Kanchanaburi - The Death Railway, the River Kwai and the Facts Behind the Film

With the ongoing growth of the long haul flight market Thailand continues to increase in popularity with European holidaymakers in search of year round sunshine, however there is more to Thailand than crowded beaches or the noise and bustle of Bangkok. Somewhere that does not always make it into the holiday brochures is Kanchanaburi.
Kanchanaburi is home to the bridge on the river Kwai which is well known to many people through the book of that name, and later the 1957 film directed by David Lean, and starring Jack Hawkins and Alec Guinness.
Both the book and the film tell fictionalized accounts of the building of this railway bridge, and the construction of this part of the Thailand Burma railway by the Allied prisoners used as slave labour by the Japanese army during the second world war.
As anyone who has seen the film will know the original bridge on the river Kwai was destroyed by Allied aircraft shortly after construction, and the bridge on the river Kwai that can be seen today is therefore not original. It is however still in regular use today, as at least part of the Thailand Burma railway is still in operation.
Adjacent to the bridge on the river Kwai is Kwai bridge station, home to some interesting items of preserved railway stock including several historic steam locomotives and other pieces of general stock from the wartime period.
Next stop after Kwai bridge station should be the small museum next to the bridge on the river Kwai. The museum is dedicated to all the servicemen who served in whatever capacity on the Thailand Burma railway, and it contains many interesting relics from that period, it does however get very crowded at times. A more peaceful atmosphere may be experienced at the nearby war cemetery where you can spend an hour or two walking among the graves of the men who died in the struggle to construct the bridge and the 'Death Railway'.
If you have the time while you are in the area there is no more relaxing way to end your trip to Kanchanaburi than to take a boat trip on the river. It will give you a unique opportunity to experience the bridge from a more impressive angle, and you will gain a new respect for the men who toiled so hard, and died to construct the bridge on the river Kwai.
Peter Bruce Townsend has been writing and publishing articles on a variety of subjects for the last ten years. He has travelled extensively through South East Asia, and the Philippines. He lives in south east London with his wife Mona, and spends his time re-publishing public domain works for http://www.TownsendPublications.com and maintaining the website http://www.SouthEastLondonDating.com
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