollars per person.

Beaches make you fall in love with them

 

 

What you fall in love with in Maldives are beaches of soft white sand fringed by palms leading into crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean. A dive in nice warm water refreshes you to your core. One can dive or snorkel in world's most remarkable waters on unspoilt reefs.

There, we just had four hours which seemed to pass quickly. It was time to go back to our ship. The journey back to Hulhule island on seaplane was not that exciting this time, for we were returning back from paradise leaving our heart out there. It was as if we were going to miss something very badly for the rest of our lives. And how true that feeling was!!!

And something about Aquamarine

It is a seven-deck ship with all the modern amenities and entertainment shows on board. The Lounge on 5th deck can be said to be the most happening place where every evening a music n' dance show enthralls the audience. The show introduces you to skills of some wonderful artistes from Ukraine, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Philippines; and it is a place where all the cultures of world seem to converge on one stage.

 

Then, there is Moonlight Disco where nights seem to melt into mornings. And for those who don't mind spending and trying their luck, a casino on fourth deck awaits them. Apart from these, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a spa centre, and facilities like ping pong and cricket are there for you to spend your leisure time on board.

What you like the most is the variety of food on board. There is a multi-cuisine restaurant which serves buffet and a la' carte meals, and those meals are prepared by master chefs keeping Indian customers in mind. Apart from veg and non-veg varieties, you can savour Jain food also. Whereas the ambiance of this exquisitely decorated restaurant soothes your aesthetic sense, the quality and taste of food never fails to satisfy your taste buds.

Text and Photos by Ajay Garg

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