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West of Bangkok and
abutting the mountains which divide Thailand
from Myanmar, Kanchanaburi combines historical
interest with some of the most picturesque
scenery in the whole country and it is nested
beside limestone mountains and the Kwai River. The landscape is
dominated by forested hills and the valleys of
the Khwae Noi river and Khwae Yai river, where
waterfalls and caves are additional elements of
natural wonder.
Historically,
Kanchanaburi is best known as the site of the
infamous 'Death Railway' and 'Bridge over the
River Kwai', built by allied POWs and Asian
forced labor during World War II and also as the
site of a World War II prisoner-of-war camp
whereby visitors now come here to pay respects
to the fallen Allied soldiers. The region,
however, has a long past, with evidence of
settlement during Neolithic times, while in
recorded history, the area was occupied by the
ancient Khmer prior to the rise of the Thai.
Among the
attractions here are the Thailand-Burma Railway
Centre Museum which details plans of the
Japanese to connect Yangon, Myanmar with Bangkok
via rail to transport military supplies, known
as the Death Railway because of the thousands of
lives lost building this railway, the
Kanchanaburi Allied War Cemetery to remember the
POWs, the infamous Kwai River Bridge which has a
nightly sound-and-light show in the first week
of December and the JEATH War Museum which
displays hundreds of historic photographs in a
bamboo hut.
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