New Year's Train to Kanchanaburi

Happy 2017 to all! January is starting off with my first big adventure of the year!

On New Year's Eve morning, my friend James who is visiting from America, and I headed out to Thonburi Bangkok Noi Train Station, to board the three-hour train along the infamous "Burmese Death Railway" to Kanchanaburi.

leaving Bangkok

I haven't taken the train to Kanchanaburi in years! I love traveling by train, but I was a little worried when I found out that we couldn't reserve third-class tickets in advance. We got to the station very early, picked up a pair of tickets, grabbed a couple of toasty sandwiches at the local 7-11, and waited for our train to arrive. At 7:30 it pulled into the station. Worried about the crowds, we jumped on the train as it was still moving, and managed to grab a pair of window seats. Many people weren't so lucky, and had to stand for the three-hour journey,

on our way to have an adventure!

The rail system in Thailand is really great (unlike in Burma...), and given the choice I'll always choose the train! It's fast, cheap, and offers some of the best views of the countryside.

heading west

We arrived right on time in Kanchanaburi, crossed into town, and spent some time at the Bridge on the River Kwai itself.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Our original plan was to take the special weekend train that runs from Bangkok Hua Lampong Station to Kanchanaburi, stopping at Nam Tok Station an hour or two further from Kanchanaburi, then come back to town, but unfortunately that train wasn't running for the holiday. Our next mission was to find our way to the end of the line some other way, to see the sites that we would have missed.

at the Chinese Temple in Kanchanaburi