Kanchanaburi - Death Railwway and Bridge over the River Kwae



They used to do this on the Southern Region!



The train arrived in Kanchanaburi about and hour and a half late - as is apparently usual.  There seems to be a choice in 3rd class between slightly cushioned seats and wooden benches - we chose the slightly cushioned ones fo the four hour trip particularly as the superb scenery promised by Lonely Planet did not materialise.  The route is through flat intensely farmed land  - though not a palm oil plantation in sight, light industrial areas and towns. The beautiful mountainous scenery started at Kanchanaburi.



Ploy Guest House pool



At Kanchanaburi we were met by a motorcycle and sidecar from our guesthouse. The Ploy Guesthouse was a very pleasant surprise.  Set on the river, the room interiors are decorated in a traditional Thai style, despite being housed in a concrete building.  Our fully air-conditioned room had a small garden at the back and a communal garden in front.  The shower room was separated from the small garden by a screen door, so one effectively showered in the garden.  There is a pleasant bar area and a small swimming pool overlooking the river.  A light breakfast is included and there are more substantial options at additional cost.  Built and run by a very helpful brother and sister it was superb value. In the evening we ate at the Apple Guesthouse and cookery school - superb.

Hellfire Pass

As we only had one full day in Kanchanaburi and did not want to do most of the activities on the organised tours we got the guesthouse to organise a taxi for us and to explain to the driver (who had little English) what we wanted to do.  First we went to Hellfire Pass, about 80 km from Kanchanaburi - the site where the most difficult conditions were met during the construction of the Burma-Siam railway during WWII.  The concept of the horrendous conditions endured by the Allied POWs and Asian forced labour in excavating the Hellfire Pass and other cuttings on the route by hand in jungle conditions and on near-starvation diet is almost unimaginable.  The museum, established and run by the Office of Australian War Graves has moving descriptions and the audio/ two way radio /2.5 km walk, along the route of the railwaythrough a beautiful valley, brings it all home.

Wampo Viaduct - the train goes very slowly!

After picking us up at the end of the trail our driver took us to Namtok Station - the present end of the line - where we had lunch at a stall before catching the train back towards Kanchanaburi.  This is clearly the section Lonely Planet refer to as spectacular.  For some of the route the track is high above the river and passes over the sole remaining trestle bridge at the Wampo Viaduct.

The modern bridge

Next to the Bridge on the River Kwae of film fame.  This is accessed by a plethora of tourist sprawl and actually in Kanchanaburi town. Although in 1943 is was probably some way outside it. It is still used and there is no fee to walk across.

War cemetery

Our final stop was at the Death Railway Museum - there are two this one is beside one of the war cemeteries in the centre of town and we highly recommend it for more sobering displays.