Royal Blossom Train - Death Railway to the Bridge over the River Kwai. Hua Lamphong to Kanchanaburi

This is a trip 28 years in the making. Last time we were in Bangkok we decided not to go to the Bridge over the River Kwai. We were busy and tired and regretted it ever since. Remember, only regret things you did, not the things you didn't do. We joined the Asian Train Guide Facebook page, an essential if you are traveling on trains in this part of the world: https://web.facebook.com/groups/asiantrainguide Richard Barrow, who runs the group and is a wealth of information had a Royal Blossom Charter with Wow Catering that was running while we were in Bangkok, but it was sold out. Luckily for us we snagged a couple of seats due to a cancellation. The Royal Blossom Train is a wonderful charter service so this has no set schedule and you must book it through a charter group, not the Thai Railway. We arrived to registration at Hua Lamphong and got our lanyards and visited the Thai Railway museum before boarding our train. This train is beautiful and well maintained. The whole experience was efficient, well orgainzed and great fun. And at just over $60 well worth the money. We set off after getting on the wrong train initially, our mistake, follow the instructions people, and set off to the River Kwai. Although this is the main attraction we make various stops along the way. Our first stop is Nakhon Pathom Station where we stop to stretch our legs and have the opportunity to walk into the town. We then cross Nong Pladuk and the start of the Death Railway. Over 16,000 prisoners of war lost their life building this train line and bridge and this is always at the back of your minds on this journey. Our next stop is Kanchanburi and the River Kwai. This is well worth the trip and there was plenty of time to cross the bridge, pose for photos or shop at the local market. Our next stop was the Suan Sai Yok Resort and some passengers chose to spend a few hours here relaxing before picking the journey back up later in the day on its return. We stayed on and crossed the Tham Krasae Wooden Trestle Bridge before briefly visiting the Krasae Cave and then our destination of Nam Tok. We had a few hours here to explore the Sai Yok Noi Waterfall before Helen found a cat to feed. We then boarded our Songkran to board the train for our long journey back to Bangkok. We loved this trip and it was so well organised with food and entertainment a plenty. But you have to remember that this line only exists for the sacrifice of 16,000 prisoners of war and their sacrifice cannot be forgotten. This was an amazing trip and we would recommend it to anybody lucky enough to be there when this train is running. And please check out the https://www.asiantrainguide.com/ as it is an invaluable resource if you need to book a train in Asia. Thankyou Richard and Wow Catering. Great job. #bangkok #bangkokthailand #thaiairways #hyattregency #hyatt #hyattregencybangkok #asiantrainguide #wowcatering #royalblossom #trainwindowview #riverkwai #bridgeovertheriverkwai #travel #globalnomadtravel #worldtraveller #worldtravel #slowtravel #digitalnomad # digitalnomadlife #retireearly #retireearlyandtravel #financialindependenceretireearly Video Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:48 What is the Death Railway 02:54 Registration opens at Hua Lamphong Station and we visit the Museum 04:35 Make sure you get on the right train! 05:11 What is the Royal Blossom 05:19 The carriages 07:32 The Food 08:55 We leave Hua Lamphong Station 09:45 Nakhon Pathom Station and our first stop 10:20 Nong Pladuk and the start of the Death Railway 10:36 Kanchanburi and the bridge over the River Kwai 12:35 Drop off at the Suan Sai Yok Resort 13:02 Crossing the Tham Krasae Wooden Trestle Bridge 13:52 Krasae Cave 15:18 Nam Tok and the Sai Yok Noi Waterfall 16:52 The journey back begins and the entertainment starts 17:19 Arriving back to a rainy Bangkok and our thoughts 21:25 Thanks for watching Hi we are James and Helen and we are Global Nomads. We are a pair of British Expats that decided to retire in our early 50’s to travel the world full time. In 2004 we left Leicester in England to live in Davenport Florida and set up a Flower Shop. We brought our 2 Rottweilers along for the ride and they had a great life in the sun. Through all of the trials and tribulations that involves (Recession, COVID, Hurricanes, Inflation and everything else) in 2023 we sold that flower shop, our house and our car to become nomadic. We sold everything we own aside from some items in our storage unit mainly photos and a few keepsakes. We made the decision to be carry on only so while we do swap out our clothes dependent on the season and where we are going we travel light. Life is short, we intend to see everything we can while we are young….ish We are here for a good time, not a long time. https://www.facebook.com/GlobalNomads93/ https://www.instagram.com/globalnomads93?igsh=emg1ZzkybnJyOXZv Email: globalnomads93@gmail.com