Discovering the Town of Kanchanaburi

One of the beauties of Thailand is that there are so many places offering a wide range of things to see and do. Whether you want culture, relaxation, nightlife, or tourist hotspots, there is something to suit everyone. Kanchanaburi attracts many visitors for its history and its connection to several Western countries.

The town of Kanchanaburi is famous for being close to the Death Railway, built by Allied Prisoners of War under Japanese rule during World War II. The Oscar-winning film The Bridge on the River Kwai introduced millions of people around the world to the story, even though it takes considerable dramatic licence. 

Thousands of Allied prisoners of war and Asian civilian labourers lost their lives and are buried in the town, with commemorations being held each year.

My First Visit - 2012

I wanted to increase my limited knowledge of Kanchanaburi, so back in 2012 I decided to head there for an overnight stay to kick off my Thai break before I went north to play cricket in Chiang Mai. I knew that a train departed each day around 2 pm from a station in Thonburi, Bangkok. That’s where my adventure began.

It wasn’t as easy as I imagined finding a taxi after alighting from the BTS Skytrain to take me to the station I required. Eventually, after finding a willing driver, I got out and went to the ticket office window to be met with blank looks. I had gone to Wongwian Yai, which was the departure station for the Mae Khlong Railway.

I needed to be at Thonburi station, which was at least a 30-minute drive away, meaning I would miss the train. This was back in the days when I didn’t know which bus services ran from each terminus, so I was stuck. In the end, I bit the bullet and paid for a taxi for the two-hour ride.

Kanchanaburi War Cemetery

I had paid for a budget cabin on the River Kwai, which was reached by pontoon from the guest house on River Kwai Road. I headed to the famous bridge that evening before finding somewhere to eat. I was initially underwhelmed by the bars on the main strip, so I decided to have an early night and wake up to enjoy the stunning vista.

A visit to the Death Railway Museum and Research Centre provided me with all the background information I was looking for. Some of the images reminded me that while I enjoyed a grumble at times, I was extremely lucky. I couldn’t imagine the horrors that those soldiers went through.

 
It’s something I’m reminded of when I visit the memorial built by Prisoners of War in Ubon Ratchathani, to thank the people of the city for their kindness after they were transported there from Kanchanaburi.

The timing of the trains worked well for me as I took one from Kanchanaburi station to Saphan Kwae Yai by the bridge. Once the train continued towards Nam Tok, I crossed the structure on foot, which was extremely popular with tourists. As the city’s football stadium was across some wasteland in the distance, I decided to visit it. A bus took me back to the capital after lunch.

River Kwai Bridge

Fast Forward a Decade – April 2022

More Travel Mishaps

Now living in Minburi in the suburbs of Bangkok, I decided it was time to revisit Kanchanaburi to watch football and retrace my steps to see what had changed. As with my first visit, there was drama before I even reached the departure point.

I’d worked out that a regular service departed from Sai Thai Mai, Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal, and I could catch a regular city bus to reach it from a stop on Phetchaburi Road near Pratunam Pier. I took my usual route into the city, heading to Bangkapi and catching the Saen Saep Canal Boat.

All was going extremely smoothly until I realised that I had alighted from the boat and left my small holdall on board, which contained my phone charger and passport. Cue panic!

Fortunately, the boat operators on the pier saved the day by phoning a colleague at Panfa Leelard Pier. The bag had been handed in and was put on a returning boat.

Thankfully, I was soon at the terminal with all possessions and travelling towards Kanchanaburi. Now wanting to save cash, rather than being a fortnight millionaire on holiday from the UK, I had booked a very budget hotel room. It was a mistake.

Surprises in Store

It was a struggle to find it, until a market trader assisted near the bus station. To reach the rooms, I needed to walk through a shop. As I joked online at the time, the room was so small that when I switched off the light, it still shone when I got into bed. We live and learn!

Kanchanaburi was a bigger town than I realised. It was a thirty-minute walk to the museum. Approaching from a different direction, I had the opportunity to stop and admire the pristinely kept cemetery. The museum was closed, so I continued walking around to River Kwai Road.

It was time for food and drink before heading to football. A friend had noted where I was after I posted on Facebook and gave me some bar advice, which I took. I thought it was OK, without being special, with a few older Aussies watching the sport from back home on TV.

It was after I’d paid my bill and continued walking that I realised I had gone to the wrong place, as I was now outside my intended bar. When I reached the area near the bridge, the large square was setting up food stalls, with quite a crowd gathering. It was good to see it recovering after the pandemic as it prepared for Anzac Day, which attracted large numbers of visitors from down under.

My YouTube Video of My Second Visit

More Walking and an Excellent Matchday Experience

My mate Steve had given me a tip to cross the bridge to see an attraction that had opened since my previous visit. Concentration Camp Market was getting ready for the evening, with its various features and stalls. I wasn’t sure how to rate it as it was quiet at the time.

One thing that struck me was the lack of tuk-tuks. My taxi app wasn’t a help either, so it meant a further 20-minute walk to the stadium for the Thai League 2 football match between Muangkhan United and Navy FC.

The experience delivered everything I enjoy about attending football in Thailand. A friendly welcome, cheap tickets, a great atmosphere outside, which included a local live band, and then pantomime aplenty on the pitch. Fun for all the family, and I certainly got the most out of it.

Any doubt that I'd get plenty of exercise that day soon disappeared when the lack of transport meant another long walk. This time I went to the correct bar, not that I’d missed too much earlier. I then headed back to my room, tired but content, before catching an early minibus to Mo Chit the following morning.

The Bridge from Concentration Camp Market

A Return to Find More – October 2022

One of the things many people don’t consider is that when I head off to what might appear to be a meaningless football match, I broaden my knowledge about somewhere. It might be by arriving early, then wandering around to discover new places, or talking to locals for their advice. It’s much more than 90 minutes of football.

And so it proved once again when I returned to Kanchanaburi a few months after my previous visit. It gave me the chance to meet friends over from Australia for breakfast in Sukhumvit before I took the BTS and then a bus to Mo Chit Minibus station, a place I cover in “Travelling Around Thailand by Bus”.

Minibuses run frequently to a range of destinations from the terminus and are often a quicker way to travel than in larger vehicles. Sure enough, I was in Kanchanaburi earlier than expected, which gave me time to walk to places that I’d never been to before.

Discovering a New Part of Town

Rather than heading towards the museum, I turned left past the old paper mill and came across a smaller war cemetery. The Wat Chai Chumphon Chana Songkhram temple was stunning on a glorious bright day, with a brief look around before crossing the road to the JEATH War Museum.

JEATH is the acronym of Japanese, English, Australian, American, Thai and Dutch who were involved in the Death Railway. The museum is divided into two sections, one depicting the construction of the Death Railway, and the other consisting of reconstructed bamboo huts containing personal artefacts belonging to the prisoners. It was certainly time well spent.

Wat Chai Chumphon Chana Songkhram

Song Kwai Road runs by the river, where a basic open-air restaurant sorted out my lunch. A recently opened attraction was Skywalk Kanchanaburi City. It’s an elevated glass platform over the water, with different walks offering fantastic views along the river with its mountains as a backdrop. 

It cost 60 THB on my visit (£1.35) and required me to take off my trainers and wear the provided slippers to avoid scratching the toughened glass. I must admit, it took some navigating as someone with a fear of heights. I would not advise looking down.

I crossed Somdet Phra Sangharaja Yannasangwon Bridge to my football match. In a League Cup tie, underdogs Dragon Pathumwan Kanchanaburi defeated Suphanburi. The attendance was low, and the Kanchanaburi Provincial Stadium was far more basic than the one across the river in the city. It was still worth the effort.

The afternoon kick-off meant I would easily make the last bus to Bangkok that departed at 7 pm. As it worked out, the walk back past Song Kwai Walking Street and Kanchanaburi Night Market, which was setting up for trade, was quicker than I expected, so I boarded a service an hour earlier than intended.

Skywalk Kanchanaburi City

An Evening Stopover – December 2022

I had only been to Kanchanaburi once before 2022, but now my visits were like London buses, all coming quickly together. Taew, my future wife, and I had been further afield, as written about in “Discovering Mon Bridge - Another Side of Kanchanaburi”. The town seemed an obvious place to break our journey to Bangkok.

I booked a better hotel than on previous occasions on Kwai Bridge Road before we went for a walk as dusk neared. We did the touristy thing of crossing the bridge and went to the Concentration Camp Market, which once again failed to inspire me.

We were both tired and wanted somewhere relaxing to round off our adventure. A restaurant under the bridge was expensive and alright without going to the next level, as we watched pleasure crafts, some with karaoke, drifting up and down the river.

I enjoy Thai food without being too much of a connoisseur. My litmus test is Taew’s answer when I ask her “aroi mai?”, meaning is it delicious? If she says it’s OK, I know it’s average at best. If she says “aroi”, it is delicious, or I have asked her at an inconvenient moment with staff within earshot. It’s best to ask later!

A Train Approaches River Kwai Bridge

My Conclusion

Kanchanaburi has a dark but important history. It is certainly worth a one- or two-night stay, with a trip further on to Hellfire Pass included. There are plenty of places to eat and drink, whether you prefer local Thai venues or bars and restaurants that cater to international visitors, particularly around the November or Anzac Day commemorations. 

If you enjoyed this story, feel free to check out my YouTube Channel, where I share videos about everyday life in Thailand, local football, and travel across the country.

Thanks for reading.