Travel to Kanchanaburi, Thailand – Episode 727

Hear about travel to the province of Kanchanaburi, Thailand as the Amateur Traveler talks to Michael Desrosiers from the Ear Goggles Podcast about this historic and beautiful region.

Michael says, “I am an American ex-pat. I have lived in Bangkok since 2013. 7 years later it just feels like home. People come to Thailand for Bangkok or they come to Thailand to go to the beaches in the south. People come to Thailand to go to temples or to eat the food but Kanchanaburi has some things that people don’t normally think of when they go to Thailand. That’s WWII history. That’s trekking and hiking that you would not normally be able to do as a tourist here.”

Kanchanaburi is just a little bit north of Bangkok. It borders Myanmar and is the largest province in the western part of Thailand.

Kanchanaburi is rich in WWII history because of the building of the “Burma Death Railroad”. Kanchanaburi is the location of the bridge on the River Kwai where. 16,000 Allied POWs and 90,000 Asian laborers died trying to build a railway from Singapore to Myanmar under the Japanese occupation in WWII. There are a lot of historic sites like the Bridge on the River Kwai (pronounced Kway), the Allied War Cemetery, Hellfire Pass, and the Wong Po Viaduct. You can still take this railway from Bangkok to get to the region.

While you are in the region Michale also recommends visiting some of the national parks, especially Erawan National Park, Mueang Sing Historical Park, and Sai Yok National Park. Erawan National Park is known for Erawan Falls as well as a number of caves. Mueang Sing Historical Park has two Bayon-style Khmer temples that date back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Sai Yok National Park also has waterfalls and caves, and raft houses you can stay in along the River Kwai. 

Michael recommends a visit to the Elephant Haven which rescues elephants. You can’t ride on an elephant here (which is harmful to the elephant) but you can help bathe one.

[update: How ethical is the elephant ‘sanctuary’ you’re visiting?]

He tells us not to confuse the Tiger Temple (which has a dubious past for how it treated its tigers) with the spectacular Tiger Cave Temple (which has no tigers). He recommends a visit to the second one.

He recommends some places to stay in floating hotels on the river, suggests some dishes to order at the night market, and suggests the best Thai holiday to be in Kanchanaburi. See if Michael can lure you to this beautiful region of Thailand.

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Show Notes

Ear Goggles Podcast
Kanchanaburi
Burma Railway
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
TBRC Online: THE THAILAND-BURMA RAILWAY CENTRE
The Railway Man (film)
JEATH War Museum
Hellfire Pass
Erawan National Park
Mueang Sing Historical Park
Jayavarman VII
Travel to the Ancient Capitals of Thailand – Episode 210
Tham Krasae Bridge – Wampo Viaduct
A Walk Along the Death Railway – Paths Unwritten
Khmer Empire
Elephant Haven – Sai Yok Kanchanaburi – Elephant Nature Park
Pad thai
American fried rice
Tiger Temple
Getting to the Truth Behind Thailand’s Infamous Tiger Temple
Tiger Cave Temple
Sai Yok National Park
Loi Krathong
The Float House River Kwai
VN Guesthouse, Kanchanaburi City, Thailand
Hintok River Camp, Sai Yok

Booking.com

Community

I want to thank you for the recent podcast on Wales! I attended a summer school in Aberywswyth back in 1991 and this brought back a lot of lovely memories. The day I was in Cardiff, we did go see Castell Coch (The Red Castle) along with Cardiff Castle. Embedded in the castle walls you can actually see the original Roman fortifications.

Up in north Wales, we went to Anglesey and Penmon church, which is the oldest stone church on the island along with St. Seiriol’s well.

If you want some pictures of my time there, I’ll gladly send them along!

Thank you!

Sondra

Hi Chris,

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Kanchanaburi images by ???????????????? ???????, Squiddy Eak from Pixabay