"Sad History, Tiger Tales and a river of... " a Kanchanaburi Travel Page by austarman

This is me on the bridge over the river Kwai in Feburary 2009.
Work on the bridge begun in October 1942, using prisoner of war (POW) labour, it was completed and operational by early February 1943
Originally 2 bridges was built in this area by the Japanese during world war 2 using Allied prisoners of war.
Both the wooden and the adjacent steel bridge were subjected to numerous air raids between January and June 1945. POW labour was used to repair the wooden bridge on each occasion.
Many prisoners died at the hands of the Japanese in the process of making and repairing the bridges and on the "Death Railway". There is a nearby museum with photos and artifacts from the period and a nearby cemetary in the town.

This Tiger temple is part of a monastry known as Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno.
Since 1999, the monks here have taken care of tigers which have been rescued from poachers in the nearby Thai-Burmese border jungle - and to date they have 17 fully grown tigers and tiger cubs living within the temple grounds. Every afternoon, the tigers are let out of their cages and taken down to a quarry which has a natural pool for them to bathe and play in.
For 1000 Baht you can touch and pat at least 6 or 7 of the tigers while the volunteers take photo's for you on your own camera.
The money helps them to train, feed and take care of the tigers and you get a very unique experience. Definatly worth doing if you go to Kanchanaburi.

It gets very hot in Kanchanaburi sometimes and this is one place you can come and cool off.
It is well shaded and there are many pools and cool places to put your feet in the water and cool off. Great for picnics and for kids to swim too.
It is part of the Sai Yok national park and there is an old train locomotive still there because the Death Railway once passed close by.