River Kwai Canoe

A modern day spa set amidst lush tropical gardens beside the tranquil River Kwai (next to bridge). Spa facilities consist of 16 beds with private rooms, guest showers, and trained therapists.

This iron bridge across the Kwai 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 WWII. Some 16,000 POWs and 90,000 Asian workers (most of them enslaved) died during railway construction. The present iron bridge is the second wartime incarnation (a part of the original can be found in the War Museum), but two central box spans were rebuilt after the war to replace three sections destroyed by Allied bombing.

This well-signposted complex houses a bizarre collection of museums and exhibits, most of which are poorly maintained and labelled. To your left as you enter is the "War Museum", a 4 storey building encrusted with statues, which starts off with a little Burmese shrine but is mostly devoted to pre-WWII Thai history through the ages and is filled with wall paintings of kings and racks of rusty pistols. There are good views of the bridge from the roof of the riverside building. Above the WWII museum is the most bizarre section, housing (among other things) dusty stamp collections and a gallery with wall paintings of all Miss Thailand winners. The WWII and (old) Jeath Museum is lurking in the basement.

Generally considered to be the best source of information regarding World War II in Thailand, railway construction and route, and the conditions endured by POWs and Asian labourers. Very moving exhibits, including video and interactive displays. A visit takes at least one hour, and probably longer if you want to read everything. Fee includes a free coffee or tea at upstairs cafe, where you can sit at the window bench overlooking the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. It is a good place to sit and reflect after your tour of the centre. Far superior to the JEATH War Museum.

This is the final resting place of 6,982 POWs who gave their lives for the construction of the Death Railway to Burma. All POWs at this site are from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Australia. After WWII, the Allies moved all the buried POWs along the railway line to two war cemeteries in Kanchanaburi so as to be easier to maintain. The graves are set in straight lines with neatly mown lawns, and some have moving personal inscriptions. Exceptionally well maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, it is a sombre yet peaceful reminder of what happened.

A neatly maintained small cemetery 2 km out of town.