Kanchanaburi is a small town in western Thailand where the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai rivers converge into the Mae Klong River. It was here, in 1942, under Japanese control, that the infamous ‘Bridge over the River Kwai’ was built by allied prisoners of war, over which the so-called ‘Death Railway’ ran. There is also a small museum that commemorates the terrible losses incurred during the railway’s construction and a war cemetery. The area itself is very attractive and there are a number of minority villages in the lush jungle with opportunities for elephant trekking and bamboo rafting.