Kanchanaburi Information

The city of Kanchanaburi is located at the point where two tributaries, the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai meet and form the Maenam Mae Klong. This is the location of the notorious Death Railway and the Bridge on the River Khwae one of the worlds famous World War II sites which have been immortalized in print and film.

In economic terms, Kanchanaburi has been doing well on a national scale, with over 10 per cent growth annually. Important industries include sugar, agricultural products and jewelry. Tourism is also a main source of income for the locals as the provinces high tourism potential has made Kanchanaburi number one among the west provinces in having the highest number of visitors each year.

Residents of Kanchanaburi are engaged in agricultural activities. Most of the locals are of Thai ancestry with notable Mon and Karen minorities. Rural dwellers enjoy living simply and respecting nature. Moreover folk music and dances dating back at least 500 years are still performed today.

Thing to Do & See

Erawan Waterfalls is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Thailand and a must see if you are in Kanchanaburi and your time/budget allows it. Public buses (No. 8170) leave Kanchanaburi bus terminal every 50 (sometimes 60) minutes between 08:00 and 17:20, fare 35 baht, duration 90 minutes. The bus drives on Saengchuto Road up to the north. If you live far away from the bus terminal, and you probably will, it may be a good idea to catch it there. Be sure to try and get an early bus, since there will be fewer people at the waterfall and you don’t have to hurry to get back. The last bus will leave for Kanchanaburi at 16:00. Plan to spend at least three hours plus the time you want to spend swimming at the waterfalls. Entrance fee to the waterfalls is 200 baht for foreigners (100 baht Feb to May 2009). Bicycles can be rented at the entrance (20 baht/hour), however you won’t be able to use it for 90% of the distance, so they don’t really have any use. Be sure to bring your hiking shoes (or whatever matches most closely) and swimming costume for a dip in the turquoise pools (although watch out for fish feasting on the soles of your feet!).
Sai Yok Noi waterfalls are more accessible but less spectacular than the Erawan falls.

Many day-trips to Kanchanaburi include a visit to the Tiger Temple. Admission is 500 baht, and comes with a nice book about the tigers. The temple is nowhere to be seen, but the tigers are lounging in a dusty canyon, surrounded by minders in yellow shirts and overseen by a monk off in the corner. You can watch the tigers from a distance, and when your time comes, the minders will take your camera and snap a few photos of you crouching behind the tiger, as well as a few close-ups of the tigers themselves. (You can also pay a few hundred baht extra for a "special" photo with a tiger.) It’s all kind of odd, but the pictures will certainly wow your friends. Unverified reports of a tourist being seriously mauled by the tigers abound, regardless of which it is only common sense to not annoy tigers - a few years of domestication will not erase centuries of innate wildness.

Bridge over the River Kwai
Located some 3 km north of Kanchanaburi (down New Zealand Rd off Saeng Chuto), this iron bridge (Saphan Mae Nam Kwae) across the Kwae Yai river is the main attraction for many visitors. Immortalized in the famous movie and novel, it was a part of the infamous Death Railway to Burma, constructed by POWs working for the Japanese in hellish conditions during World War 2. Some 16,000 POWs and 100,000 Asian workers died during the railway construction. The present iron bridge is the second wartime incarnation (a part of the original can be found in the War Museum), but 2 central ’boxy’ spans were rebuilt after the war to replace three sections destroyed by Allied bombing.

You can cross the bridge on foot. While the center of the track has been thoughtfully turned into a steel-plated walkway and there are little side platforms between the spans for sightseeing and avoiding trains, there are no guardrails so vertigo sufferers and small children should steer clear. Off the end of the bridge, you can feed or ride an elephant bare-back at negotiated price of 600 baht per ride.
The State Railway of Thailand operates a little tourist train with which you can drive across the bridge and back again, at 20 baht for the 15 minute round trip.