Kanchanaburi town is just a short 2 hour drive west from Bangkok, and in the high season (October-February) it gets hit hard with Thai and foreigner tourists trying to get away from the hustle and bustle of concrete skyscrapers and traffic jams.
Kanchanaburi is home to one of the last known tiger reserves in South East Asia, and the province includes national parks, plantations, rural villages, mountains, valleys, and river systems that have woven themselves into 'floating village' culture.
Kanchanaburi town is also home to an important World War II monument, the Bridge over River Kwai (pictured above.) The Pacific War officially began in December 1941 with the Japanese Empire attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and the invasion of British Malaya. By mid-1942 the Japanese campaign of conquest and occupation expanded through most of the Pacific and SE Asia, and they began fighting the British forces in Burma with their ultimate goal being an offensive against India.
Thailand was occupied by Japan in 1941, and from 1942-1943 the Japanese started construction on the Burma-Thailand Railway. To maintain armies in Burma the Japanese needed a more secure supply route because the sea-lanes between Singapore and Rangoon (see map) proved to be too vulnerable to Allied naval attacks. They decided a railway would supply their troops better, so they constructed one that was 415 km long through the jungle and mountains of Burma and Thailand.
The Japanese assembled a multi-national workforce of nearly 270,000 forced Asian labourers from occupied countries and over 60,000 Allied prisoners of war. The cost was great: the hard labor, the environment, abuse and brutality from guards, tropical diseases and malnutrition took a heavy toll. Nearly 13,000 Allied POWs died and well over 90,000 Asian labourers lost their lives in just one year's time. In 1945 the railway was heavily bombed by Allied troops and most of it was destroyed forever.
Today, some of the railway is still in use but used now for commercial and private transport only. The section pictured here, the Bridge over River Kwai, used to be a wooden bridge that was bombed repeatedly. After the war it was replaced with Indonesian steel in 1949 and resurrected as an important memorial service for all those who lost their lives during the war. The bridge is made famous by the film, which I have never seen and so can not really comment on. Heard it was good though!
The railway is now known as the 'Death Railway' because the heavy cost of human life that it took during its construction. If you're interested in a more sobering memorial experience head to HellFire Pass Memorial (about 40 minutes drive outside of Kanchanaburi town.) Funded and constructed by the Australian Government Veterans' Department, the memorial takes you to the site that was known to be the most horrific of all construction sites during the railway's construction. It's got a section of the handcarved railway bed (pictured left) you can walk through, and exhibitions including photos and video footage of the construction and hellish POW conditions. 
Kanchanaburi isn't all about the doom and gloom though...be sure to get amongst it and have some fun with the incredible adventure activities available: kayaking, rafting, trekking, and cycling through pristine forests, paddy plantations and stunning landscapes. I went on a waterfall hike through Erawan National Park (just 1 hour outside of Kanchanaburi town) and hiked 7 tiers of a 1500 meter magnificent waterfall, each level more stunning than the previous. I also took a train ride through the countryside and had a great laugh with some UK tourists trying desperately to catch 'that perfect photo' to capture the day. Kanchanaburi is the perfect weekend getaway trip from Bangkok...so take a few days off from the shopping, crowds and chaos, and soak up the countryside peace as you experience some of the best Thailand has to offer!
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