All language subtitles for Great.Asian.Railway.Journeys.Series.1.04of20.Ayutthaya.to.River.Kwai.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org

I'm in Southeast Asia with my 1913
Bradshaw's handbook,

published at the height of European
imperialism.

My 100-year-old guidebook
will lead me on a railway

adventure through archipelagos

and peninsulas, dotted with
hills, forests and paddy fields.

I'll tour towering
megacities and magnificent mosques.

I'll encounter golden Buddhas
and jewelled temples,

and experience some of the world's
most spectacular

and notorious railways.

As I travel through the diverse
nations of this vast region,

I'll learn how they asserted
their independence

against the British, French
and Dutch empires, to become

the economic tigers and dragons
of today.

My rail journey through Thailand
continues.

I began in Chiang Mai

and travelled south to the
former teak town of Lampang.

My next stop will be the old capital
of Ayutthaya.

I'll continue to Mae Klong before I
end at Kanchanaburi

and the infamous Bridge Over
the River Kwai.

On my travels,

I have a close encounter with an
astonishing railway.

I think I might lean
back at this point!

TRAIN HORN BLARES

I'm sized up by a gentle giant...

She's just getting used to me now.

Feel the intake of air
from that trunk.

..and discover the splendours

of the former capital of Siam.

Was one of the wealthiest cities

in Asia, let alone Southeast Asia.

I'm in the northern city of Lampang,
a charming town which grew

out of the teak industry
of the 19th century.

At the time of my guide, Lampang was
surrounded by forests

rich with teak.

Harvesting this valuable commodity

was tough work with much of the
heavy lifting

done by elephants.

Today, teak logging is banned,

but elephants remain an important
part of Thai culture.

Just outside Lampang is a hospital

dedicated to these magnificent
beasts.

The elephant has been fundamental
to the economy

and the defence of Siam.

For example, they used to mount
artillery on the back of one

of these animals to create
a sort of prototype tank.

A person who owned an elephant
was a figure of great prestige.

If you've ever had to give it
tonnes of food each day, you
realise

you have to be pretty rich!

The rare occurrence of a so-called
'white elephant' has to be offered

to the king.

And indeed, the white elephant
appeared on the flag

of Siam until 1916.

It's a measure of the respect
for this animal that the Friends

Of The Asian Elephant have mounted
this hospital to deal with wounded

and damaged elephants.

This hospital treats everything
from minor discomforts to major

complications, and they have a few
long-term residents.

Good to see you.
Good to see you, too.

What's the name of the elephant?
Her name is Moesha.

And why does she have only
three legs?

She step on land mine.

Oh, my goodness, a land mine.

How awful.

And how long has she been here?

Three years now.

Is the elephant quite well?
Is the elephant otherwise OK?

Yes, OK, now. But she have
prosthetic leg now.

Well, I see. Yes.
This enormous false leg.

You want to help? Yes, I'd love to.

What should I do?

HE INSTRUCTS HIS COLLEAGUE

Of course, this weighs a great
deal as well,

as you would imagine.

HE ISSUES INSTRUCTIONS

On it goes.

Elephant must be very used
to this because she's very calm

as we do it. A few adjustments.

How is that, Moesha?

Is that a bit better?

So prosthesis back on.

The leg has been washed.

SHE TRUMPETS SOFTLY

Are you OK with me?
You OK with me?

She's just getting used to me now.

Can feel the intake of air
from that trunk!

She's just making sure that I can be
trusted, I think.

Well done, Moesha. Well done.

And our three-legged elephant
has become

a four-legged elephant again!

Conflicts with neighbouring Myanmar
have left a border littered

with land mines, and this hospital
has become a leading centre

for elephant prosthetics.

Faster than I can go.

I don't know what's going
to happen when I...

MOESHA TRUMPETS SOFTLY

..finish.

I'm leaving Lampang to
continue my journey south.

The line from Lampang cuts
through the centre of Thailand

for 500km.

The landscape changes from the lush
jungle of the north into the fertile

plains of central Thailand,
that, for centuries, have grown

the bulk of the nation's food.

I'm making my way, not to Thailand's
present day capital, Bangkok,

but to Siam's medieval capital,
Ayutthaya.

It's located in the south
central region of the country

near Thailand's most important
river.

This is the mighty
Chao Phraya River.

Upon its banks, the kings of Siam

built a summer palace.

I've decided to cross its noble
waters, not by mere boat,

I'm being borne aloft.

This cable car is operated by monks.

Before I reach the old city,
I've had a tip off about a curious

monument from the 19th century.

Well, this is a surprise, indeed.
A Gothic revival chapel.

It's as though that cable car
had, in a few metres, transported me

back to Europe.

But in no Gothic church

are you required to take
your shoes off!

Wat Niwet Thammaprawat

is a Buddhist temple built by the
modernising Chulalongkorn,

King Rama V in 1878,

and it's a mark of how far he
embraced Western ideas.

Well, the Gothic theme is continued
inside with the pointed arches,

the hammer beams, the stained glass.

But there's no doubt that
this is a Buddhist temple.

And I think that in the late
19th century in Siam,

this would have been regarded
as a symbol of modernity.

I'm just sorry that modernity
apparently meant Westernism.

Off on the waters of
the Chao Phraya River.

Siam's medieval capital was built
along the banks of this major river.

I'm at what my Bradshaw's calls
the former capital of Ayutthaya,

with its gigantic ruined
temples just eight hours

by steamer from Bangkok.

It's a bit like visiting Winchester
in England, or Toledo in Spain,

or Philadelphia in the United
States - cities that were once

the seat of government
that reinforced the national story.

In the decades before my guidebook,
nationalism

had been the guiding spirit.

It had led to the unification
of Italy and Germany, and given

stimulus to imperialism.

So Siam needed to be on its guard

with its own providential
story of nationhood.

And the nation had a rich
history that could be told

through its magnificent
palaces and temples.

This is Wat Chaiwatthanaram,
and any website will tell

you that these reliquary towers
are known as "prang", and they form

a skyline as impressive as
a modern-day New York City or Dubai.

And that is the way to think
of this, because Ayutthaya

was a world-class city,

one of the largest in the world,
a metropolis.

It sent ambassadors to Japan and
China and to Versailles in France.

And yet it's all gone,
because civilisations do not last,

so passes the glory of this world.

A hit historical drama on Thai
television was set

in these romantic ruins.

So dressing as the characters
and taking selfies have become

a popular pursuit here.

Hello, ladies.

THEY EXCHANGE GREETINGS

My name is Lina.

And you speak English, obviously!

Yes. A little bit. A little bit.

Have you come from far away?

From Bangkok.
Bangkok, yes.

Where did you get the costumes?

Ahh...

From opposite temple.

Yeah.

200 baht. 200 baht. Very cheap.

Really cheap!

Is that to buy or to rent?

Ah, rent.
Are you having a lovely day?

Yeah. Yes. Very happy. Happy.

Could I have a selfie? Yes!
Shall we do a selfie?

Thank you. Lovely.

Bye.

I'd like to find out more about
Ayutthaya and its significance

to the Thai nation at the time
of my guidebook.

So I'm meeting Professor of History,
Dr Diruwat Numphomphet.

Diruwat, this is absolutely
astonishing.

The monuments that I've seen
in Ayutthaya are grand

on an epic scale.

This must have been
an extraordinary city.

Please describe it to me.

Well, it was the capital of Thailand
or Siam, as it was called,

for over 400 years,
from the middle of 14th century

to the middle of the 18th century.

And it was very prosperous.

It was a port city, as well
as a city which had a large

hinterland of rice fields
all around it.

So it had a big population.

It was one of the wealthiest cities
in Asia, let alone Southeast Asia.

With whom did these people
have trading relationships?

Oh, they were trading with China,
with the Malay states,

with the Indonesian islands.

And then, as time went on,
the Muslims from India

and the Middle East came in, and
then the Europeans, the Portuguese.

You know, on all points
of the compass, not

because Ayutthaya had spices,

we didn't have that, no gold,

but we had a lot of things which
came in the entrepot trade.

Chinese ceramics, Japanese ceramics,
Japanese fans,

spices from Indonesia.

And so, people could buy
them and resell elsewhere.

And also, this land had a lot
of forests. From these forests,

from these jungles, you could get
a lot of goods

like elephant tusks,

ivory, you get deer skins

and even live, wild elephants, which
were much sought

after in India, believe it or not,
you know.

And so the Thais sold hundreds
of elephants to India each year.

Halfway between China and India,

this thriving commercial kingdom was
one of the great powers of Asia.

But that came to an abrupt end
in 1767

when neighbouring Burma invaded,

burning and ransacking the city.

Ayutthaya never recovered.

What happened to the dynasty
and to the people of the city?

The last king of Ayutthaya died
either in the action or immediately

after the battle leading
to the fall of the city.

We're not quite sure how he died.

But the people,
tens of thousands were taken away

as war captives to Myanmar,
to Burma,

and quite a few of them escaped.

And about a year after that,
a leader rose up,

who was half Chinese,
half Siamese, general.

And he managed to reunite quite
a lot of the country

and drive out the Burmese garrison.

That dynasty lasted until 1782,

and the Chakri dynasty came
to the throne.

The Chakri dynasty is, of course,
the dynasty which still reigns

at this time.

Now we're into the tenth reign of
the Chakri dynasty.

The Chakri dynasty did not resurrect
Ayutthaya as the capital,

choosing to start anew in Bangkok.

Ayutthaya was left to decay

until around the time of my
Bradshaw's, when a strong national

story was needed to bolster
Thai nation building.

Diruwat, quite a contrast in
architecture here now.

Why have you brought me
to this spot?

Well, Michael, mainly because it
was built in the early 20th century

by King Chulalongkorn

to associate himself with the
Ayutthaya kings.

Did kings not normally come to
Ayutthaya to associate themselves

with the old dynasty?

Before that, there'd not been any
ceremony of this kind, but with him,

it was a very conscious effort to
link Bangkok for the Ayutthaya

and this kind of formation
of a national history was considered

to be necessary in order to make us,
I don't know, civilised,

and with a historical

heritage that stretched back
hundreds and hundreds of years.

King Rama V declared Ayutthaya
a protected zone in 1908.

And its great past was written
large into the history books

of the Thai nation.

I'm up with the lark

and I've made my way to
Ayutthaya Station, ready to catch

the train heading south.

BELL RINGS

With the ring of the bell, everyone
leaves the safe shade of the ticket

hall and comes across
to Platform 3 for Bangkok.

But I'm not going to the capital.

I'm travelling 80km west
of Bangkok

to a place known today as
Samut Songkram, which locals

still call Mae Klong.

It's an old fishing port and every
day holds a market, which I'm told

I particularly will like.

Oh, my goodness!

Here is the railway going straight
through the market.

The stalls come right up
to the track!

The canopies hang over the line.

It is clearly active.

You can tell because the rails
are not in any way rusty.

And I just hate to think what
happens when a train comes along.

This narrow-gauge track opened
as a goods line in 1905,

carrying produce from fishing ports
to the main markets of Bangkok.

Extraordinarily, today trains pass
along this line

up to eight times a day.

As far as I know, the train is due
in a very few moments

and no-one yet has shown any
inclination to move.

In fact, the situation's now got
worse because there are trolleys

actually on the tracks, and nowhere
that I can see that people

could escape to.

The clock is ticking.

HORN BLARES

OK, the train is now clearly coming.

We can hear it.

And the business of clearing
the produce away

from the track is beginning.

Here we go!

The canopies are moving back.

HORN TOOTS

At last, the stalls
begin to move back.

The most amazing sight!

HORN BLARES

Think I might lean back
at this point.

Absolutely amazing!

Shaving the stalls,
passing on top of the produce,

the low lying baskets are just left
in position

and the train goes over them,

with maybe a centimetre or two
to spare.

Surely one of the bizarrest sights

ever to be seen on a railway!

They call this The Railway Cafe.

I wonder why?

HORN TOOTS

It's the last day of my journey
and I've come 130km

north west to Kanchanaburi.

It's a western province
that borders neighbouring Myanmar.

These beautiful historic balconied
houses, which are just dimly visible

behind the tangle of electric
cables, are the sort of heritage

that attracts foreign visitors.

But in fact, most people who now
come to Kanchanaburi are part

of a curious modern form of tourism,

which has to do with war and death.

Here in Kanchanaburi is
a notorious railway.

During the Second World War, Japan
occupied much of Southeast Asia.

Prisoners of war and slave
labourers were forced to build

a 415km line.

They were treated brutally,
and so it became known

as the Death Railway.

I've been joined by Poom,

who works at The Thailand-Burma
Railway Centre.

Poom, many of us think we know
something about the railway,

but why did Japan need to build it?

Because they want to use the land
transports supply to Burma.

Otherwise they would have had to go
a long way by ship?

Yes, right. In the wartime, ships
sank.

They load a lot, looking for where

the safe route to Burma.

So there was an existing railway
in Burma, and there was one

in Siam, Thailand, and they needed
to join the two together?

Yes, they want to do that.

How many prisoners of war
and how many civilians were used

in the operation?

About 60,000 prisoner of war

and about 200,000 civilian
labour.

Tell me about the terrain
that they had to cross.

They had to cut the mountain.

They had to build the bridge.

And sometimes a corridor, because
the location

in Kanchanaburi and Burma,

really difficult to build
a driveway

and then they had to build
just one year only.

This cutting here... Yes.

..how long did it take to make this?

About two week.

That's extraordinary.

Men were forced to work
impossibly-long hours

with little food or medicine.

In Japanese Samurai culture,
imprisonment was a disgrace

and captives were treated
with contempt.

Starvation, disease and torture

led to the deaths
of more than 12,000 prisoners of war

and 90,000 civilians.

It's said that one man died
for each sleeper laid.

Tell me about the finishing
of the railway line.

They start work
in about October 1942

and railway completes
October 1943.

Yes, about one year.

It's a fantastic achievement, isn't
it? Yes.

This railway can use for two year,
until August 15th, 1945. Yes.

When the Japanese surrender.

The appalling events surrounding
the building of the railway

were dramatised in a film in 1957 -

The Bridge On The River Kwai.

Tourists, but also veterans
and their descendants, are drawn

to visit this infamous place.

Some of those who died building
this railway are buried

in the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.

This beautifully tended, and very
moving, war grave at Kanchanaburi

is the resting place
for about 7,000 prisoners of war,

mainly British, Australian
and Dutch,

and thousands more lie
in two similar cemeteries,

and tens of thousands of Southeast
Asian civilians also perished

building the railway.

They died
of starvation and disease

and cruelty, and some perpetrators
were executed when the peace came.

The slave labourers, with very
little in the way of food or tools,

in about a year, constructed 400km
of railway,

over 600 bridges,
through the jungle.

They are heroes, all.

And the wonder
is that ANYONE survived.

The line was dismantled after
the war, but in the late 1950s,

some sections were reopened
and it's become

a place of remembrance.

Of the many railways that
I've travelled, this is perhaps

the most poignant.

The line follows the river
in the direction

of Myanmar, formerly Burma.

I've been thinking about
whether it's right to enjoy riding

on the Death Railway.

And I think it is because
international tourism is a sign

that now Southeast Asia is at peace.

And tourists from countries
that were previously at war

are enjoying the sights together.

And isn't that the sort of world
that the prisoners of war

were hoping for and fighting for?

The train has slowed down to a
walking pace for one of the most

spectacular parts of the journey.

We have rejoined the river, but now
we are suspended above it,

crawling along a little wooden
platform, high above the water.

I'm reaching Tham Krasae,

the last station on
this part of my journey,

which has been enlightening

and at times emotional.

When Britain and France
had carved up

the rest of Southeast Asia,

Siam's King Rama V swiftly annexed

the old kingdom of Lanna
around Chiang Mai.

He denied the Europeans excuses
for colonisation

by granting them trading privileges

and modernising his country.

The monarchy survived

and during the 20th century,

unusually for this region,

Communism was kept at bay.

Thailand has endured
some turbulent history,

but at least it has avoided

the post-colonial,
anti-Communist wars

that devastated Vietnam,

Laos and Cambodia.

This is truly a country
of exceptions.

Next time in Thailand's
capital, Bangkok,

I'll snack in its biggest
floating market.

You can get street food
almost anywhere,

but canal food has to be Bangkok.

I'll discover the impact
of a royal railway gift...

Queen Victoria sent King Rama IV,
king Mongkut,

a train set
and I think that inspired

a lot of people.

..and take my life in my hands

in one of the city's iconic
tuk-tuks.

You certainly feel every
bump in the road,

but in Bangkok's notorious traffic,

it sneakily finds its way through.