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The River Kwai bridge is 133 km by train from Bangkok on the Southern Nam Tok Railway Line. The bridge is located in the town of Kanchanaburi, a pleasant Thai town popular for its house boats and historical sites dating back to the second world war.
Most Westerners know of Kanchanaburi from the book and film telling the story of the "Bridge on the River Kwai".
The bridge was constructed during World War Two by the Japanese army using Asian laborers and allied prisoners of war. The bridge was part of the planned railway to link Bangkok and Rangoon ( and eventually India ) by rail. Some 100,000 Asian laborers and 16,000 prisoners of war died from Japanese brutality, overwork and starvation building the railway line.
The bridge still exists and is a major tourist attraction, along with the "JEATH" war museum which contains a chilling display of photos and items telling the storey of the POW camp. The museum will fascinate history buffs and is highly recommended.
Genesis Stock Photo
The bridge itself can be crossed by foot is is unremarkable other than for historical reasons. Parts of the bridge are replacement sections (the squared off sections) built after the bridge was bombed by allied bombers.
You can arrange train rides across the bridge and on to hellfire pass, although normal passenger trains cease at Kanchanaburi station these days. Whatever remains of the railway across the border in Burma is long since disused and overgrown - the Japanese never achieved their fantasy of a train line to Rangoon.
If you are visiting the bridge try to do so independently and get there early before the daily busloads of tourists arrive from Bangkok.
Some of these buses are packed with camera toting Japanese tourists who do little to respect the sensitivities of the many British, Dutch, Australian, Chinese and Thai visitors who come to pay their respects to those who died working on the railway.
Train buffs and those interested in the history of the place will find the visit to Kanchanaburi fascinating. Others will find the town's other attractions - the river itself and the surrounding caves and waterfalls - more interesting. Floating hotels, house boats and rafting are also popular activities in the area.
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