I suppose I didn’t really choose the best of weekends to go to Sangkhlaburi. Most of the time it is half deserted. You won’t have any trouble finding a room for a few days. But, we went on a long weekend so we found the place fully booked. At least we drove up there on Friday afternoon as most people from Bangkok didn’t arrive until Saturday. We spent the first night at the Burmese Inn but had to check out the following day. As I had already planned two days on this beautiful lake I got up early the next day to try and find another hotel. We must have checked at least half a dozen hotels the night before but with no luck. However, the first hotel I checked in the morning had one room left. This was at the Songkalia River Hut & Resort by the concrete bridge. We got a nice air-conditioned room for 800 baht. The picture above shows you the nice location it has. However, our room was around the back.

A view over Khao Laem Reservoir

Kanchanaburi is a popular destination for both Thais and foreigners. However, most of the tourists only visit the city and surrounding area. If you have been to Thailand then you would know that the name of each province is also the same name of the provincial capital. Kanchanaburi Province is actually very big and there is more to it than just the “bridge” and war cemeteries. Kanchanaburi is in fact the third largest province in Thailand. Around the city the land is relatively flat. However, as you travel west the terrain becomes increasingly rugged and extremely scenic. At the far Western end is a range of mountains which acts as a natural border between Thailand and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). It is this area that I visited a couple of weeks back. It is called Sangkhlaburi and is listed in the Unseen Thailand guidebook for its very long and “homemade” wooden bridge.

For people who don’t have much time, a trip to Kanchanaburi is an ideal option. The province, which is the third largest in Thailand, is so diverse that there is plenty to see and do. The landscape has both mountains and plains. Natural beauty includes the waterfalls and national parks. There are also limestone caves, tranquil rivers, forests and reservoirs. You can go bamboo rafting, elephant riding, trekking into the forests and a lot more. The province is also historically important because of the infamous death railway.

Many of the people that take a side trip to Kanchanaburi are doing so because they have either seen or heard of the movie “Bridge on the River Kwai”. On package tours they take you to see the bridge and the nearby cemetery. Here you can pay your respects to the fallen dead. If you have time you can visit a nearby war museum to learn more about the horrendous living conditions the prisoners of war had to suffer. You can even ride the infamous railway from Nam Tok back to the bridge. But all of that is not only very touristy,  it doesn’t really give you an insight into what really happened over 60 years ago.