Kanchanaburi Things to Do Tips by Blatherwick

The most famous part of the "Death Railway" is the bridge over the river Kwae Yai, later immortalized in the book and the later the film, "The Bridge on the River Kwai. The first wooden bridge over the river was finished in February 1943, followed by a concrete and steel bridge in June 1943. Both bridges were destroyed on April 2, 1945, by the AZON crews of the 458th Heavy Bombardment Group USAAF, but had been damaged and repaired several times before already.

After the war, the bridge was reconstructed. The curved spans of the bridge are the original sections and the two squarish central sections of the current bridge were made in Japan and donated to Thailand to repair the bridge as war reparations.

Interestingly, some historians indicate that the name of the novel was taken from the Kwae Noi, a tributary of the Mae Khlaung. The little used name of Kwae Yai (Big Kwae) was not adopted for the part of the river that the bridge crosses until the locals saw the tourist potential of the bridge. They claim that tourism and fiction had overwhelmed historical and geographical truth. In the end I think that they're nitpicking. Who cares? The important thing is to learn what took place here and to not repeat history.

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Address: River Kwai, Kanachanaburi

Take a trip out to Nam Tok and take the Death Railway back to Kanchanaburi. The cost was 17 baht for the train. For the best views make sure that you sit on the right side of the train. You can do the opposite route to Nam Tok, in which case you should sit on the left side of the train.

The Death Railway was a railway built from Thailand to Burma by the Japanese during World War II to complete the route from Bangkok to Rangoon and support the Japanese occupation of Burma. It was so called because of the human cost of its construction. About a hundred thousand conscripted Asian labourers and 16,000 Allied prisoners of war died on the project made up of 6,318 British, 2,815 Australians, 2,490 Dutch and as well as others.

The railway suffered heavy damage during the war and the Bridge over the River Kwai was destroyed. After the war the railway was in too poor a state to be used for the civil Thai railway system, and needed heavy reconstruction. It was also converted from 1 metre narrow gauge to standard gauge. In June 1949 the first part from Kanchanaburi to Nong Pladuk was finished, in April 1952 the next section up to Wampo, and finally in July 1957 up to Nam Tok, making about 50 kilometres of the death railway still in use.

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Directions: Beginning in Nam Tok to the train station in Kanchanaburi.

Hellfire Pass is the name of a railway cutting on the Death Railway in Thailand. Australian, British, Dutch and other allied Prisoners of War were required by the Japanese to work 18 hours a day to complete the cutting of this section of the Death Railway. It was estimated that 68 men were beaten to death by the Japanese guards in the six weeks it took to build the cutting, although many more died from cholera, dysentery, starvation, and exhaustion . The majority of deaths occurred amongst Asian labourers whom the Japanese enticed to come to help build the line with promises of good jobs. These labourers suffered mostly the same as the POWs at the hands of the Japanese.

As a part of the museum it is possible (and recommended) to walk through the cutting itself and along a section of the former railway trackbed. It's a fitting memorial to people that suffered.

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Directions: Take bus 8203 from Kanchanaburi. Be careful. The last bus leaves around 4:45pm.

This seven-tier cascade is ea popular attraction for tourists and locals. The place is so named because the topmost tier is believed to have the shape of Erawan, a three-headed elephant in the Hindu-Buddhist pantheon.

There are plenty of good pools to go plunging into. The damn fish in the pools nibble at your feet when you are swimming. It is annoying more than anything else but it encourages you to keep on moving. There are also some good places to just sit under the falls.

Admission was 200 baht last time I went.

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Directions: Take public bus 8170 for 1.5 hours.

This cemetery is the resting place of around 7000 POWs who died working on the Death Railway. It is generally organized into 4 sections. The section immediately to the right of the entrance are the British graves. To the immediate left of the entrance are the graves of the Dutch. To the far left of the cemetary are the ANZAC graves.

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Address: Saeng Chuto Rd.

Next to the POW cemetery is the Chinese cemetery. Note that up to 100,000 Asians died during the construction of the Death Railway.

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Address: Saeng Chuto Rd.

This place is worth seeing for one reason. It is the site what is remaining of the original River Kwai Bridge jutting out towards the river. There are other exhibits such as a train that the Japanese would have used, some cars, and other exhibits. Although it isn't the best museum that I've seen it does give an introduction to the novice of what happened along the death railway. Also, the building has the best view of the bridge. Officially it's known as the World War II and JEATH Museum. However, it's not the real JEATH museum. You have to go 500 metres away from the southern end of Song Khwae Road to see that.

The museum loses its impact as a war museum due to the fact that this is still an art museum as well. The other floors cover things like the history of currency. There is a gallery of paintings of Thailand's Beauty Queens.

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Address: Next to the bridge