The Bridge over the River Kwai (French: Le Point De La Riviere Kwai) is a novel published by Pierre Boulle in 1952. The story is fictional but uses the construction of the Burma Railway, in 1942-43 as its historical context. The novel deals with the plight of Allied POW's who were forced, by the Japanese, to build the 258 mile railway to link Thailand with Burma, so that they could mount an invasion of British India. Approx 120,000 people died on the railway project (infamously known as the Burma-Siam 'Death Railway') many of whom were conscripted from Southeast Asia.
The bridge itself lies 5km from the Thai town of Kachanburi, which is where I'll be heading tomorrow, but first I have to fly down to Bangkok to catch the clickety-clacking wooden train westwards. Oh yeah, and apparently the fair costs about a quid...I promise not to complain!
