The infamous "3 Pagoda Pass" (border crossing into Myanmar, where there has been talk that you can do visa runs now, but still unconfirmed) is about 20km from Sangkhlaburi town towards the north on R 323, co-ords:
N15.30234
E98.38569
Lots of military communication equipment in the area
This pass has been the main land route into western Thailand since ancient times, and is believed be the point at whichBuddhist teachings reached the country from India in the 3rd century. During the Ayutthaya period in Thai history (14th-18th centuries), the pass was the main invasion route for the Burmese, but at times was also used against them by Siamese armies. The first of such was the Burmese invasion in 1548, which was part of the Burmese–Siamese War of 1548. During World War II, Japan built the infamous Death Railway (officially Taimen - Rensetsu Tetsudo) through the pass. There is a memorial to commemorate the thousands of Australian prisoners of war who (with other Allied prisoners and Asian civilians) died as forced labourers in the construction of the railway. The region is home to several hill tribes, including Karens and Mons, who are unable or unwilling to obtain citizenship from either countries. Separatist a
Driving south from Sangkhlaburi, approaching Kanchanaburi, on R 323 you pass the Hellfire Pass Memorial/ Museum co-ords:
N14.35437
E98.95742
From Wiki:
Hellfire Pass (Thai: ช่องเขาขาด, known by the Japanese as Konyu Cutting) is the name of a railway cutting on the former "Death Railway" in Thailand which was built with forced labour during the Second World War, in part by Alliedprisoners of war. The pass is noted for the harsh conditions and heavy loss of life suffered by its labourers during construction. Hellfire Pass is so called because the sight of emaciated prisoners labouring at night by torchlight was said to resemble a scene from Hell.[SUP][1][/SUP]
[h=2]History[/h]Hellfire Pass in the Tenasserim Hills was a particularly difficult section of the line to build. It was the largest rock cutting on the railway, coupled with its general remoteness and the lack of proper construction tools during building. A tunnel would have been possible to build instead of a cutting, but this could only be constructed at the two ends at any one time, whereas the cutting could be constructed at all points simultaneously despite the excess effort required by the POWs. The Australian, British, Dutch and other allied Prisoners of War were required by the Japanese to work 18 hours a day to complete the cutting. Sixty nine men were beaten to death by Japanese guards in the six weeks it took to build the cutting, and many more died from cholera,dysentery, starvation, and exhaustion (Wigmore 568).[SUP][2][/SUP] However, the majority of deaths occurred amongst labourers whom the Japanese enticed to come to help build the line with promises of good jobs. These labourers, mostly Malayans (Chinese, Malays and Tamils from Malaya), suffered mostly the same as the POWs at the hands of the Japanese. The Japanese kept no records of these deaths. The railway was never built to a level of lasting permanence and was frequently bombed by the Royal Air Force during the Burma Campaign. After the war, all but the present section was closed and the line is now only in service between Bangkok and Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi.
