Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Death Railway and Hellfire Pass
he scenic two-hour-plus rail journey
from Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok (three
trains daily in each direction) travels the
POW-built Death Railway . Highlights
include crossing the Bridge over the River
Kwai, squeezing through 30m solid rock
cuttings at Wang Sing (Arrow Hill), and
the Wang Po viaduct, where a 300m
trestle bridge clings to the cliff face as it
curves with the Kwai Noi.
Starting 18km beyond Nam Tok, seven
separate cuttings were dug over a 3km
stretch, which has now been turned into
a memorial walk. he longest and most
brutal of these cuttings was Hellfire Pass,
which got its name from the hellish lights
of the fires the POWs used when working
at night. At the trailhead, the beautifully
designed Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum
(daily 9am-4pm; donation), the best and
most informative of Kanchanaburi's
World War II museums, movingly
documents the POWs' story. Most
Kanchanaburi tour operators feature
visits to Hellfire Pass, or any bus from
Kanchanaburi (1hr 15min) or Nam Tok
(20min) that's bound for hong Pha
Phum or Sangkhlaburi will drop you
outside; the last bus back to
Kanchanaburi passes the museum at
about 4.45pm.
Kanchanaburi (from B1300 per car)
through the guesthouses. he falls are
about 40km from Nam Tok so are also
commonly combined with a ride on the
Death Railway.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By train Trains are the most scenic way to get to
Kanchanaburi from Bangkok (daily 7.50am and 1.55pm).
Destinations Bangkok Thonburi (2 daily; 3hr); Nakhon
Pathom (2 daily; 1hr 40min-2hr); Nam Tok (3 daily;
2hr 20min).
By bus and minibus As well as the buses detailed
here, there's a useful a/c minibus service from outside
the Royal Ratanakosin Hotel on Th Rajdamnoen Klang in
Bangkok's Banglamphu, which will drop wherever you
want in Kanchanaburi (hourly; 2hr). Tourist minibuses to
Ayutthaya can be booked through guesthouses.
Destinations Bangkok (Northern Bus Terminal; hourly;
2hr 30min); Bangkok (Southern Bus Terminal; every
15min; 2hr); Erawan (hourly; 1hr 30min); Nakhon Pathom
(every 15min; 2hr); Nam Tok (every 30min; 1hr 30min);
Sangkhlaburi (roughly hourly; 4hr).
10
GETTING AROUND
As well as songthaews and tuk-tuks (about B50/journey
in town), there are bicycles (B50/day) and motorbikes
(about B200/day) available for rent from guesthouses and
tour agencies.
By songthaews Orange songthaews run along Th Saeng
Chuto, originating from outside the Focus Optic optician's,
three blocks north of the bus station, and travelling north
via the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thai-Burma Railway
Centre, train station and access road to the bridge (#2;
every 15min until 6pm; B10).
Erawan National Park
Chances are that when you see a poster of
a waterfall in hailand, you'll be looking
at a picture of the seven-tiered falls in
Erawan National Park (daily 8am-4pm;
B200), 65km northwest of Kanchanaburi.
he falls really are astonishingly lovely,
with clear, glacial-blue waters gushing
through the forest. From the entrance
there's a fairly easy trail up to the fifth tier
(2km), beyond which you have to
scramble (wear strong shoes); the best
pools for swimming are at levels two, five
and, during the rainy season, seven.
Buses run from Kanchanaburi's bus
station to the national park visitor centre
near the base of the falls (#8170; roughly
every hour; 1hr 30min; the last bus back
to Kanchanaburi departs at around 4pm).
However, the vast majority of foreign
tourists charter return transport from
INFORMATION AND TOURS
Tourist information The TAT o ce (daily 8.30am-
4.30pm; T 034 511200, E tatkan@tat.or.th) is on Th Saeng
Chuto near the bus station and keeps up-to-date bus
timetables.
Tour operators Many tour operators offer reasonably
priced day-trips and overnight excursions to local caves,
waterfalls and sights, plus elephant-riding, trekking and
rafting. Operators include: Good Times Travel, 63/1
Th Maenam Kwai ( T 034 624441, W good-times-travel
.com), which does all the standard trips plus cycle tours;
and Safarine, outside of town in Ban Puksakan ( T 086 049
1662, W safarine.com), a kayaking specialist.
ACCOMMODATION
The stretch of river along Soi Rongheabaow and
Th Maenam Kwai is the most popular area for backpacker
accommodation. Many of the guesthouses have cheaper
 
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