Kanchanaburi Thailand

Kanchanaburi is Thailand´s third largest of 76 provinces. It is located 130 km west of Bangkok and covers an area of 19,480 km². About 735,000 inhabitant are living in Kanchanaburi province which borders Myanmar(Burma) at the north-west. Kanchanaburi town has a population of 54,000 and was originally established by King Rama I as a first line of defence against the Burmese, who might use the old invasion route through the Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai-Myanmar border. It is situated on the River Kwai and the home of the famous Bridge on the River Kwai, immortalized in Pierre Boulle´s same named novel and David Lean's movie. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), the memorable, epic World War II adventure/action, anti-war drama, was the first of director David Lean's major multi-million dollar, wide-screen super-spectaculars


The screenplay was based upon French author Pierre Boulle's 1954 novel of the same name. Boulle was better known for his screenplay for Planet of the Apes (1963). Although he received sole screenplay credit, other deliberately uncredited, blacklisted co-scripting authors (exiled Carl Foreman, American writer - who scripted High Noon (1952)- and Michael Wilson, American writer) had collaborated with him, but were denied eligibility. They were post-heinously credited years later, in late 1984, in a special Academy ceremony. [When the film was restored, the names of Wilson and Foreman were added to the credits.]

Every year in late November and early December the River Kwai Bridge Festival is held at the bridge with a spectacular Sound & Light Show. This event reminds us to the history of the Death Railway and the bombardments during World War II.

In 1943 thousands of Allied Prisoners of War (POW) and Asian labourers worked on the Death Railway under the imperial Japanese army in order to construct part of the 415 km long Burma-Thailand railway. Most of these men were Australians, Dutch and British and they had been working steadily southwards from Thanbyuzayat (Burma) to link with other POW on the Thai side of the railway. This railway was intended to move men and supplies to the Burmese front where the Japanese were fighting the British.

The film's story was loosely based on a true World War II incident, and the real-life character of Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey. One of a number of Allied POW, Toosey was in charge of his men from late 1942 through May 1943 when they were ordered to build two Kwai River bridges in Burma (one of steel, one of wood), to help move Japanese supplies and troops from Bangkok to Rangoon.
In reality, the actual bridge took 8 months to build (rather than two months), and they were actually used for two years, and were only destroyed two years after their construction - in late June 1945.


Photograph of the Bridge over the River Kwai, Thailand, severely damaged by aerial bombing.

Japanese army engineers selected the route which traversed deep valleys and hills. All the heavy work was done manually either by hand or by elephant as earth moving equipment was not available. The railway line originally ran within 50 meters of the Three Pagodas Pass which marks nowadays the border to Burma. However after the war the entire railway was removed and sold as it was deemed unsafe and politically undesirable. The prisoners lived in squalor with a near starvation diet. They were subjected to captor brutality and thus thousands perished. The men worked from dawn until after dark and often had to trudge many kilometres through the jungle to return to base camp where Allied doctors tended the injured and diseased but many died. After the war the dead were collectively reburied in the War Cemeteries and will remain forever witness to a brutal and tragic ordeal.


Tamarkan POW camp was located adjacent to both the bridges and a nearby Japanese anti-aircraft battery. It also suffered during these air raids, the worst being on 29 November 1944. During this attack on the Ack Ack battery, three bombs over carried and demolished the top ends of POW huts 1 and 2, burying a number of the occupants.
The POW casualties numbered nineteen killed and sixty eight wounded. During a four hour attack on the bridges and Ack Ack battery on 5 February 1945, a further fifteen POW were injured. The camp site was littered with great fragments of shrapnel, and one hut and the canteen were burnt to the ground. On 14 February 1945, the Japanese evacuated the remaining POW to the Chungkai camp which was located approximately two kilometres north on Kanchanaburi, on the bank of the River Kwai Noi.

Other areas of tourist interest are the beautiful landscapes and water falls near by.


Saiyok waterfall - This district is located 60 km from the provincial town Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi. It is the most popular attraction of the Sai Yok National Park for domestic and foreign tourists Its landscape is generally rich of forests and mountains and full of natural attractions and historical places. There are some beautiful waterfalls and a 700 year old historical park located near by. The park is mountainous, mostly limestone mountain runs on north-south axis. In the past, Sai Yok National Park is an area King Rama 5 used to visit and take a bath in a stream. Later, there was a composer, who composed a song describes the wonderful of Sai Yok Waterfall, the waterfall becoming famous.

The wildlife are bull, red cow, tiger, wild pig, samba deer, barking deer and birds, this wildlife will live in Thai Burmese borders. Moreover, Khun Kitti Bat-the world smallest bat, Khun Kitti Bat has scientific name as Crasoomyeteris thonglongya. It is named after Mr. Kitti Thonglongya who first discovered this kind of the bat in 1973. It is a new family and one in the world bat, not only the smallest bat in Thailand but also the smallest mammal in the world with 1.5 – 2.0 grams, 2.5 – 3.0 centimeters long and 10 centimeters of wing-span. Its ears are quite big and its nose looks like pig’s nose. They inhabit in caves and quickly move away when disturbing by people. Now They are only found in Sai Yoke National Park. and Poo Rachinee (Queen crab)-the colorful crab are found in this area.


Erawan waterfall - Erawan Waterfalls are the focal point of the Erawan National Park. This is an exquisite park, very pretty, and very popular with locals and foreigners alike many tourist from America, France, Germany and Australia visit here . The waterfalls are equally exquisite. There are seven tiers of waterfalls, each feeding lovely, freshwater pools that you can swim in. A series of tracks lead you to the various falls across wooden footbridges - quite an experience in their own right!




The waterfalls can get a bit crowded as they are so popular, so if you are looking for a more solitary experience, you should perhaps look elsewhere. A number of stalls provide staples like grilled chicken and rice along the way, and there is often very much of a carnival atmosphere about the place, especially in April during the Songkran Festival. A visit here will take the day - you should bear this in mind if you have limited time.

With its stunning beauty, Erawan ranks the first top of Kanchanaburi's most beautiful waterfalls and has drawn thousands of visitors each day. It is a great time for you to really enjoy trekking along its splendid nature trail in the serene atmosphere and swimming in its emerald-coloured and crystal-like-clear pools. Thereafter, add some more colours to your adventure experience through elephant ride and bamboo rafting. At the end, fulfill your trip by a train ride on the historical Death Railway that seemingly provides the most impressive stretch of the mighty River Kwai.