Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

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Big Boy
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Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by Big Boy »

Part 1

With Vietnam and Krabi fading into distant memories, we thought we could do with another short trip away to ease our itchy feet. I had been reading Hua Hin Forum, and there were a couple of recommendations for decent hotels in the Kanchanaburi area. My son had been so influenced by what he had seen on a day trip to the area with a couple of mates visiting from the UK that I thought this was a perfect opportunity to show him a little more.

I checked out the hotel recommendations on the Internet, and decided Sabai@Kan would meet our needs perfectly. It was just a short walk from the Bridge over the River Kwai, and ‘touristy’ restaurants around them. I’m not a drinker these days, but there were a couple of bars en-route to the bridge. The first was a Thai place selling a shot of whisky with whatever mixer for 10 Baht (20p), and the next was a proper bar, where a large bottle of Leo would cost just 70 Baht (£1.40). Beer in the hotel was 60 Baht (£1.20) for a small Leo.

The hotel was perfect for our needs. Quite a small, compact area, with large well appointed rooms – each with a room sized panoramic window overlooking the relaxing gardens and swimming pool. Each room had wi-fi, which while not being the fastest I’ve used, was more than adequate for browsing and uploading huge batches of photos. The hotel cost just £94 for 2 rooms for 2 nights and included breakfast, which was a self service eat as much as you like affair. There was a good selection of cereals and Thai and English cooked breakfast foods. My son made sure we got our money’s worth.
large well appointed rooms
large well appointed rooms
large well appointed rooms
large well appointed rooms
room sized panoramic window overlooking the relaxing gardens and swimming pool
room sized panoramic window overlooking the relaxing gardens and swimming pool
room sized panoramic window overlooking the relaxing gardens and swimming pool
room sized panoramic window overlooking the relaxing gardens and swimming pool
Staff were very friendly, and seemed to outnumber guests. I’m sure they didn’t, but there was always somebody around when we needed them.

The swimming pool/Jacuzzi was fine, but seemed to be at capacity with 4 people in it. I actually took the plunge for the first time in over 15 months. I used swim a mile every morning up until the end of February last year. My leg infection has kept me out of the water ever since. Thankfully there was no reaction to the water, so I’ll be swimming again soon.
The swimming pool/Jacuzzi
The swimming pool/Jacuzzi
The swimming pool/Jacuzzi
The swimming pool/Jacuzzi
A bit of excitement at the poolside came when my wife took a peek from the pool into the gent’s toilet. She saw a (not a trouser) snake eating its lunch. There was a green constrictor there consuming a Tookey lizard. I’d never seen a constrictor crush and eat its food before, and I found this fascinating. While my wife and I were watching the show, we dispatched my son to get help. 2 snake catchers turned up, and they let the snake finish its lunch before scooping it into a bucket. One of the snake catchers looked very pleased with himself, saying that was his supper taken care of.
a green constrictor there consuming a Tookey lizard
a green constrictor there consuming a Tookey lizard
The gardens were well laid out with adequate table and chairs, and even included a couple of hammocks (apologies for the blur in the centre of the photos - dirty lens).
even included a couple of hammocks
even included a couple of hammocks
gardens were well laid out with adequate table and chairs
gardens were well laid out with adequate table and chairs
A nice hotel (despite the snake). Would we use this hotel again? Definitely.

Tomorrow's installment - Hell Fire Pass
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by oakdale160 »

Your usual highly detailed account, curious that they charge in British pounds.
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by Big Boy »

I booked through Agoda, and paid in Pounds. I'm sure they'd have taken Baht if I'd really tried.

Actually, I don't know what exchange rate Agoda were using, but the cost in Baht was shown as well over 5,000 Baht.
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by sateeb »

Glad you enjoyed my recommendation BB...but next time book direct with the hotel, it is cheaper. Hopefully I will be there again in Jan/Feb with a couple of Brit mates who want to visit.

PS
For a few extra baht the ground floor rooms are much better
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by Big Boy »

sateeb wrote:For a few extra baht the ground floor rooms are much better
I thought you had said that. I actually looked at them (at least the rooms directly below ours), and they seemed to be smaller, with the same stuff inside.

I honestly thought I'd read your previous comments wrong, and we'd had a free upgrade.

Apart from the double doors opening directly onto the garden, what were the other differences please?
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by kendo »

Nice report Big Boy i want to go and see Kanchanaburi, how long was the drive from Hua Hin and whats the distance.

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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by Big Boy »

Going, it took about 2.5 hours. Coming home we took quite a dtour, so it doesn't count. Previous time I drove, it took over 4 hours. Mileage was just over 130 miles.
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by sateeb »

BB..No difference really just ease of access to the pool. Stayed in both rooms and prefer the ground floor.


Kendo....Distance to Kanchanaburi about the same as BKK in mileage but a lot more traffic lights.
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by richard »

Glad you enjoyed it BB. Been there five times since living here and love the place. I did contemplate moving there. Never really dwelt too much on the central bridge/town/tourist area and always stayed up river or in the jungle. Nice feel to a place when there are no roads (officially) to get to your hotel (only boats) and the only sounds are crickets and water buffaloes farting underwater
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

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Part 2

Hell Fire Pass

This is somewhere that I’ve heard about so many times before, but we’ve never been in Kanchanaburi long enough before to actually stop off there. A bit of pre-visit Internet investigation, and I had the co-ordinates programmed into my SatNav. A couple of clicks and we were on our way – 59 miles from the hotel. The roads were quite fast, and we were fairly close before we started hitting the tour buses, and there were a lot of them.

At the entrance my wife had to deposit her ID card, and had to pay 200 Baht. I don’t know if that was 50 Baht each, 200 Baht parking or some other combination. I don’t think they realised there was a Farang driving. Whatever, we were there, and we weren’t going to turn back.

We got to the museum slightly ahead of the convoy of tour buses, and were wandering around when they caught us up. There wasn’t a lot to see in the museum – a couple of exhibits, but mainly reading about the horrors of building this amazing piece of engineering with little more than bare hands in just 20 months.
Museum Entrance
Museum Entrance
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Museum
Museum
There is a viewpoint from the museum, which shows a nice road leading to a memorial garden in the grounds of a temple – we assumed that we would be walking to there. On the viewpoint is a memorial Peace Vessel.
memorial Peace Vessel
memorial Peace Vessel
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View from the viewpoint
View from the viewpoint
We went down the wooden walkway/stairs (very slippery in the light rain – could have used something on the slippery wooden surfaces to make it safer) to the site of the rail track. We left our Thai partners at the top – we mustn’t forget that most Thais haven’t learnt how to use their legs for walking. You could see the walkway to the left, but we had to walk to the right. There were plenty of warnings at this point including the need to wear suitable footwear for the railbed we’d be walking along (thousands of sharp little stones).
The route
The route
We went down the wooden walkway/stairs
We went down the wooden walkway/stairs
We went down the wooden walkway/stairs
We went down the wooden walkway/stairs
The first thing we came to was Hell Fire Pass itself. A huge gorge cut into the mountainside. Situated along this stretch were a lot of Australian tributes (flags) in memory of those who suffered on this stretch.
Hell Fire Pass
Hell Fire Pass
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Hell Fire Pass
Hell Fire Pass
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Situated along this stretch were a lot of Australian tributes (flags) in memory of those who suffered on this stretch.
Situated along this stretch were a lot of Australian tributes (flags) in memory of those who suffered on this stretch.
At the other end of the Pass were a couple of official memorials, and steps leading up to viewpoints. Tour bus visitors were not really meant to go beyond this point.
At the other end of the Pass were a couple of official memorials
At the other end of the Pass were a couple of official memorials
At the other end of the Pass were a couple of official memorials
At the other end of the Pass were a couple of official memorials
At the other end of the Pass were a couple of official memorials
At the other end of the Pass were a couple of official memorials
Display at one of the viewpoints
Display at one of the viewpoints
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View of Hell Fire Pass from the viewpoint
View of Hell Fire Pass from the viewpoint
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Immediately ahead of us was the first of 6 cuttings where bridges had been constructed. We had to climb down each of there, and then back up the other side. Although quite well trampled, we were climbing down into the jungle, and we did encounter snakes, which thankfully seemed to be more afraid of us than we were of them.
Immediately ahead of us was the first of 6 cuttings where bridges had been constructed.  We had to climb down each of there, and then back up the other side.
Immediately ahead of us was the first of 6 cuttings where bridges had been constructed. We had to climb down each of there, and then back up the other side.
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We were virtually alone for the rest of the walk until we returned to this point. We only saw 3 other walkers. In fact, most of those who arrived on tour buses did not venture down the wooden walkways. I don’t suppose we saw more than 20 other people on the railbed in the 3 hours we were there. Thais miss out on so much because of their walking infliction.
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
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the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
the rest of the walk
The End - Now walk back again.
The End - Now walk back again.
The walk itself was a real eye opener when you consider what the green field route would have looked like – mountainous jungle. Those poor guys literally cut a train sized hole right through it. As we were walking through what couldn’t been more than this 8 foot wide cutting, there was dense jungle on either side of us. We were seeing bugs that we had never seen before, and we both got bitten a few times. This really was the most fantastic walk, but very sad, when you consider the consequences that made it all possible.

I did the 8 Km walk across very rough ground in just over 2 hours, and I picked up 2 blisters. As a result of my leg problems, any foot injury is a big NO. Fortunately, when we travel, we take all the correct meds with us in the event of any injury and my wife has dressed my blisters 4 times since since. However, such small injuries really bring home the sheer hell that these guys went through. If they survived, they were there for 20 months, and had no medical chest to help them. I was there 3 hours, needed proper medical attention. What chance would I have stood?

My son and I got back into the car, and suddenly realised that we both had extreme BO (sorry, too much information) from the walk. The day was still young – we went for lunch, and then onto our next attraction, Tham Kra Sae Cave. I’m sure people would be giving us a wide berth.

Tomorrow - Tham Kra Sae Cave
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by Nereus »

Thanks very much for the excellent photos, Big Boy. With my stuffed up hip and walking stick I guess your photos are as close as I can ever hope to get. I knew a couple of ex-servicemen that survived it, all gone now. :(
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by Big Boy »

If you go to the end of the trail, there is road access and very easy walking access through Hintock Cutting to 3 Tier Bridge, which would give a real feel of what went on. The footpath is a bit stoney, but I'm sure you could manage it. Entering the Death Railway from this end would be absolutely free as well :D.

You could then return to your car and drive to the museum.

With Thais having a walking affliction, I'm surprised they don't use this entrance - they could even do it on their motorcycles :twisted:
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by richard »

Big Boy wrote:If you go to the end of the trail, there is road access and very easy walking access through Hintock Cutting to 3 Tier Bridge, which would give a real feel of what went on. The footpath is a bit stoney, but I'm sure you could manage it. Entering the Death Railway from this end would be absolutely free as well :D.

You could then return to your car and drive to the museum.

With Thais having a walking affliction, I'm surprised they don't use this entrance - they could even do it on their motorcycles :twisted:
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by clinton114 »

Big Boy wrote:Part 1



I checked out the hotel recommendations on the Internet, and decided Sabai@Kan would meet our needs perfectly. It was just a short walk from the Bridge over the River Kwai, and ‘touristy’ restaurants around them.

A nice hotel (despite the snake). Would we use this hotel again? Definitely.

Tomorrow's installment - Hell Fire Pass
We stayed at this hotel in March when we traveled up there - I agree, it was a nice little place and a good value
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Re: Short Trip To Kanchanaburi Area

Post by PeteC »

You may want to read these accounts BB. :(

"....Tropical ulcers caused only 2 per cent of deaths on the railway but were particularly loathed. Caused by the infection of wounds by microorganisms, they would eat away flesh to the bone. Even the smallest scratch might develop into an ulcer. Rowley Richards, an Australian doctor in Burma (now Myanmar) remembered these painful wounds as ‘shocking’:"

http://hellfire-pass.commemoration.gov. ... -death.php

WARNING: Some shocking illustrations.
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