[peter mac]

Hi, a group of us will be in Thailand next year .. we are wishing to know if there are any "day trips" planned for ANZAC day celebrations at Hellfire Pass for 2012 .. If not, then does any one have ideas of the best method for the group to get there / celebrate / etc for a "day trip" ex Bangkok ..

We realise the timings are pretty early but simply wish to have some ideas to throw about between now and our arrival etc ..

Smiles .. Peter // Aussie

[bundy]

This is one of my favourite areas in thailand, not just because of the Australian war museums and Hell Fire pass ect, but the great places to stay along the river and the beautiful waterfalls and of course river kwai railway!
If you are just going up for the day for the Anzac celebrations you will either need to go up the night before or leave early in the morning as most of the Anzac day services are held in the morning.
For a group i think best to hire a mini-van from a private taxi,transport company. if in a group can be quite cheap per person, but u may need to have some maps and directions in thai and English for the driver. can get all these from google search. there is a wikitravel page that should give u all the info you need!
http://wikitravel.org/en/Kanchanaburi

[nommy]

I was up there for this years ANZAC day, they have a bugle service at dawn with people from both sides of the war! I also went to 'Hellfire Pass' it's about 80kms away from the bridge so you'll find it hard to fit everything into 1 day? 2 trains go over the bridge, 1 early in the morning and 1 in the evening! I stayed in a hotel near the bridge(the sugar-cane i think it was?) it has rooms like chateaus(excuse my French!) that float on the water! This floating hotel organises day trips to Hellfire Pass and other places along the way like erawan waterfalls, elephant rides etc.(UP 2 U)? On the way back down to Kanchanaburi the rest of the tour went to see other places and then take the mini-van the rest of the way?! I always wanted to go over the bridge on the train, is that not what it's all about??? So i stayed on with a few Thai people and went over the bridge, a perfect way to end the tour for me! So my advice is give yourself 2 days, get up to Hellfire Pass and get an idea of what these lads went through?! Then take the train down and 'go over the bridge' it's the least you can do on ANZAC day being an Aussie! I done it and i'm Irish!!! I don't know how much time you have? But my advice is to try! i'll never forget it!

[peter mac]

somehow i stuffed up and re-created a previous post .. still learning .. haha .. peter

[peter mac]

hi bundy .. many thanks for responding here .. have had a look at the website and also forwarded to others .. so will wait to hear back and think of organising something .. i guess it could be organised pretty easy and quickly say .. about 2 weeks prior to anzac day .. your thoughts .. cheers .. peter

nommy, on 05 October 2011 - 01:36 PM, said:

I was up there for this years ANZAC day, they have a bugle service at dawn with people from both sides of the war! I also went to 'Hellfire Pass' it's about 80kms away from the bridge so you'll find it hard to fit everything into 1 day? 2 trains go over the bridge, 1 early in the morning and 1 in the evening! I stayed in a hotel near the bridge(the sugar-cane i think it was?) it has rooms like chateaus(excuse my French!) that float on the water! This floating hotel organises day trips to Hellfire Pass and other places along the way like erawan waterfalls, elephant rides etc.(UP 2 U)? On the way back down to Kanchanaburi the rest of the tour went to see other places and then take the mini-van the rest of the way?! I always wanted to go over the bridge on the train, is that not what it's all about??? So i stayed on with a few Thai people and went over the bridge, a perfect way to end the tour for me! So my advice is give yourself 2 days, get up to Hellfire Pass and get an idea of what these lads went through?! Then take the train down and 'go over the bridge' it's the least you can do on ANZAC day being an Aussie! I done it and i'm Irish!!! I don't know how much time you have? But my advice is to try! i'll never forget it!

[peter mac]

hi nommy .. many thanks .. soundes like we may need a couple of days to do the whole thing .. will advise the others and see what they provide .. were you able to arrange pretty easy there for your trip .. did you go with others or alone .. as mentioned there is a group of us .. about 6-8 guys .. so not too sure of how it may work .. is it easy to arrange accommodation there etc .. and can we simply arrive there for the service or does it need to be pre arranged etc .. your thoughts appreciated .. cheers .. peter

[bundy]

peter mac, on 14 October 2011 - 05:13 AM, said:

hi bundy .. many thanks for responding here .. have had a look at the website and also forwarded to others .. so will wait to hear back and think of organising something .. i guess it could be organised pretty easy and quickly say .. about 2 weeks prior to anzac day .. your thoughts .. cheers .. peter

Yeah should not have trouble organising a few weeks before, but definetly look at staying at least 1 night or even 2 as it is such a pretty and relaxing part of thailand.

[nommy]

peter mac, on 14 October 2011 - 05:16 AM, said:

hi nommy .. many thanks .. soundes like we may need a couple of days to do the whole thing .. will advise the others and see what they provide .. were you able to arrange pretty easy there for your trip .. did you go with others or alone .. as mentioned there is a group of us .. about 6-8 guys .. so not too sure of how it may work .. is it easy to arrange accommodation there etc .. and can we simply arrive there for the service or does it need to be pre arranged etc .. your thoughts appreciated .. cheers .. peter

Hello Peter mac, Well the tours start early in the morning (8-9am?) because it's a whole day thing! So the first day you arrive, maybe the day before ANZAC day? You can spend that day booking into your accommodation(maybe you should book ahead) visiting the war museums,cemetery,bridge and bars?!! i think most of the hotels do tours? certainly the sugar-cane does, it's a nice hotel but there's no TV or fridge if your that way inclined?!! They need to have the numbers to do the tour! so when you arrive let them know! So the next day is ANZAC day?! Up EARLY in the morning to 'hear and see' the dawn chorus which takes place at the bridge just up the road from most accommodations, then you can set off on your tour!!!