West to Kanchanaburi and
Three Pagoda Pass- Crossing into Burma

Kanchanaburi is about 128 kms west of Bangkok and the drive via Nakhon Pathom takes about two and half hours comfortable drive on well maintained dual carriage way. Alternatively regular coaches depart from Southern Bus Terminal and trains leave Bangkok Noi Railway Station . Kanchanaburi sits on the confluence of Kwai Noi and Kwai Yai rivers and is perhaps most famous for The Bridge over The River Kwai.

The River Kwai Bridge Festival is a spectacular light and sound show held in November to commemorate the first Allied bombing of the bridge on November 28, 1944.

The actual World War II history of the Death Railway is somewhat different from that from the novel and subsequent David Lean movie. In June 1942 the Japaense Imperial General Headquarters directed its army to build a single-line, one meter guage railway 250 miles from Ban Pong in Thailand to Burma. It was intended that the railway would carry 3,000 tons daily via Three Pagoda Pass on the Burmese boarder to Thanbyuzayat.

Work started in October 1942 and was finally completed a year later at the end of October 1943. More than 16,000 prisoners of war and 100,000 impressed labourers including Chinese, South Indians, Malays, Burmese, Japanese and Dutch-Indonesian euroasians died lmainly from disease , malnutrition and exhaustion, laying the track though the dense jungle. One life for every sleeper along the line.

In David Lean's Oscar winning movie The Bridge over The River Kwai,which was filmed in Sri Lanka , the bridge that was bombed by Allied forces was built of wood to make the explosion all the more dramatic.

The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery (Don Rak) 1km from town is kept immaculately and the unusually finely bladed grass for Asia is neatly cropped like an English lawn. It contains the remains of 6,982 POW's.

The most westerly Khmer ruins in Thailand can be found 45km west of the town at Prasat Muang Singh which translates to "Sanctuary of the City of the Lion" and it's name may well reflect its origin. The inscription on the stele at Preah Kha at Angkor mentions Srijayasimhapura (City of the Victorious Lion) as one of the places that Jayavarman VII had sent a Jayaduddamahanatha statue.

Muang Singh's importance lies in its strategic location, on the route west of Three Pagodas Pass crossing into Myanmar. It was almost certainly a garrison town to protect the western limits of the Khmer empire and likely to have been an important trading centre. Open daily 8.30am-4pm admission B40 for foreigners, B10 for Thais and B50 for a car.

Route 323 twists through the dense mountainous forest to Si Nakharin Dam, an impressive hydro-electric power plant project with lakeside picnic area and golf course, an ideal stopping point on the way to the town of Sangkhla Buri where visitors will find an ethnic mix of Mon, Karen and Burmese mingle with indigenous Thais at the early morning market. Many wearing the checked longyis a yellow Burmese face powder to protect them from the elements. Sangkla Buri is also home to the Mon Bridge the longest wooden bridge in Thailand that links the town with the Mon villages.

The Three Pagoda Pass conjures up a magical and mysterious image and is 280km from Kanchanburi and 340 km from Bangkok. Over the centuries it has been the invasion route for the Burmese, a station for the Death Railway during World War II, and a stronghold for the Mon and Karen rebels fighting for autonomy. Since it was captured back from the Mon and Karen etnic rebels in 1990, foreign tourist have made their way up to the boarder but according to TAT statistics only 15% of visitors to Kanchanaburi go onto visit the boarder.

A one day pass costs B250 for foreign tourists and B20 for Thai ID cardholders. Once across the border the town of Payathonzu offer the opportunity to buy fabric and cloth from Burma, India and Pakistan to decorative wooden handicraft and, local and foreign cigars (cherots) and cigarettes.

For those who have an eye for what they want there are the potential bargains of jade carvings, precious stones and ivory carvings in addition to amulets and rings with Burmese rubies.There is an abundance of carved heavy wooden furniture for sale. Our bargain purchase was a hand of Red Bananas for B20. The fruit was plump and firm.

A few days after our visit I had heard rumours that the boarder had been closed again because of unhealthy cattle being brought over from Burma for sale. We contacted TAT in Kanchanaburi who in turn contacted the Immigration Office in Sangkhlaburi (66-34-595335). The Director said " The boarder is open and the situation is safe." There is always the possibility that the situation could change and you may wish to check with the Immigration Office before heading up there.