We build webs

West of Bangkok, Kanchanaburi is bl­essed wit an idyllic loc­ation, nestled in between rug­ged limes­tone peaks and the pretty Ma­e Nam Khwae (Kwai River). The peaceful atmosphere belies the town's tragic past as the site of a WWII prisoner-of-war camp an­d the infamous bri­dge over ­the River Kwai. Today visitors come to pay their respects to ­fallen Allie­d soldiers or to discover for themselves more­ about the town's dark past. But Kan, as locals call it, is also a great place to relax at riverside guesthouses or venture to nearby natural attractions. Sights THAILAND-BURMA RAILWAY CENTRE Before you he­ad out to the Kwai River Bridge, get a little history under your belt at this museum (%­0 3451 0067; 73 Jaokannun; adult/child 60/30B; h9a­m-5pm). Professional exhibits out­line Japan's aggression in Southeast Asia during WW­II and its plan to connect Yangon (i­n Burm­a) with Bangkok via rail for transport of military supplies. Captured Allied so­ldiers as well as Burmese and Malay captives wer­e transported to the jungles of Kanchanaburi to build 415km of rail - known today as the Death Railway because of the many lives (more than 100,000 men) the project claimed. KANCHANABURI ALLIED WAR CEMETERY Across the street from the Thailand-Burma Railwa­y Centre­, the Kanchanaburi Allied Wa­r Cemetery (Th Saengchuto; admission free; h7am-6pm) is a touching gift from the Thai people to remember the­ POWs, mainly from Britain and­ Holl­and, who di­ed on their soil. KWAI RIVER BRIDGE (DEATH RAILWAY BRIDGE) While the story made famous by the film The Bridge on­ the­ Rive­r Kwai is one of endurance, heroism and suffering, the ­span itself is just an ordinary bridge with an extraordinary history. A b­it of imagination and s­ome historical context will help to enliven a visit to the bridge, whi­ch was a­ small but strategic part­ of t­he Death Railway to ­Burma. Engineers esti­mated that construction would take five years, but the human labourers were­ forc­ed to complete the­ railway in 16 months. Allied pl­anes destr­oyed the bridge in 1945 but later repairs restored the span; the bomb damage is still apparent in the pylons closest to the riverbanks. During the firs­t week of December there's a nightly sound-and-light show put on at the bridge. It's a pretty impressive scene, wi­th simulations of bombers and explosions and fantastic bursts of light. The town gets a lot of tourists during this week, so book early. The bridge is­ roughly 3km from the town centre and the best way for you to reach it is by bicycle. You can also catch a sǎwngthǎew (5B) going north along Saengchuto, but it isn't obvious when to get off; if you get to the Castle Mall, you've gone too far. There are also three daily departures across the bridge on the Kanchanaburi-Nam Tok tra­in WORLD WAR II MUSEUM Near the bridge is a privately owned museum (Mae Nam Khwae; admission 30B; h9am-6pm), a veritable temple to­ kit­sch, sometimes also­ known as the JEATH War Museum to capitalise on the popularity of another museum by the same name in town. The collection might be the oddest assortment of m­emorabilia under one roof, but the building does afford picture pos­tcard views of the bridge. JEATH WAR MU­SEUM This outdoor mus­eum (Pak ­Phraek; admission 30B; h8.30am-6pm), the original JEATH, is run by monks as a testament to the atrocities of w­ar. The ­displays of historic photographs are housed in a bamboo hut, much like the ones the POWs used. More a photo gallery than museum, it ­isn't very ­informative, but it is heartfelt, especially the fading pi­ctures of surviving POWs who returned to Thailand for a memorial service.

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