This is one of the most beautiful train rides you can have in Thailand: the train from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi over the River Kwai bridge, but the best scenes are after Kanchanaburi.
As I love low-class train rides in Southeast Asia and I have never done one scenic train ride in Thailand, I thought this was about time. Kanchanaburi is mostly famous because of its bridge: River Khwae Bridge and this is the reason why most parts of travelers leave the train in Kanchanaburi, oblivious that the best view is yet to come.
To go from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi you need to head to a train station a bit far from the center: Thon Buri. This is where the train heading to Kanchanaburi departs from. There are two daily departures: one at 7:50 am and another one at 13:55 pm.
I went on the first train at 7:50 am and my destination was not Kanchanaburi, but the last train stop on this line: Nam Tok. The ticket costs 100bh (about 2,70€) but that is a foreign price. Thai people pay 25bh for the same journey. The train has soft seats and you can seat wherever you want, so I chose a seat on the left side of the train which is the side with the best view heading from Bangkok to Nam Tok.
As I said, most part of people leaves the train in Kanchanaburi which is about 3h away from Bangkok. They leave here to see the train crossing the River Kwai bridge, a bridge with loads of stories, and a nice place for a train picture.
I crossed that same bridge on board of the train and could see the people outside with their cameras and phones ready. We were basically all recording each other haha. My intention was to come back the same day to Kanchanaburi, so I would have both experiences: crossing the bridge on the train, crossing the bridge on foot, and watching the train crossing the River Kwai bridge.
Bangkok to Nam Tok
So my plan was: Bangkok- Nam Tok and Nam Tok- Kanchanaburi on the same day. This way I would enjoy the full scenario on board the train and still could explore Kanchanaburi.
Kanchanaburi is one of the train stops, but there is another one just before the bridge called River Kwai bridge station.
This is also called the death railway and there is a reason for it. Before visiting Kanchanaburi and the bridge itself, I truly recommend watching the movie The bridge over River Kwai. It is an old movie and will help you understand much better what happened there, why is it called Death railway, and will give another dimension to what you are looking at.
Basically, there is a trench of this railway that was built by the Japanese during the war, including the bridge. The thing is that the Japanese were using European soldiers such as British, Dutch or Australians, and Americans as slaves to build the bridge. Many of them died while building this bridge on forced labor, from starvation, malnutrition, or beating from their officers. Many Southeast Asians were used as slaves here too. There is in fact a big cemetery in Kanchanaburi filled with crosses, I guess that’s where the catholic slaves are buried. There is also a museum about this terrible period of history and that’s why this bridge is so interesting to visit.
If the train ride from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi is not that impressive, things change after Kanchanaburi. Crossing the river is a very scenic view but the best is ahead. There are a few parts where the trail allows the train passengers to have river views, but the mountains are always in sight. The views are gorgeous! Fields of crops, farmers working on them, that red tone of the dirt that I love in a landscape. But the highlight of all the railway is when the train is about to reach Thamkra Sae station.
Thamkra Sae train station
This is the best scenery you will see. The train goes just next to the river, there is nothing in between them and the views are marvelous. The train goes across the bridge very slowly, looking down there is kinda scary. Everyone is sticking their head out of the windows and trying to get the best picture and the best view. Crossing this trench on board the Bangkok- Kanchanaburi train is beautiful, but just like it happens on the River Kwai bridge, staying outside and watching the train passing by is the best picture you will get. I have seen some amazing train pictures of this death railway and those were taken here.
If you are a photography lover, leaving the train at Thankra Sae station would be a great idea. The thing is that in order for you to see the train crossing the iconic landscape, you will have to stay there. It is not possible to leave in Thankra Sae and watch the train passing by on the same day, and go back to Kanchanaburi because there are only two trains a day. But, this area looked so pretty, that if I knew about this before, I would have stayed in Thankra Sae. The place offers beautiful river views, it is very quiet and lush green. I thought it would be a great place to stay for one night and then board the train the next day. This way you would be able to see the train crossing the scenic area twice (the same day in the evening and the next day in the morning) and I’m sure there are some spots with a reputation as the best ones to take a wonderful train picture.
Anyway, I didn’t know it, so I proceeded with my journey until the end of the line, Nam Tok. From Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok, the train takes about 2 more hours. Then, it stops for about 30 minutes in Nam Tok and starts its journey again at 1 pm back from Nam Tok to Bangkok.
From Thamkra Sae station to Nam Tok, it doesn’t take much longer and the views are also nice. The best was already gone, but I still enjoyed the rest of the trail. There was almost no one on board now. In Nam Tok, there is absolutely nothing going on. There was a vendor with some things, one guy trying to sell tours and that was it! There was a waterfall not far from the train station and there are some accommodations so there must be something to do there, but my 30 minutes stop was not enough to go to the waterfall and come back.
Nam Tok to Kanchanaburi
So, when the train departed from Nam Tok I made sure to choose what I thought to be the best seat, where I would have no heads in front of me, but I was wrong. There were still heads in front of me when the scenery was the best haha
I really enjoy train rides, so for me, it made a lot of sense to go all the way to the end of the line. I like train journeys to enjoy the surrounding scenery and this one was definitely worth it. As always, there were people hopping in and out of the train selling food, drinks, and whatever you may think of.
Finally, after more than 7 hours spent on trains, I reach Kanchanaburi where I will stay and explore a bit. I also want to see the train crossing the River Kwai bridge haha. And I was able to see it on the same day because I arrived in Kanchanaburi around 3 pm and there was a train crossing the River Kwai bridge just before sunset.
This was my itinerary for this day:
Bangkok- Nam Tok
Nam Tok- Kanchanaburi
