Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
DEATH RAILWAY BRIDGE
(Bridge Over the River Kwai; Th Mae Nam Khwae)
Despite its unspectacular appearance (it's an iron
bridge), the bridge across Mae Nam Khwae is one of Kanchanaburi's most popular attrac-
tions. Indeed, Kanchanaburi can thank director David Lean and his Hollywood epic
The
Bridge on the River Kwai
for a good proportion of the city's foreign visitors. The bridge,
2km north of town, was taken from Java by the Japanese and reassembled here with work
beginning in 1942. It was bombed repeatedly during WWII and today only the curved
spans are original; the two square sections were rebuilt with Japanese reparation money in
1946.
A rainbow-coloured minitrain runs regular trips (20B, 8am to 10am and noon to 2pm)
across the bridge. Three trains daily (100B, 5.20am, 12.50pm and 3.15pm; about two
hours) also cross the bridge en route to Nam Tok, via the infamous Hellfire Pass (
Click
light show marks the Allied attack on the Death Railway in 1945.
HISTORICAL SITE
THAILAND-BURMA RAILWAY CENTRE MUSEUM
(
www.tbrconline.com
; 73 Th Jaokannun; adult/child 120/60B; 9am-5pm)
This is the pick of Kan-
chanaburi's war museums, with interactive exhibits, short films and clear descriptions
providing the context of the Japanese aggression in Southeast Asia, detailing their plans for
the railway and describing the horrors faced by those prisoners who worked and died con-
structing it. Give yourself a full hour to read through the museum, and stop for a coffee up-
stairs for sweeping views across the cemetery. Half-/full-day tours (2400/4900B) can be ar-
ranged from here.
MUSEUM
ALLIED WAR CEMETERY
HISTORICAL SITE
(Th Saengchuto; 24hr)
F
This cemetery is the final resting place of about 7000 prisoners
who died while working on the railway. The cemetery is meticulously maintained by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
(
www.cwgc.org
)
, and the rows of headstones are identical
except for the names and the short, moving epitaphs. It's just around the corner from the
riverside guesthouses.
