Three Pagodas Pass
Three Pagodas Pass or Phra Chedi Sam Ong is located in Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province on the Thai-Myanmar (Burma) border. It is the name of a settlement as well as the mountain pass. The name is derived from three miniature Buddhist shrines, memorials to the invasions of Thailand by the Burmese. This was the favorite Burmese invasion route during the Ayutthaya period (1350–1767). The shrines were constructed in the eighteenth century.
The area was used by the Japanese army in World War II as its point for invading Burma. It was a stop on the infamous "Death Railway," a railroad route designed by the Japanese to link Bangkok, Thailand, and Moulmein, Burma. The "Bridge over the River Kwai" spanning the Khwae Noi River was part of this railway, which was constructed by Allied prisoners of war and "liberated" Asians. Most of this railway was destroyed after the war.
Today, area residents are Thai, Karen, and Mon. The Myanmar government has been trying to attract tourism, touting it as a hub for regional day trips. Many of those trips are to war-related sites. Journalist Micool Brooke described the area in 1999 as "more like a demilitarized zone than a link between friendly countries."
Further Reading
Gooden, Christian. (1996) Three Pagodas: A Journey Down the Thai-Burmese Border. Halesworth, Suffolk, U.K.: Jungle Books.
Kinvig, Clifford. (1998) River Kwai Railway: The Story of the Burma-Siam Railroad. London: Brassey/B.T. Batsford.
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