River Kwai

Travelling the Route of the Railway of Death

Overview

For many years the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai has attracted a great deal of tourists to the city of Kanchanaburi. The bridge owes its worldwide fame to a novel by French author Pierre Boulle and a distinguished film by David Lean. However, due to its natural beauty, the province, which is located around a hundred and thirty kilometers west of Bangkok, is also a popular holiday area. With the creation of the Death Railway in the Second World War, the Japanese planned to establish an alternative supply route across South East Asia built by POWs and forced laborers from all over Asia. The bridge has been moved from its original location as originally the railway viaduct was situated four kilometers further north. Despite this, the historic bridge on the River Kwai has lost nothing of its fascination and historic significance and its somewhat plain and unspectacular construction of steel and concrete is in stark contrast to its moving and dramatic history.