Museum sights in Kanchanaburi
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Jeath War Museum
This small museum resembles the bamboo-ata in which POWs were kept. Newspaper cuttings, letters and artwork line the sides of the long hut and offer harsh reminders of the brutal punishments meted out by Japanese troops. The archives focus heavily on surgeon Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, who saved hundreds of lives by operating on injured soldiers and fighting to improve basic medical conditions. The museum is run by the monks of the adjacent Wat Chaichumphon (Wat Tai), which in itself is worth a visit. Jeath is an acronym of the countries involved in the railway: Japan, England, Australia/USA, Thailand and Holland. The war museum is at the west end of Th Wisuttharangsi (Vis…
reviewed
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B
JEATH War Museum
The JEATH War Museum is arguably the pick of the memorials in Kanchanaburi and is a moving testament to war’s atrocities. The museum operates in the grounds of a local temple and has reconstructions of the bamboo huts used by the POWs as shelter. The long huts contain various photographs taken during the war, drawings and paintings by POWs, maps, weapons and other war memorabilia. The acronym JEATH represents the fated meeting of Japan, England, Australia/America, Thailand and Holland at Kanchanaburi during WWII. The war museum is at the end of Th Wisuttharangsi (Visutrangsi), near the TAT office. The common Thai name for this museum is Phíphítháphan Songkhram Wát Tâi…
reviewed
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C
WWII Museum
The WWII Museum beside the bridge has a picture-postcard view and an eclectic assortment of war and peace memorabilia, though you wouldn’t call it a must-see. The larger, more lavish of the two buildings contains Burmese-style alabaster Buddhas and a phrá khrêuang (sacred amulets) display. Upper floors exhibit Thai weaponry from the Ayuthaya period, ceramics and brightly painted portraits of all the kings in Thai history.
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D
Thailand-Burma Railway Centre Museum
This informative museum uses video footage, models and detailed display panels to explain Kanchanaburi's role in WWII. Nine galleries tell the story of the railway, how prisoners were treated and what happened after the line was completed. Upstairs is a display of wartime artefacts, including one POW's miniature chess set, and an excellent collection of related books. A poignant video from POW survivors ensures that the deaths remain a tragedy, not merely a statistic.
reviewed
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E
WWII Museum
One of the most eclectic and downright odd sites, this museum houses everything from wartime artefacts to paintings of former beauty queens.
The museum is divided into two buildings. Inside one is a display of Japanese wagons used to transport prisoners, old photographs and unconvincing waxwork POWs. Notes about the area's history are scrawled on the walls, but the translations sometimes go badly awry, with unfortunately comic results. One sign about the victims of an Allied bombing raid reads: 'the bodies lay higgledy-piggledy beneath the bridge'. Another says simply: 'England was pushed into the sea by Dunkirk'.
The larger building resembles a Chinese temple and is far mo…
reviewed
