Bangkok Trip Overview
Kanchanaburi’s famous Bridge on the River Kwai is a poignant reminder of the thousands of POW’s and forced labourers who lost their lives in the Second World War. This full day guided tour from Bangkok includes touching visits to a small war museum and a POW cemetery. The day will also consist of an exhilarating long-tailed speedboat ride, a walk across the Bridge and a ride along the tracks of the Death Railway on a local train.
Additional Info
Duration: 9 hours
Starts: Bangkok, Thailand
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
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What to Expect When Visiting Bangkok, Thailand, Thailand
Kanchanaburi’s famous Bridge on the River Kwai is a poignant reminder of the thousands of POW’s and forced labourers who lost their lives in the Second World War. This full day guided tour from Bangkok includes touching visits to a small war museum and a POW cemetery. The day will also consist of an exhilarating long-tailed speedboat ride, a walk across the Bridge and a ride along the tracks of the Death Railway on a local train.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Bridge Over the River Kwai, Tha Makham, Kanchanaburi 71000 Thailand
The bridge on the river Kwai, that many people know from the 1957 movie with the same name or from the book by Pierre Boulle is part of the infamous Death Railway, built during World War II from 1942 to 1943.
The railway connected Kanchanaburi in Western Thailand with Rangoon in Myanmar, called Burma back then, and was about 415 kilometers long. On both ends construction began in June 1942 working towards each other. In October 1943 the two sides met, finishing the railway.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: River Kwai, Kanchanaburi Thailand
The Khwae Yai River, also known as the Si Sawat, is a river in western Thailand. It has its source in the Tenasserim Hills and flows for about 380 kilometres through Sangkhla Buri, Si Sawat, and Mueang Districts of Kanchanaburi Province, where it merges with the Khwae Noi to form the Mae Klong River at Pak Phraek.
Duration: 5 hours
Stop At: Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, 284/66 Sangchuto Rd, Kanchanaburi 71000 Thailand
The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery is the main prisoner of war cemetery for victims of Japanese imprisonment while building the Burma Railway. It is on the main road, Saeng Chuto Road, through the town of Kanchanaburi, Thailand, adjacent to an older Chinese cemetery.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: JEATH War Museum, Wat Chai Chumphon Ban Tai Subdistrict, Kanchanaburi 71000 Thailand
This small museum, opened in 1977, mostly focuses on the terrible ordeals of the POWs who built the Death Railway. Their harsh living conditions are shown in many original photos, letters and drawings from that time as well as personal effects and war relics, including an unexploded Allied bomb dropped to destroy the bridge. One of the three galleries is built from bamboo in the style of the shelters (called attap) the POWs lived in.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Burma-Thai Railway, Kanchanaburi Thailand
The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, the Siam–Burma Railway, the Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, was a 415-kilometre railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma, built by the Empire of Japan in 1943 to support its forces in the Burma campaign of World War II.
Duration: 45 minutes
