Chilled-out, laid-back Kanchanaburi is a world away from the heady fray of nearby Bangkok, and a real favourite for backpackers and Thais when it comes to taking a low-energy break from the capital. It’s also home to some of the most striking wartime memorials and points of interest in all of Southeast Asia.
The town itself is sprawled out on the banks of the River Kwai, where the iconic steel bridge that features in the 1957 film stands reconstructed over the flow. Today, the site is home to a comprehensive museum that well chronicles the dark history of the bridge, and the thousands who died during the construction of the so-called Death Railway through Burma. Anyone interested in unravelling the story further should ask their Kanchanaburi tour guide about trips to the Hellfire Pass, or excursions to the various War Cemeteries here.
But it’s not all about history in ‘Kanchan’ either, and visitors today enjoy a bubbling nightlife where locals meet backpackers in 10-baht roadside bars around Mae Nam Kwae Road, along with a wealth of other major attractions from the famous Tiger Temple to the seven-tiered wonder of the Erawan Falls.