Sarasin Bridge

About

Sarasin Bridge (RTGS: Saphan Sarasin, pronounced [sā.pʰāːn sǎː.rā.sǐn]) is a bridge in Thailand which connects the island of Phuket with Phang Nga in southern Thailand. It was built in 1951 and officially opened on July 7, 1967. It was the first bridge linking Phuket and Phang Nga, with a total length of 660 m (2, 165.4 ft) and a total budget of 28,770,000 baht. It was named after Pote Sarasin, a former Prime Minister of Thailand, during his time as the Minister of National Development. On February 22, 1973, the bridge was the site of an unforgettable tragedy. Two young lovers, Dam Sae-tan and Kanchana "Gew" Sae-ngo, jumped from the bridge together after they were forbidden from being together. Dam was a local songthaew (local bus) driver and rubber tapping worker. He came from a poor family and struggled to make ends meet. Gew was a teachers college student who used to ride on Dam’s bus. Gew came from a wealthy family and was expected to marry someone who was also rich. As the two got to know each other, they began to fall in love. They sought Gew’s father’s blessing to get married, but he refused their plea and forbade them from seeing each other ever again. Their love having been stifled by Gew’s father, the couple decided that if they couldn’t be together in this life, then they would take their own lives. On the night of February 22, 1973, they bound th

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.