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The Surroundings

 
 

The name of Kanchanaburi province may not be familiar to foreign visitors, but it is very likely they have heard of the Bridge over River Kwai, symbolic of the infamous Death Railway for the building of which many Allied prisoners of war perished during World War II. Beyond this and other related relics of the recent past however, the province offers many sights and attractions, of which we have made a small selection for you below:

River Kwai Bridge:
Thanks to the famous 1967 movie, the bridge became the best known tourist attraction in the small city of Kanchanaburi. This iron bridge was brought from Indonesia by the Japanese army and reassembled by Allied prisoner-of-war laborers as part of the 'Death Railway' linking Thailand with Burma. Targeted by frequent Allied bombing raids in 1945, it was rebuilt after the end of the war (only the curved spans of the bridge are original). Its purpose today is mostly tourism, although it is still occasionally used for local traffic. Second World War-vintage steam locomotives, and a peculiar hybrid road/railcar from the same era comprise a small Railway Museum on the bridge's eastern approach.
 
JEATH War Museum, War Cemeteries and Death Railway:
bullet The JEATH War Museum is a reconstructed Allied prisoner-of-war camp (its name is derived from Japan, England, America, Australia, Thailand and Holland). The thatched detention hut with cramped, elevated bamboo bunks contains photographic, pictorial and physical memorabilia that chronicle life in the POW camps and the history of the jungle railroad’s construction (there is even a simulated Allied bombardment).
bullet The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery hosts the remains of 6,982 Allied prisoners of war who perished during the construction of the 'Death Railway'.
bullet The Japanese War Memorial and the Chong Kai War Cemetery are also located nearby.
 
bullet The Death Railway (known also as Burma Railway or Burma Thai Railway) was a railway built by the Japanese during World War II to complete the route from Bangkok to Rangoon and support the Japanese occupation of Burma. It owes its name to the human cost of its construction: about 100,000 conscripted Asian laborers and 16,000 Allied prisoners of war died on the project. Tourists can today travel on a few kilometers of the railway and experiment first-hand its acrobatic bends.
   
Erawan National Park:

One of the most famous national parks in Thailand takes its name from the Thai word for the mythological Hindu three-headed elephant Airavata. The triple cascade at the top of the famous seven-tiered waterfall is said to resemble the elephant's head, and every weekend hundreds of visitors arrive to walk the trail up the waterfall and swim in the natural pools.

The park covers an area of over 500 square kilometers and most of it comprises pristine rainforest – the only official trail is that running up past the waterfall. The beautifully clear emerald waters run for 2km down into the Kwai Yai river and make for a wonderful place to relax, swim and have a picnic. The first 5 levels are the easiest to tackle but the upper pools are a brilliant place to cool down after a hard climb and the views over the jungle are breathtaking.
The lack of access to most of the park has helped to sustain some of the less common animal species to be found in this part of the world: wild elephants, gibbons, flying squirrels and eagles – and cobras and pythons too. There are also plenty of fish and crabs in the many streams. In Phra That cave, 10km further north of the waterfall, can be seen some amazing stalactites and stalagmites and a healthy bat population, among which the recently discovered smallest mammals in the world, a 1.6g, less than 5cm-long species of bat.
 
Tiger Temple:

This wildlife project was established in 1995 by local monks who care for abandoned wild animals such as tigers, deer, water buffaloes, horses and peacocks.


More than a dozen tigers (which are now breeding) are more or less roaming free in the temple, where tourists may (carefully) approach them.
 
Prasat Muang Singh:

Prasat Muang Singh or Sanctuary of the City of the Lion is the westernmost Khmer site so far unearthed and has been dated to the 12th or 13th century. Sitting on the bank of the Kwai Noi River this complex is believed to have once been a large trading centre and probably also acted as an important garrison town protecting the western frontier of the Khmer Kingdom. As with virtually all Khmer temples, Prasat Muang Singh is a model of how the Khmers saw their celestial universe. The central construction represents Mount Meru, the domain of the Gods and was separated by seven concentric moats and ramparts which represented the mountain ranges and wild seas that surrounded Mount Meru.

Like many Khmer temples, Prasat Muang Singh is made of laterite as are the ramparts and remaining walls. The surrounding town is believed to have been ten times the size of the sanctuary that remains and there is still a selection of sites awaiting excavation. The park is set in lush, green and peaceful grounds. A small collection of artifacts is shown in a museum within the site's grounds.
 
Wat Tham Mongkon Thong:

Another temple complex on the Mai Klong River, this "Cave Temple of the Floating Dragon" is set in limestone foothills, located about 5 km south of the town centre. A long stairway, flanked with dragon-sculpted balustrades, ascends into the caves containing images of the Buddha.


The Cave Temple of the Floating Dragon has no floating dragon, but does have a resident floating nun, who really does float on top of the water while assuming various yoga positions. Skeptics have been known to taste the water (it is not salty) or even jump in, but they can't match the nun's buoyancy. After the show, the nun will bless and massage anyone with an illness or injury. A small museum near the nun's floating arena displays a handful of artifacts found in the surrounding area. Back from the museum, a long stairway leads up to a cave temple where you can crawl from one cavern to another, eventually ending up near the hill's summit, with a great view of the surroundings.

 
Wat Tham Khao Poon:

Wat Tham Khao Poon is located one kilometer southwest of the Chong-Kai War Cemetery. The Buddhist temple is locally renowned for its eight caves containing stalactites and stalagmites, and many beautiful Buddha images. At dusk thousands of bats fly out of the cave.

 
 
ORCHID