| The
town of Kanchanaburi was originally established by Rama I as
a first line of defence against the Burmese, who might use the
old invasion route through the Three Pagodas Pass on the Thailand
- Myanmar border. It's still a popular smuggling route into
Myanmar today.
During WW II, the
Japanese occupation used Allied prisoners of war to build the
infamous Death Railway along this same invasion route, in reverse,
along the Kwae Noi River to the pass. Thousands of prisoners
died as a result of brutal treatment by their captors, their
experiences chronicled by Pierre Boulle in his book "The
Bridge on the River Kwai" and popularised by the movie
of the same name. The bridge is still there and so are the graves
of the Allied soldiers.
West and north-west
of Kanchanaburi city are several of Thailand's largest waterfalls
and most extensive wildlife sanctuaries. Most of the province,
in fact, remains sparsely populated and wild. |
