Diane and I spent almost two years in Thailand during my Army days. I was the Special Services Officer for Bangkok and the surrounding area from September of 1967 until September of 1969. While there we had many adventures and experiences and the following is only one of many.
In the southern part of Thailand you find the site of the famous bridge on the river Kwai. This area was immortalized by the movie starring Alec Guinness and also gave us the wonderful Colonel Bogey March. Those of us who remember this film remember that, at the conclusion of the film, the bridge was blown up. That, in fact, did happen. However, it was rebuilt and to this day, as far as I know, is still a working railroad between Thailand and Burma. It is located by a small town called Kanchanaburi and I had visited this site once before because there was a small Army site there for which I provided special services. In fact, I had been there because I escorted Ann Margaret down there on a handshake tour. That's another story which I will write more about. This account is when I took Diane down there to see the bridge and the sights.
We were nearing the end of our tour there and I felt I needed to make sure she saw this historical area. In May of 1969 we loaded up the car and, along with our dear friend John Fratta and his guest, took off to the south. It was about 120 miles from Bangkok and was an easy drive. We drove through some very interesting little towns with some beautiful temples in which we stopped and explored on the way down. It was during the dry season and was pretty hot. We had become pretty well acclimated to the heat and that was not a big issue. John's friend was a delightful nurse from Australia named Natalie and for some reason I recall that her street address back in her home country was Peppermint Lane. I found that wonderful and as delightful as her. One other fact you need to know is that Diane was 7 months pregnant with Melissa.
The historical site at the bridge is very sobering and impressive. The bridge, of course, is the focal point. However, next to it is a large cemetery filled with the graves of British POW's who had died while there. It is surrounded by lush tropical jungle and is quite beautiful. Next to the bridge one can rent a boat to take you upriver. There is another cemetery about 3 or 4 miles up the river. On the way there they make a stop at an unusual Buddhist temple that is located in a cave in the jungle.
Let me describe the boat to give you a feel of the experience. These were their long boats. They are about 15 feet long and very narrow. Only two people can sit together and you are almost flat on the bottom of the boat with a narrow slat to sit on and another to lean back against. You sit with your legs straight out from you. They are certainly not built for comfort. It is propelled from the back with a motor with a very long propeller shaft so that shallow water can be navigated. There is no cover.
Being the dry season the river was very shallow, probably only about 3 feet deep. On either sides of the river was the jungle. We were in tiger country and we kept a wary eye out for these animals or perhaps an elephant or two. I was channeling my Jungle Jim and was loving every minute of it! Diane, on the other hand, was not comfortable but was being a good sport.
We arrived at the temple site and made a short hike up the hill through the jungle to the entrance of the cave. We were met by an orange clad monk who took one look at Diane and wiggled his finger and informed us that she would not fit through the very narrow opening of the cave. Melissa was pretty prominent at the time and it kept her from entering. Again, Diane was a good sport and waited for us at the exit of the cave. The interior was very exotic and we soon arrived at a rather impressive Buddha statue along with other religious icons. It was the stuff of which dreams are made. Every Tarzan movie I had ever seen was running through my mind. It was surreal.
We went back to our boat and continued down the river to the second cemetery. There were hundreds of graves of the British POW's. The cemetery is surrounded by the jungle greenery and many flowering trees. The ghosts and spirits of the prisoners hung heavy in the air and it was both beautiful and sobering.
As we arrived back at our river conveyance it was beginning to really get hot. Once we got going on the river we got a little breeze and that made it better. We traveled about a mile and a half and then it happened….!
The motor on the boat sputtered and stopped. After numerous attempts to get it going it became obvious that it was not going to start. There were no other boats in sight and there we sat, getting hotter by the moment, waiting for a passing boat. There we were! Stranded on the River Kwai! Surrounded by communists and tigers!
My lovely dignified wife muttered several choice epithets at our driver in every language she could muster. Finally, we crawled out of the boat and just sat in the water in an attempt to keep cool. Diane was buoyed by our still unborn Melissa and we all waited for a rescue. Soon another boat came by and we were towed back to our starting point. Saved! I could picture the crazed Alec Guinness on the bank shouting, "Huzzah, good show!"
Thus ended our River Kwai adventure. We looked like the wrath of Buddha when we got back to the car and decided that our river mishap only served to make it more memorable. What a day!
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