I have posted this report on some other Pattaya forums about 12 months ago, prices may have slightly increased since my original post.


After coming back from my holiday in Cambodia I spent 5 more days in Pattaya
Feeling like a change of pace I asked my girl where she would like to go for a couple of days holiday.
I wasn’t that surprised when she answered “Up to you”. I had seen most of Thailand as I had done the “backpacker” thing in ’95.
We decided on going to Kanchanaburi, as there were some things I never got to see when I was there last time.
We went to a couple of travel agencies, they had organised trips that was leaving Pattaya at 5 am. Way too early for me so went searching on the net to see what other options were available.
Yahoo search found plenty of hotels so found one that looked centrally located. We opted for The River Kwai Hotel; they had rooms advertised for 1200 Baht. My girl rang the hotel & booked a room for 2 nights, price the reception quoted was 1050 baht including breakfast.
Next step was how to get there. Asked around at a couple of Taxi stands the cost to Kanchanaburi & they were all round 3500-4000 Baht. Decided on getting an 800 Baht taxi to Bangkok then catch the bus from the Sai Thai Bus station.
The following day when the taxi picked us up my girl was chatting to the driver telling him we were going to Kanchanaburi, the driver said he would take us for 1000 Baht more. This seemed fair to me as it would save time & be a lot more comfortable, plus the added convenience of stopping when & where we wanted i.e. lunch & toilet breaks.
The drive was uneventful, took about 4 hours plus we stopped for about 15-20 minutes for lunch the other side of Bangkok.
Checked in to the hotel, the hotel seemed old but rooms were clean & comfortable (except for the bed but I learn later that if you turn over the mattress it has a soft side as well as a hard one).
Later that evening we wandered around the town, find a nice little street stall & have a meal.
Back at the hotel I ask the concierge about doing some tours, he calls a girl from the “Good Times Travel Service”. We are shown some photos & a brochure of different tours. We select tour 101 (see scanned copy of brochure), price was 690 Baht each.
The hotel has a good selection for breakfast, both western & Thai food.
The minibus picked us up at 0755. There was our driver & a good english-speaking guide. We then proceeded to pick up other passengers; there were 2 Australian guys then 3 Irish girls & 1 Irish guy who were making their way to Australia for a working holiday.
First stop was at Sai Yok Noi waterfall, not a lot of water running so a bit disappointing, next stop was Hell Fire pass, we visit Konyu cutting & the museum. This place is a real eye opener seeing what horrific things the POW’s went through. Next was lunch, Thai food at a local restaurant a selection of mild curries & sweet & sours followed by some fruit.
After lunch we go on the elephant rides, this is about a 30-minute trek, a bit of good fun, my girl hadn’t been on an elephant before & was hanging on to me like grim death. Taking photos while on an elephant is an art in its self. One second you have a perfect photo lined up the next thing you know is that you have a great photo of the sky or the ground. After the elephant ride we bought bunches of bananas for 10 baht each & fed the elephants.
Where the elephant trek ended was where the bamboo rafting started. As there was very little water it was a fairly tame ride down the river but still good fun.
After the rafting we were back on the minibus to Krasae Cave & the wooden Viaduct, spent 30 minutes wandering around here then caught a train along the “Death Railway”. Great scenery going along in the train as you follow the river for a while then head inland. Best grab a seat on the right hand side of the train for the best views. I stood near the open doorways & took photos from there.
Back on the minibus again then go to the “Bridge over The River Kwai” & the war museum. We spent 30 minutes here then it is back to the hotel. A very long day but well worth it.
The next day I walk up to the cemetery of the allied prisoners of the World War II, this is only about 600 meters from the hotel.
On one of the plaques I read where during the building of the Thai- Burma Railway 200 000 +/- Asian labourers 50 000+/- died. 30 000 British POW 6540 died. 18000 Dutch POW 2650 died. 13 000 Australian POW 2710 died. 700+/- American POW 358 died.
15 000 Japanese & Korean Soldiers 1 000 of these died
One of the Australian guys on the trip yesterday was unsure of what he was going to do for the next 5 days before he went back so he decided to share a taxi back to Pattaya with us so that suited me as it made the fare cheaper. The same taxi driver who took us to Kanchanaburi left from Bangkok & picked us up at 1100. Another uneventful trip but well worth the extra cost compared to getting busses.


































Details of "Good Times Travel are
63/1 Mae Nam Kwai Rd
T.Thamakham
A. Muang Kanchanaburi 7100
Phone
(034) 624441
01 9137758
01 4841369
good_times_travel@hotmail.com

I thought it was very good value, a full day for a bit over 20 Oz dollars
They also do overnight trips to Karen villages & Sangkhlaburi (Thai Burma Broder) plus day tours to the Tiger temple,

that brings back old memories of my very first trip to Thailand. spent 3 days and found it very quiet and relaxing. however did go on my own so did get a bit bored. I forget the name of the place i stayed at but was on the river about 10 mins from helfire pass. the girls that clean the rooms offred an extra service which i guess you could call a premium service for an extra 500bht. I was a bit slow on the uptake on what happens in Thailand in those early days and thought i would be taking advantage of them. Oh well, maybe next time!
so many people I talk to who have just retuned from Thailand didnt even know this place existed in Thailand, and for us Aussies, it is just as important for us to make a visit as visiting other places such as the Kokada trail!

Hmmm. That does look familliar. Excellent report and some really fine pics to go along with it. Just like when I saw it elsewhere. Thanks for sharing it with us Tazzy.

Tazzy: Great report mate. Was there in 06 basically the same tours. As you said very laid back and peaceful after the pace in BKK and Patts. Just sort of kick back and recharge.
Thanks a lot. Cheers T

lookbothways,

Excellent report and pictures you really gave a lot of details and important information for those of us who may consider doing this trip in the future.

thank you

hi

wow really nice report and beautiful fotos, the baboo rafting looking very funny.
Make me feel to do a trip like that too.

ty for the report

Great report & photos

Thanks for the report and pictures....

hell fire pass everyone should go

Thanks tazzydevil i remember that report well one of my fave`s

TG and I also paid 1000 baht for a taxi to Kanchanaburi last year. Also stayed in River Kwai Hotel which was pretty decent.

It is sad of how many fallen unknown soldiers there are...