Exploring Kanchanaburi

The picture with the caption "See anyone absorbed in their electronics?" is a killer. My teens will get a heart attack. For them it will be like a fish out of water. How is that possible if you cannot update your status on facebook every five minutes.

I guess the wooden seats on the train must be very uncomfortable.

@ caveman -- Hah, being halfway across the world helps with that, because if their friends are all asleep the internet isn't nearly as compelling!

And the seats weren't too bad, surprisingly, at least for an afternoon trip.

This was highly entertaining before you even got to the 'pedicure fish' part of the trip report, then it turned the corner to 'laugh out loud amazing'. Thanks for a great read. Can't wait for the elephants.

@ Mark F. -- Aww, thanks! Those fish were scary, for sure.

That movie is nice. Who are we to hate, when people who suffered so much can forgive. The movie has a scene in the helfire pass.

Thank you for being less American and not writing about another Europe trip.

@ Credit -- That's one of the things I liked about the book as well, very well said.

If you don't take the train do you have to rent a car to get there?

@ panda -- Well, we hired a driver, and I'm glad we did. You certainly rent a car, but it's probably going to be less expensive to arrange for someone else to drive. I think there's a bus as well.

"You certainly rent a car, but it’s probably going to be less expensive to arrange for someone else to drive"

So do you mean, hire someone with their own car?

@ M -- Yep! Our airbnb helped us find a car and driver for our entire trip, but there are tons of services out there offering long-haul drives. I get the sense that going to Kanchanaburi is a popular day trip from Bangkok, so it shouldn't be too tough to find a driver.

Thanks for an awesome post and topic!

You should definitely watch the movie with your kids. I watched it with my 11 year old boy and it was very educational and not "graphic" or "scary", just plain truthgul. Movies recreate scenes in a way that static museums can't. And it's an awesome movie besides it's educational value.

Hey tiffanny! We did almost exactly the same itnerary with the whole family of 12 in the 90s, it was still a bit undevelloped but equal fun. It helped we had a guide and driver and we are all a bit crazy Dutchmens but we even learned a bit of Thai to get around.

Things we did extra was:
- renting the floating restaurant and having the kids swim alongside
- visit the western most outpost Khmer temple of https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueang_Sing_Historical_Park

Glad you had a fun holiday and may i say if you have your own blog, i'd subscribe right away! Very pleasent writing style and very interesting articles!

@Tiff

Wonderful and refreshing article and trip. Try the book The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan. Truly an exceptional novel that portrays the story of the Japanese rail projects from the perspectives of the various parties involved including the Australians POWs, but highly emotional as one would expect.

I also hope that you get to try some of these amazing hotels at the wonderful destinations for your leisure. http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/20/travel/tripadvisor-best-hotels-world-feat/

My wife and I have stayed in about 12 (or 13) of the destinations including all of those in India. We were surprised to not find the Lake Palace Hotel on Udaipur on the list. You should give that a try. Our experiences and memories will remain forever (in the positive sense). There is just this sincere warmth and hospitality I feel during my travels to the east that somehow I miss in the West and at the run of the mill hotel chains.

Since you love adventurous travels, try the Palace on Wheels in India also. Nothing more amazing than traveling in carriages with all of the luxuries of a hotel that once catered to the Maharajas and Maharanis.

Thanks for keeping this blog fresh and unique. We are about to start our annual six month travel soon and I think we are gonna visit Kanchanbari based on your review since we've never visited there on our previous trips to the country and it looks beautiful.

Happy and safe travels!

As an Australian who was brought up in Thailand I have been here a number of times. It is a tragic place where numerous crimes against humanity occurred. My most special visit was on ANZAC day a few years ago where a service is held down in hell fire pass, it is spine tingling stuff in the eery dawn of the morning with the silent crowd and last post. There are also some great 'jungle' based lodges in the area which are popular with people having a break from Bangkok. I actually had one of my school camps at one of them! Glad you enjoyed your visit to the area.

What was the cost of an individual train pass? It's nice you get unlimited stops, effectively. I think the cost of the train would be FAAAAR cheaper than hiring a driver and makes sense if you have a larger group...but if only 2 or 3 ppl, not so much

@ Eric -- Will do, thank you!

@ Roberto -- Excellent tips, thank you!

@ Sam -- Wow, that sounds quite moving. Thank you for sharing!

@ brian -- The train was 100 baht each way, and I think you might only get unlimited stops because no one cares if you get on and off. It's definitely cheaper though.

The river the Bridge Over River Kwai pass over is actually called "Maenam Khwae Yai" (Big Khwae River). There is another river called "Maenam Khwae Lek" (Small Khwae River) nearby. Though if you just say Khwae it is usually mean Khwae Yai (thanks to the bridge)

And by the way, those "vintage" train are actual in-service long-distance train in Thailand. (the tourist train probably looks better than the commuter train though)

@ innocenat -- Ah, that explains it, thank you! And very interesting about the trains, I hadn't realized that. My assumption was this line had a different style of train due to the age of the tracks, but maybe they've updated the line?

Nah, we just didnt update the locomotive!

Due to track age and its construction condition it probably cant run very fast on this line, but the carriage (which is real old) is also similiar to those in service for cheapest class on long-distance train.

My wife wants to go to Chang Mai since she's never been there. However she is an avid hiker and maybe I can convince her to go to Kanchanaburi instead. I'm glad your review with her. Thank you Tiffany

You hired a car and driver for the whole 4 days? How much does that cost? Although there being 6+ of you, that probably entails a much larger car than for just the two of us.

And if one was to take the train instead of driving, how would you get around when you get there? Can you arrange a car and driver starting from the train station?

I have a feeling the upcoming elephant article, added to today's report, is going to start us thinking quite seriously about going there.

@ Robert Hanson -- Well, we actually hired a driver for the full eight days, including the long drives, given we had seven people (one in a car seat), luggage, etc. It was only $50 a day, plus fuel, but that was booked last minute over the holidays, so I think you could probably get a much better price if you tried.

Otherwise, I'm sure your lodging in Kanchanaburi could arrange a car to pick you up, or help with organizing a single driver the entire time. I got the sense that's the "done thing" there, so it should be pretty easy.

Ah, Thai prices; going there is sounding better and better. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks so much.

Tiffany--I really like that your family read a book together before the trip and discussed it. Very nice!

@ Gaurav -- We actually read a lot of the same books, which has been really fun over the years. Heather reads everything the girls have to read for school, and my husband and I try to keep up. Makes for some great conversations, and it's interesting seeing perspectives change as the kids get older.

I haven't been to Thailand but recognized one of your photos from a movie. IMDB confirms that Casualties of War was filmed on that railroad bridge you walked on. Thanks for the cool trip report

I enjoyed your photos and blog very much!