The Backpacker

You may have watched a movie  of the same name, read books on the Second World War, but nothing can prepare you for the feeling of standing on the Bridge watching history flow past.

I had a strange sense of fulfilment as I stood on the bridge watching the tourists enjoy themselves with their camera. For a fleeting moment I felt transported back in time, despite the milling public. I can admit that Kanchanaburi featured on my list of destinations to be covered only because of the River Kwai. It had been an obsession with me. Heck, for a traveller, the idea of seeing fresh water dolphins in Kratie would do just as the regular tourist would want to see the "Effiel Tower". Its the idea of seeing history that facinated...to share a moment with the world.

A train takes you across the bridge for 15THB. A good idea that, if you are looking to take videos. I did that the first time. Second time around, I decided to walk over the bridge. Its absolutely fascinating when you are the only person to do so....OK OK. Here is how that came to be.

When I landed at Kanchanaburi after that exciting train journey from Bangkok at about 11.30, I checked into Royal Knight for a night for 300THB. Their deal was that every guest is allowed a bicycle and free internet. I hadnt done that particular thing for long, so i decided this was a good time as any to begin again. I had two hours to spare before my trip to the Tiger Temple for a shot at the tigers. The hotel was about 2 (felt like a hundred) kilometers away from the River Kwai and in my eagerness to appease my senses, i cycled furiously in the sun to the river. I reached the river alright, but despite the sun being up and running, ther were many tourists...mostly come on buses from the city on a guided tour.

Thats how I came to see the bridge the first time. The second was at 5 am with not a soul in sight. This time I stole a ride with the delivery boy, who agreed to fix me coffee and bread and cheese for breakfast. It was when he was going to buy his bread that I decided to bribe him into taking me along. Heck, on a motorbike, the distance can be covered in less than ten minutes!!

This is how I felt...this is how I still feel...The River, the bridge...a love that I could feel...A memory of him as I watch the dark waters flow by...

This moment will in memory live
As the moment I lived for,
For eight hundred days…
I peek into the river
Under the bridge that flows
I am aware, as I watch
The banks come close…
It was my love
That shaped earth into stones
The arch carved from faith
And columns molded of hope
On that bridge I stand
Over the river that flows…
Its beams are promises
Made and promises kept,
Styled after my dreams
After night long gone…
When heavy in heart I feel,
I will run down my memory
To return to the moment
To peek into the river
Under my bridge that flows…