Central Thailand

North Thailand

Northeast Thailand

East Thailand

South Thailand

Under the cloud of terrorist threat, mutual suspicion and global competition, a place to remain mankind of world holocaust in Thailand is nowhere better than that of the Death Railway and Bridge over the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi Province. Some 129 kms north-west of Bangkok, Kanchanaburi is one of the popular tourist destinations in Thailand. It is worth a visit as it serves as a good lesson for the new generation to realize the dangers of war.

The Province shot to fame when it became a base for the Japanese during the Second World War when they engineered the construction of a 415 km railway line linking Thailand and Burma. The historical site was popularized by Pierre Boulle’s Book, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, and film based on the same title directed by David Lean.

The Bridge is well-know all over the world because about 16,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) died while building the “Death Railway” to Burma (Myanmar). The prisoners were forced by the Imperial Japanese Army in the World War II to build a strategic railway by using primitive tools through the disease ridden jungle and treacherous rivers of the province.

The railway was built with the strategic objective of securing an alternative supply route for the Japanese conquest of Burma and other Asian countries to the west.

The construction began on 16 September 1942 and the materials for the bridge were said to have been brought from Java and assembled here. It is said that the first survey by the Japanese engineers predicted that it would take at least five years to complete this railway line, but the Japanese army forced the prisoners to complete it in only 16 months. Thus it was finished on 25 December 1943 but the bridge was in use for only 20 months before the Allies bombed it in 1945.

Apart from the horrifying death toll of the POWs during the construction, it is believed that about 100,000 labourer many from Thailand, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia also lost their lives. Thus there was a saying that the cost of the railway was a life for every sleeper laid over its most difficult sections.

After the end of the war, the Allied forces laid the remains of the dead to rest in two war cemeteries near the site of the bridge, they are the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery and the Chong Kai War Cemetery.

Even though it may be difficult to imagine the hardships that prisoners of war had to face at the hands of their cruel captors, an insight into the situation that the prisoners experienced are well documented in the JEATH War Museum. This was established in 1977 by the abbot of Wat Chaichumpol and now is run by the temple. The museum itself is a replica example of the bamboo huts used to house the Allied prisoners of war.

It contains various photographs taken during the war, drawings and paintings but photographs is not allowed, though visitors can buy books which contain many photographs and explanations near the museum itself. The acronym JEATH represents the unfortunate meeting of the countries involved: Japan, England, America, Australia, Thailand and Holland.

Every year during November-December, there is a light and sound presentation detailing the construction and the bombing of the historic railway bridge by the Allied forces. It is a popular event with Thai and foreign visitors. If you have not yet planned your holidays, it is recommended to add the Death Railway Bridge to your coming trip. It is worth a visit once in your lifetime.

Thailand Popular Beaches and Islands

Pattaya | Cha-Am | Hua Hin
Khao Lak | Koh Chang
Koh Lanta | Koh Phangan
Koh Phi Phi | Koh Samet
Koh Samui | Koh Tao | Trat
Krabi | Pattaya | Phang Nga
Phuket | Rayong | Trang