Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guest houses rent bicycles (30B) and motorcycles (200B). You can take brief rides
around the historical park by elephant (200B to 500B) or by horse and carriage
(300B). The elephants stay at a
kraal
on Th Pa Thon.
Kanchanaburi
POP 47,147
The provincial town of Kanchanaburi is an ideal base from which to explore Thail-
and's wild west.
Today the town is busy and alive but the WWII memorials and museums are a re-
minder of darker times. Japanese forces used Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and
conscripted Southeast Asian labourers to build a rail route to Myanmar (Burma).
Roads in the guest house area are named after countries that were involved in the
conflict.
Sights
DEATH RAILWAY BRIDGE (BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI)
Historical Site
( Th Mae Nam Khwae)
The 300m railway bridge is an iconic symbol that represents
the efforts of those who toiled to build a crossing here. The centre of the bridge was
destroyed by Allied bombs in 1945 so today only the outer curved spans are origin-
al. Once you make it to the other side there are cafes and greenery by the water-
front.
The bridge spans Mae Nam Khwae Yai, which is 2.5km from the centre of Kan-
chanaburi. This means it is walkable from Th Mae Nam Khwae or you can jump on
a northbound
sŏrng·tăa·ou
(10B) along Th Saengchuto. A mini train runs regular
trips (20B) over the bridge from the nearby train station.
