Hellfire Pass - Poppy remembrance day

Kanchanaburi - The Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre and Memorial Walking Trail was built and is maintained by the Australian Government. Opened 25 April 1998 and refurbished and rededicated on 12 December 2018, it's dedicated to the allied prisoners of war and Asian labourers who suffered and died at Hellfire Pass and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region during World War II.

Poppy remembrance day

More than 60,000 Allied prisoners worked on the railway. In 1946, the Allied War graves registration unit concluded that approximately 12,500 lost their lives, includes some 6300 British, 2800 Australia, 2500 Dutch and tens of thousands of Romusha (paid conscripted labourer).

Entrance to Hellfire pass

Hellfire Pass was 'lost' in the jungle for many years after 1945 and was rediscovered only in the 1980s. After World War II, most of the Burma-Thailand railway was dismantled. The name 'Hellfire Pass' came from the appalling working conditions at the around this site.

Pathway down to the Hellfire pass

The Thais kept a 130km section of the railway operating in the south, but the rest of the railway, including Hellfire Pass (Konyu Cutting), disappeared beneath agricultural land, jungle and a major reservoir near the border with Myanmar (formerly Burma).

Relics' of the railway, such as sleepers and rails were collected, and stairs were built down the steep slope from the road.

However, in the 1980s, Australian ex-prisoners started to return to Thailand. Like many veterans, they felt the need, as they grew older, to revisit the sites where they had felt such intense experiences 40 years earlier.

'Although it was not easy to locate, they found Hellfire Pass, full of tangled undergrowth.

Burma - Thailand railway for those that died building this railway

Comments

Calesa around Intramuros

Manila - Together with Albert, we took a calesa (horse drawn carriage used in Philippines) around Intramuros. Albert and Lesley Albert and I Intramuros is the oldest district and historic core of Manila. The walled part of Manila was called intramuros, which is Latin for "within the walls"; districts beyond the walls are known as extramuros meaning outside the walls. Construction of the defensive walls was started by the Spaniards in the late 16th century to protect the city from foreign invasions. Guarding the old city is Fortaiago wich is located at the mouth of the river. Gallery of Philippines past and present presidents General MacArthur Battle HQ Entrance of General MacArthur HQ Manila Hotel Manila Hotel in the distance Manila hotel is the oldest hotel in the Philippines and the most well known icon. Baluarte De San Andres Cannons lined in a semi-circle Colegio de San Juan de Letran was founded in...

Cheong Guk Jang - fermented bean soup

Seoul - Lunch with Youngjin was at a traditional soup restaurant and it was crowded. Youngjin asked me many times Cheonggukjang "ok", I said ok not knowing what to expect. I have tried many weird and smelly good in Seoul, so I was very prepared. My first time tasting Cheonggukjang and I like it. CheongGukJang 청국장 is fermented soybean soup aka Stinky soup. Actually, I like fermented food and the smell does not put me off. I like fermented food because of the many health benefits and also we have them here in Singapore - tempe, belachan, fermented bean curd (which I love with my porridge), chincaluk, etc.. very hot Cheonggukjang I always buy danjang paste and bring home to make soup. I understand that they are the same but the difference is Cheonggukjang beans are uncrushed and are fermented for a longer period of time.

Temple Street Night Market

Kowloon - This flea market is full of quirky, Hong Kong souvenirs and t-shirts to take home. The actual market on Temple Street is in the Yau Ma Tei and Jordan sections of Temple Street. The flea market starts in the late afternoon every day and continues throughout the evening. You can find fake’designer' handbags, sunglasses, clothes, and electronic gadgets. The atmosphere was filled with many tourist of different nationalities. Along the sides were many seafood restaurants, mostly crowded. You will also find fortuner teller stalls plying their trade.

Travelogue around Asia Pacific Part II

Search This Blog