Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hellfire Pass Memorial
The poignant
Hellfire Pass Memorial
(Rte 323; museum admission by donation; grounds 9am-4.30pm, mu-
seum to 4pm)
is a beautifully maintained tribute to those who died while building the
Burma-Thailand Railway in WWII.
Start your visit to the memorial at the
museum
on the top level and hire the free audio
guide, which has detailed descriptions of the area and fascinating anecdotes from survivors.
Gaze out over the contemplation deck, then walk along the trail that runs alongside the ori-
ginal rail bed.
Near the start of the route is the infamous cutting known as
Hellfire Pass
(locally referred to
as Konyu Cutting). The area earned its name following the three-month 'Speedo' construc-
tion period where shifts of 500 prisoners worked 16 to 18 hours a day. The glow from burn-
ing torches cast eerie shadows of the Japanese guards and of the gaunt prisoners' faces, so
that the scene was said to resemble Dante's
Inferno
.
Poor hygiene, a lack of medical equipment and the brutal treatment of prisoners claimed
the lives of around 15,000 Allied prisoners of war and tens of thousands of civilian labour-
ers from Southeast Asian countries.
Thai officials have blocked off part of the walking route so, at the time of writing, only
2.5km was available, up to the Hin Tok Cutting.
The museum is 80km northwest of Kanchanaburi on Hwy 323 and can be reached by the
Sangkhlaburi-Kanchanaburi bus (80B, 1½ hours, frequent departures). The last bus back to
Kanchanaburi passes here at 4.45pm. Entry is free but donations are welcomed.
Sai Yok National Park
stone mountains, waterfalls, caves - and some extremely rare animals.
The park is well signposted and free leaflets provide information about hiking trails and
how to hire canoes, rafts or bicycles. A cycling route is available to the Kitti's hog-nosed
bat cave where the eponymous creature, the smallest mammal in the world, was first spot-
ted in 1973. They hang out, literally, at Tham Khang Kow, 2km from the park headquar-
ters. Take a torch.
