Kanchanaburi

One of the major tourist destinations in Thailand, city located at the confluence of the rivers Kwai Noi and Kwai Yai. It is about 3 hours by car from Bangkok. Once we get there, it's very easy to get around with our own car, but there are standard local transport available for visitors; such as tuk tuk (songtaew), motorbike taxi and public bus. The tourist attractions in Kanchanaburi including the well-known waterfall (Sai Yok Waterfall), River Khwae; which is suit for rafting and fishing.

For most visitors the main sight of interest is the Bridge over the River Kwai (pronounced khwaae as in air), as the start of the infamous World War II Death Railway to Burma (now Myanmar), as well as the many associated museums. There is an increasingly thriving backpacker scene taking advantage of the chilled-out riverside vibe for those that need to get away from Bangkok. Kanchanaburi is also the gateway to the surrounding province of the same name. More foreign visitors are discovering why Thais know it as one of the most beautiful provinces in the country with its easily accessible waterfalls and national parks.

Kanchanaburi attractions;

Death railway: In the former time, Kanchanaburi was under Japanese control. It was here that Asian forced labourers and Allied POWs, building the infamous Burma Railway, constructed a bridge; an event immortalised in the film Bridge on the River Kwai. Almost half of the prisoners working on the project died from disease, maltreatment and accidents.

At Kanchanaburi, there is a memorial and two museums to commemorate the dead. In March 2003, the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum opened and the JEATH War Museum dedicated to the bridge and the Death Railway. The city is also home to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. The Chong Kai Allies Cemetery is near Kanchanaburi, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Wat Tham Phu Wa.

Bridge over the River Kwai:

Located some 3 km north of Kanchanaburi (down New Zealand Road, off Saeng Chuto Road), this iron bridge (Saphan Mae Nam Kwae) across the Kwai Yai River is the main attraction for many visitors. Immortalized in the famous movie and novel, it was a part of the infamous Death Railway to Burma, constructed by POWs working for the Japanese in hellish conditions during World War II. Some 16,000 POWs and 90,000 Asian workers (most of them enslaved) died during the railway construction. The present iron bridge is the second wartime incarnation (a part of the original can be found in the War Museum), but two central 'boxy' spans were rebuilt after the war to replace three sections destroyed by Allied bombing.

You can cross the bridge on foot. While the centre of the track has been thoughtfully turned into a steel-plated walkway and there are little side platforms between the spans for sightseeing and avoiding trains. There are guardrails, but some areas of the bridge lack them, so be careful of small children! Off the end of the bridge, you can feed or ride an elephant bare-back at negotiated price of 600 baht per ride. At May 2010, the elephant was kept on a short chain, and had to stand in its own waste products.

As the bridge is still used locally, it is possible to take one of the trains that cross the bridge every day. The ride from Nam Tok (the train line's terminus) to River Kwai Bridge station takes a bit longer than 2 hours

Chongkai War Cemetery: (either bargain with a taxi or rent a bicycle to get there; it's at the west side of the river). A neatly maintained smaller cemetery 2 km out of town along the road that leads to Wat Thaopoom. This is the final resting place of Dutch and British forces. 

Thailand-Burma Railway Centre: 73 Jaokannun Rd (next to Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, near the south of Mae Nam Khae Road), ☎ +66 3 451 2721, 09:00-17:00 daily. Generally considered to be the best source of information regarding World War II in Thailand, railway construction and route, and the conditions endured by POWs and Asian labourers. Very moving exhibits, including video and interactive displays. A visit takes at least one hour, and probably longer if you want to read everything.Fee includes a free coffee or tea at upstairs cafe, where you can sit at the window bench overlooking the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. It is a good place to sit and reflect after your tour of the centre. 120 baht. 

World War II Museum and Art Gallery: Mae Nam Khwae Rd (about 50 m from the Bridge over the River Kwai). 08:30-17:30 daily. This well-signposted complex houses a bizarre collection of museums and exhibits, most of which are poorly maintained and labeled. To your left as you enter is the "War Museum", a 4 storey building encrusted with statues, which starts off with a little Burmese shrine but is mostly devoted to pre-WW2 Thai history through the ages and is filled with wall paintings of Kings and racks of rusty pistols. There are good views of the bridge from the roof of the riverside building. Above the WW2 museum is the most bizarre section, housing (among other things) dusty stamp collections and a gallery with wall paintings of all Miss Thailand winners. The World War II and (old) JEATH Museum is lurking in the basement. 40 baht. 

JEATH War Museum: Th Pak Phraek (Adjacent to the Wat Chaichumphon temple complex 1 km south of the town centre). 08:30-18:00. The free guide leaflet concludes with these salutary words - "May Peace Always Conquer Violence". Exhibits are housed in a palm hut, modelled on the kind of buildings that Death Railway POWs would have slept in. The exhibits themselves are timeworn and many have been attacked by insects and weather. It may seem a amateurish in it's style of curation. The temple complex next door is much more interesting. A cross-river boat service is available from the Jeath museum. This is the main drawcard of the World War II Museum and Art Gallery complex. It features a section of the first wooden bridge, recreations of the POW barracks and random military paraphernalia. Downstairs is an exhibit of prehistoric Thailand complete with semi-erotic murals. 40 baht.

Get In

By bus

BKS public buses (line 81) leave from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Taling Chan สายใต้ตลิ่งชัน), which is located far west in the suburb Thonburi. In Kanchanaburi, there are two separate but nearby bus terminals, with 1st class buses departing from an office off Thanon Saengchuto, and 2nd class buses from the larger terminal one block east.

1st class buses should leave Bangkok every 15 minutes from 05:00-22:30, take about 2 hours, and cost 110 baht, including a bottle of water.

2nd class buses (new route) leave Bangkok every 20 minutes from 03:30-19:00 and take about 2 hours.

2nd class buses (old route) leave Bangkok every 15-30 minutes from 04:00-18:00 and take about 3 hours.

There are also tourist minibuses directly to/from Khao San Road, departing Kanchanaburi at 13:30 and 18:30hrs.

There are also some buses leaving less frequently from Bangkok's Northern Mo Chit bus terminal (note: not the same as Mo Chit BTS station, and not within walking distance of it, although a standard 50 baht motorbike ride is available. It's often called "Mo Chit 2") 

Here are the times that you could find at the station:

First-class bus with toilet (3 hours, 122 baht): 06:00, 11:00, 14:30

Second class bus with no toilet inside: 05:00, 07:00, 09:30, 12:30, 17:00

Bus rides may be variable or cancelled (for example, with 14:30 being last of the day.) BUT there are vans available at the bus station leaving even when you're told there's no way to get there by bus! It may pay to talk to the information desk for this. 

From Nakhon Pathom, there are direct buses (2nd class only) every 15 to 30 minutes between 04:00 and 18:00, which take two hours. Alternatively, you can hop off a 1st class bus when it passes by Nakhon Pathom, but double-check with staff to ensure the route allows this and they know your plans.

From Sangkhlaburi to Kanchanaburi, you're spoilt for choice:

Air-con VIP buses leave at 08:45, 10:45 and 14:30 and take 4 hours.

Air-con minibuses leave at 06:30, 07:30, 11:30, 13:00, 15:30 and take 3.5 hours.

Standard buses leave at 06:45, 08:15, 10:15, 13:15 and take 5 hours.

By train

Trains leave Bangkok's Thonburi Train Station at 07:50 and arrive at Kanchanaburi at 10:25, also at 13:55 and arriving at 16:24. You may be interested in buying a ticket all the way to the River Kwai Bridge, since these two trains are the only ones which cross the bridge each day. Since December 2005, the fare is 100 baht for foreigners.

Be warned that reaching Thonburi Station from Khao San Road is harder than it looks; tuk-tuk drivers will try to charge you outrageous rates, and walking involves crossing two bridges and looping back a ways. The best way is probably to take the passenger boat from Phra Arthit Pier and connect to a cross-river ferry that reaches the Thonburi Railway pier, then walk or take the open minibus from there. The other way to reach Thonburi (Bangkok Noi) Station is walk little bit south from Thammasat university, take river ferry from Wat Mahathat to Wanglong, on the other side of river walk west until you reach main north-south road, here walk north until you reach big bridge where you will go under it and then just walk west to train station, all this from Khao San Road to train station takes only about 35 minutes easy walk and river ferry. You can also walk a bit away from Khao San Road and find a metered taxi that will not rip you off. The fare should be about 70-80 baht from Khao San on the meter. 

Return trains leave from the main railway station; from the River Kwai Bridge they leave 6 minutes earlier. Riding 3rd class is an adventure in itself, and definitely recommended.

Both train services continue to/from Nam Tok, the current terminus of the Death Railway. The normal trains will charge "Farangs" (Westerners) 100 baht in each direction from Kanchanaburi to Wang Pho, the last station before Nam Tok. The 10:30 train has a special tourist section, where the low, low price of 300 baht gets you air-con, a soft drink and a certificate of having ridden the Death Railway. This service has occasionally been operated by a steam engine, but usually uses an ordinary diesel DMU, and rail fans will have to content themselves with the Japanese-era steamers plinthed at the main and bridge stations, also at the waterfall in Nam Tok Noi. The steam train rides no longer operate.

By minivan

Minivans depart to Kanchanaburi from BTS Victory Monument. The minivans leave when they are full or every 15 minutes. The price is 130 baht from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and 120 baht from Kanchanaburi to Bangkok.

By car

Kanchanaburi is about 3 hours drive from Bangkok, along Hwy 4 (Phet Kasem) from Bangkok until it meets Hwy 323. This will take you all the way to Kanchanaburi.

You can catch a taxi to Kanchanaburi, return to Bangkok for the day for around 2,000 baht. This should include stopping at the Bridge over River Kwai and museum, Kanchanaburi township, the local dam and the cemetery for the prisoners of war. You may need to pay a bit extra to visit Erawan Falls which is about an hour out of the town centre and the Tiger Temple.

By limousine taxi

Bangkok (Airport) limousines are a comfortable and swift means of travel between Thailand's capitol and Kanchanaburi. Transfer rates by luxury Japanese sedan are typically from 3,000-3,500 baht.

By Minibus

For shorter travel, day trips from Bangkok are commonly sold at Bangkok travel agencies. Typically these include Toyota minibus transport from one's hotel to Kanchanaburi and back (visiting the famous bridge, Erawan National Park, etc., depending on the package), and perhaps lunch and entrance fees.