Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 724

Nakhon Pathom
NAKHON PATHOM , 56km west of
Bangkok, has little of interest to most
travellers, but if you're into temple chedis,
this is the crème de la crème . Measuring a
staggering 120m - the same height as
St Paul's Cathedral in London - Phra
Pathom Chedi (daily dawn-dusk; B40) is
the tallest in the world. Legend has it that
the Buddha rested in Nakhon Pathom,
and the original Indian-style chedi may
have been erected to commemorate this.
It was rebuilt with a Khmer prang (tower)
between the eighth and twelfth centuries,
which was later encased in the enormous
plunger-shaped chedi that exists today.
he inner and outer chambers at the
cardinal points each contain a tableau of
the life of the Buddha, and there are two
museums within the chedi compound:
the newer Phra Pathom Chedi National
Museum (Wed-Sun 9am-noon &
1-4pm; B100), which is clearly
signposted from the bottom of the chedi's
south staircase, displays historical
artefacts excavated nearby, while the
Phra Pathom Chedi Museum (same
hours; free), halfway up the steps near
the east viharn, contains a beguiling
selection of curios.
For inexpensive hai food, head for the
market in front of the train station, where
you'll find some of the tastiest khao laam
(bamboo cylinders filled with steamed
rice and coconut) in hailand.

for centuries has grown the bulk of the
nation's food and been an irresistible
temptation for neighbouring power-
mongers. he riverside town of
Kanchanaburi has long attracted visitors
to the notorious Bridge over the River
Kwai and is now well established as a
budget travellers' hangout. Few tourists
venture further west except to travel on
the Death Railway, but the tiny hilltop
town of Sangkhlaburi is worth the trip
for its idyllic remoteness. On the plains
north of Bangkok, the historic heartland
of the country, the major sites are the
ruined ancient cities of Ayutthaya ,
Lopburi and Sukhothai . Mae Sot makes
a therapeutic change from old
monuments and is the departure point
for Umphang , a remote border region
that's becoming increasingly popular for
trekking and rafting.

10

KANCHANABURI AND AROUND
Nestled among limestone hills 121km
northwest of Bangkok, the peaceful
riverside guesthouses of KANCHANABURI
make it a popular and pleasant travellers'
hangout. Aside from the main historical
sights - the Bridge over the River Kwai

THE DEATH RAILWAY
In spite of the almost impenetrable
terrain, Japanese military leaders chose
the River Kwai basin as the route for the
construction of the 415km Thailand-
Burma Railway , which was to be a
crucial link between Japan's newly
acquired territories in Singapore and
Burma. Work began in June 1942, and
Kanchanaburi became a POW camp and
base for construction work on the railway.
About sixty thousand Allied POWs and
200,000 conscripted Asian labourers
worked on the line. With little else but
picks and shovels, dynamite and pulleys,
they shifted three million cubic metres of
rock and built more than 14km of bridges.
By the time the line was completed,
fifteen months later, it had more than
earned its nickname, the Death Railway:
an estimated sixteen thousand POWs and
100,000 Asian labourers died while
working on it.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By train If you arrive at Nakhon Pathom's train station (13
daily from Bangkok Hualumphong, 2 daily from Thonburi
Station; 1hr 30min), a 200m walk south across the canal
and past the market will get you to the chedi's north gate.
By bus Buses from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal
(every 10min; 40min-1hr 20min) stop at the bus station,
1km east of the town centre, but most will drop you off
near the chedi first.

The central plains
North and west of the capital, the
unwieldy urban mass of Greater
Bangkok peters out into the vast,
well-watered central plains , a region that