Transcript Three_Pagodas_Pass_Reading 534 Kb 03/11/14

Three Pagodas Pass
ครู จนั ทนา คาอนุกลู
Three Pagodas Pass (Thai: ด่ านเจดีย์
สามองค์ pronounced Darn Chedi Sam
Ong) is a pass through the Bilauktaung
Mountains on the border between
Thailand and Burma. The pass links the
town of Sangkhlaburi in the north of
Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand to the
town of Payathonsu in Burma.
This pass has been the main land
route into western Thailand since
ancient times, and is believed be the
point at which Buddhist 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
was also occasionally used in the
opposite direction by Thai armies.
The three small, crumbling pagodas,
or chedis, after which the pass is
named, were probably built at the end
of this period as a symbol of peace.
They are now on the Thai side of the
border. Parts of the border are still
disputed.
During World War II, Japan built the
famous Death Railway through the
pass. There is a plaque here to
commemorate the Australian prisoners
of war who (with many other Allied
soldiers and Asian civilians) died as
forced laborers during the building of
the railway.
The area is home to a number of
mountain peoples, including Karens,
Mons and Burmese, who are unable or
unwilling to obtain citizenship of either of
the neighboring countries. Since the end
of World War II, there have been regular
attempts by rebel armies to take control
of the pass from Burma, with the Mon
group in effective control until 1990, when
Burma regained control. There are also
occasional skirmishes between Karen
and Mon rebel groups.
Nowadays, the pass is popular with
tourists who, subject to the occasional
hostilities between the two countries,
are allowed to obtain a one-day visa
from the Thai side to visit Payathonzu.
Tourist attractions on the Burmese side
include the locally made wooden
furniture, jade carvings, and textiles.