This province, to the west of Bangkok, is most famous as the setting for 'The Bridge over the river Kwai' and the terrible WWII history of it's detention camps. We took a four hour scenic train journey for just 25 baht (about four pounds, uncomfortable seats!), much better value than the tours being offered from Koh San's tourist shops. Upon arrival at the station we were quickly identified by the locals who were running alongside the train trying to get our attention even before the train stopped moving. We went with the flow and climbed aboard their samlors, three wheeled bicycles with a rear seat in addition to the cyclists seat. It's a strange feeling being ridden around on a bicycle, more so than a tuk-tuk, because these guys actually have to work hard to pull all the weight. Our first request was the JEATH War Museum, standing for Japanese, English, Australian, American, Thai and Holland, the countries involved in the war in Thailand. A collection of newspaper cuttings, artwork and war artefacts described conditions in the POW camps along with torture methods - the film seems romantic in contrast to actual events here. The POW's were forced to work on the rail link between Thailand and Burma, now known as the Death railway due to the high number of deaths during its construction. It is estimated that for most of its length one soldier died per sleeper on the track. From here we were driven to a field apparently in the middle of nowhere but which our guide insisted was a station on the Death railway, the railway line built by POW's. Our guide departed advising that we thumb down the train, leaving our group wondering if we'd been abandoned. Ten minutes later a train came into view and indeed we did stick out a thumb! This is definitely one improvement which British Rail should consider! The train journey took us all the way back to Kanchanaburi and over the infamous bridge although due to darkness we were unable to really see much of it.
