Many Rivers to Cross – River Kwai

The 1950s box-office hit ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ put Kanchanaburi, on the world map. Half a century ago, the bridge was a link in the infamous 250 mile Death Railway that was built to link Thailand with Burma, by the Imperial Japanese Army in WWII. The construction work was undertaken largely by Allied prisoners of war and forced-labour Asian coolies. Over 80,000 labourers and 13,000 Allied POW's, not to mention thousands of Japanese soldiers, lost their lives in this task.

Since then, a road system has made most areas accessible, giving rise to a growing number of jungle resorts for nature-lovers.

What can you see along the Kwai? Well, there are spectacular waterfalls, river cruises and jungle tours for the nature lovers, and for sportier types, the river provides the excellent freshwater fishing grounds in remote jungle backwaters and streams. For the truly outdoor type, rafting in the wild river is a worthwhile experience, and for golfers, believe it or not, there are more than twenty eighteen-hole courses in the surrounding countryside that are rated as world-class standard.

A large jungle area of the province has been declared a national wildlife sanctuary, and is now named the Thungyai National Park. Not only is it one of the most undeveloped area in the whole country, it was recently listed as a world natural heritage by the United Nations. For the ultimate experience, book into a float bungalow in the National Park, these are actually hotels joined by bridges, built on rafts moored to the river bank in remote jungle areas.

Kwai photograph by permanently scatterbrained, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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