Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [163]
Information
EMERGENCY
Tourist police (0 3451 2668/2795; Th Saengchuto)
INTERNET ACCESS
Internet cafes can be found along Th Mae Nam Khwae for 30B per hour.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Thanakarn Hospital (0 3462 2366, emergency 0 3462 2811; Th Saengchuto) Near the junction of Th Chukkadon, this hospital is best equipped for foreign visitors.
MONEY
Several major Thai banks can be found on Th Saengchuto near the market and the bus terminal.
AS Mixed Travel (0 3451 2017; Apple’s Guesthouse, 3/17 Th Chaokunen) Foreign-exchange service available outside of bank hours.
Bangkok Bank (Th U Thong) Located near Kanakan Mall.
Krung Thai Bank (Th Saengchuto) Near the Death Railway Bridge.
Thai Military Bank (Th Saengchuto) Near the bus station.
POST
Main post office (Th Saengchuto; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat & Sun)
TELEPHONE
Many private shops along Th Mae Nam Khwae offer long-distance calls.
CAT (off Th Saengchuto; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri) This office has an international telephone service.
TOURIST INFORMATION
TAT (0 3451 1200; Th Saengchuto; 8.30am-4.30pm) Provides free maps of the town and province, along with advice on what to do and where to stay.
Sights
One-day package trips to the waterfalls and war sights are a good way to see the main attractions but don’t give you much time to savour them. All the popular destinations are easy to reach, so an alternative is to use the bus and rail networks and travel independently.
The war museums and most caves can be seen in two days. A few more days can then be spent exploring the other sights, via train or bus. Many parks and caves have a 200B entry fee for foreigners, which works as a one-day pass for all similar locations.
THAILAND-BURMA RAILWAY CENTRE
This informative museum (0 3451 0067; www.tbrconline.com; 73 Th Chaokunen; adult/child 100/50B; 9am-5pm) is the ideal place to begin your look at Kanchanaburi’s role in WWII. The museum’s nine galleries use images, artefacts and models to explain the history of the railway, how the POWs were treated and what happened to the railway once it was complete. A video from survivors is particularly poignant and ensures that the deaths remain a tragedy, not merely a statistic.
Allied War Cemetery
Across the street from the museum is the Allied War Cemetery (Th Saengchuto; 8am-6pm), which is immaculately maintained by the War Graves Commission. Of the 6982 prisoners of war buried here, nearly half were British. The rest came mainly from Australia and the Netherlands. It is estimated that at least 100,000 people died while working on the railway, the majority being labourers from nearby Asian countries. For those looking for the graves of a loved one, a small office to the side of the cemetery has lists of names and their locations in the cemetery.
DEATH RAILWAY BRIDGE (BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI)
This 300m railway bridge (Th Mae Nam Khwae) is one huge tourist trap. Avoid the hawkers and walk, carefully, along the wooden and metal slats. The centre of the bridge was destroyed by Allied bombs in 1945 so today only the outer curved spans are original. Once you make it to the other side there are some cafes and greenery by the waterfront.
Construction material came from a dismantled bridge in Java. The first version, completed in 1943, was wooden and was later replaced by a steel bridge. During the last week of November and first week of December a nightly sound-and-light show marks the Allied attack on the ’Death Railway’ in 1945. Rooms are hard to come by when this show takes place, so book ahead if you want to witness the spectacle.
The bridge spans Mae Nam Khwae Yai, which is 2.5km from the centre of Kanchanaburi. This means it is walkable from Th Mae Nam Khwae or you can jump on a northbound