Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [165]
LAK MEUANG (CITY PILLAR)
The city pillar (lák meuang; Th Lak Meuang) is at the centre of the old town and gives shelter to the local spirits. Just down the road is a statue of King Rama III and the renovated city wall, which used to stretch for more than 400m and boast six fortresses. Three original cannons remain.
CHUNG KAI ALLIED WAR CEMETERY
Chung Kai was the site of a major prisoner camp during WWII, and Allied prisoners built their own hospital and church close to here. Today relatively few people come to see this remote cemetery, which is the final resting place of 1700 soldiers. Most graves have short, touching epitaphs for the Dutch, British, French and Australian soldiers buried here.
The cemetery is 4km south of central Kanchanaburi across Mae Nam Khwae Noi and can be easily reached by bicycle or motorcycle.
WAT THAM KHAO PUN
Continue past the Chung Kai Allied War Cemetery and go over a railway crossing to find this temple (admission 20B; 6am-6.30pm), which has a collection of nine different caves. The first, and biggest cave, is home to a reclining Buddha, while the others have some particularly unusual features, including a fig tree’s roots that hang all the way down into the cave, a crystallised column and a rock formation said to resemble a mermaid from the literature of Thai poet Sunthorn Phu. The exact origins of the temple are a mystery, though it is known that King Rama V visited here in 1870.
The caves have a somewhat ignominious history. It is rumoured that the Japanese used some of the caves to torture POWs during WWII. In 1995 a British tourist was murdered here by a drug-addicted monk.
WAT THAM SEUA & WAT THAM KHAO NOI
These neighbouring hilltop monasteries have magnificent views of verdant fields and mountains. Wat Tham Khao Noi (Little Hill Cave Monastery) has an intricately designed Chinese-style pagoda while across the way, Wat Tham Seua (Tiger Cave Monastery) has several styles of chedi and an 18m-tall Buddha covered in a golden mosaic. In front of the image a conveyor belt has small silver trays on which 1B donations are made. You can walk to the top of the temples or take the easy option and go by cable car (10B).
The temples are around 14km south of the town centre. If you have a motorbike, take the right fork of the highway when you reach Tha Meuang, turn right across the Kheuan Meuang (City Dam) and right again on the other side of the river. By bicycle, you can avoid taking the highway by using back roads along the river. Follow Th Pak Phraek in Kanchanaburi southeast and cross the bridge towards Wat Tham Mangkon Thong, then turn left on the other side and follow the road parallel to the river. After about 14km, you’ll see the Kheuan Meuang dam up ahead – at this point you should start looking for the hilltop pagodas on your right. Buses (10B) leave from Kanchanaburi bus station to Ratchaburi every 20 minutes. Get off at Tha Meuang Hospital and hire a motorbike taxi (40B).
Activities
THAI COOKING
If you don’t know your sôm·am from your ôm yam then Apple & Noi’s Thai Cooking Course (0 3451 2017; Apple’s Guesthouse, Th Chaokunen; 1250B) can assist. The one-day Thai cookery course begins at the local market and ends, five dishes later, at the dining table.
Trekking & CyCling
Tour companies sell elephant rides, waterfall excursions and rafting tours, but there are many other activities to try.
For those with more time, and stamina, cycling tours, canoeing and jungle