Kanchanaburi and the Bridge over the River Kwai Day Tour

Your day tour starts with early morning pickup by comfortable minivan at your resort in Hua Hin or Cha-Am, two coastal districts along the Gulf of Thailand. With your guide, head north toward Kanchanaburi; the drive is the perfect time to get acquainted with the historical facts and statistics about the main attractions Kanchanaburi has to offer and that are included during your tour. Visitors to Kanchanaburi are often moved as they reflect on how these memorials have come to signify the harsh realities of war.
See sights that reflect the hardship of thousands of soldiers as you pass by local villages with mountains scattered in the background. When you arrive in the morning, head straight to what best depicts the region — the bridge over the River Kwai, still used today, was the target of Allied bombing raids at the end of WWII and was rebuilt after the war ended in 1945. Internationally famous thanks to books and movies such as The Bridge on the River Kwai, the black iron bridge was brought from Indonesia by the Japanese military and assembled under harsh Japanese supervision by forced laborers and Allied prisoners of war. You will have ample time to look at the bridge and take photos here.
Next, visit the JEATH War Museum, which provides a visual interpretation of how these prisoners of war lived and worked under the oppression of their enemy. This enclave in the riverside precincts of Wat Chaichumphon was constructed largely in the form of a POW camp, with the name JEATH standing for 'Japan, England, America, Australia, Thailand, and Holland.' The thatched detention hut with cramped, elevated bamboo bunks contains photographic and physical memorabilia from WWII.
Then continue to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, the final resting place for nearly 7,000 prisoners of war who died during the construction of the Burma Railway, aka Death Railway. The cemetery is divided into different country sections, where you can walk along the graves and memorial stones of the deceased.
After lunch at a local restaurant, it will be time to head back to your hotel in Hua Hin or Cha-Am. Your tour ends following a day of impressions you will take with you about the cruelties of war and the moving history of Kanchanaburi.