Kanchanaburi

I lived in Kanchanaburi town for over a year and it was one of the happiest times of my life. Kanchanaburi province is a beautiful unspoiled land of wilderness and small towns rarely visited by western tourists. It is only 2 hours from Bangkok and there is plenty of accomodation and food options. The people are wonderful and alot of them speak english. You will discover that quite a few foreigners have settled down in this town. It is at the edge of a large mountain range and at night cool breezes blow down from the hills and are a welcome escape from the heat. There is ample nightlife and it is the perfect place to stay if you want to chill out in a typical provincial Thai town for a while and see what the country is really like outside of the tourist traps of Pattaya, Phuket, and Bangkok. I cannot explain how much I love this place. It will always be in my heart.

looks great, and some nice reviews below.

im planning to go to bangkok. and hv been researching excursions not far from bangkok. originally, i am planning to visit pattaya. however, local friends has been de-selling too much of it. but highly recommending – Kanchanaburi. a place involves a lot of history of thailand. really look forward to it! =)

Eat at the floating boathouse restaurant near the bridge, the food there was pretty good. And Apples makes really good banana pancakes. The seven level waterfall makes for a pretty good hike, so bring sturdy shoes(my friend did it in Havainas, I don’t know how), and keep going till you reach the top!! We were only planning to climb to the 4th level but we kept on doing the “just one more level” thing. The tiger sanctuary was pretty cool, obviously lacking in safety issues, but its kind of what one expects. The baby cubs were just gorgeous though…we went at the end of the day when they get let out of their cages to play. Very cute!!

Pilok Mine

People go here primarily to see the Bridge over River Kwai. I’m going for the Tigers. ^_

I’m having second thoughts though…Lonely Planet doesn’t recommend it, and I read you have to sign a waiver absolving the Temple from any responsibility if you get mauled. Hmmm.

is the most wonderfully bizarre place I have ever been.

• a mostly complete collection of life sized plaster figurines of every person of any political or war significance – like ghengis khan
• the evolution of man, complete with the first fire
• who has won the title of “Miss Thailand” for the last 50 years
• and also a very desperate plea to help save the thai buffalo.

I live in Kan. for 6 months and loved it! Makes a great side trip from Bangkok – lots of nice guesthouses along the river and a stop at the Erawan waterfalls is well worth it as it’s a great place to cool off.