12 Best Sights in Around Bangkok, Thailand

Kanchanaburi is most famous as the location of this bridge, a section of the Thailand-Burma Railway immortalized in director David Lean's epic 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai. During World War II, the Japanese, with whom Thailand sided, forced about 16,000 prisoners of war and from 50,000 to 100,000 civilian slave laborers from neighboring countries to construct the railway, a supply route through the jungles of Thailand and Burma. Sure-footed visitors can walk across the bridge, whose arched portions are original. In December a big fair takes place with a sound-and-light show depicting the Allied bombing of the structure late in the war. Next to the bridge is a plaza with restaurants and souvenir shops.

The museum at Hellfire Pass is a moving memorial to the Allied prisoners of war who built the River Kwai railway, tens of thousands of whom died in the process. Along with a film and exhibits, there's a 4½-km (3-mile) walk along a section of the railway, including the notorious Hellfire Pass, one of the most grueling sections to build. The pass got its name from the fire lanterns that flickered on the mountain walls as the men worked through the night. Many people do the walk in the early morning, before the museum opens and before it gets too hot. Allow 2½ hours round-trip for the walk. Take plenty of water and snacks; there's a small shack near the museum that sells drinks, but not much food. The pass can be busy on weekends. Bus 8203 (two hours) makes the trip to the museum. The last bus back to Kanchanaburi is at 5 pm coming the other direction from Sangklaburi. The drive by car takes about an hour.

The charming village of Amphawa, 10 km (7 miles) by songthaew from Samut Songkhram, has a floating market similar to, but smaller than, the one in Damnoen Saduak. It is also touristy but less in-your-face about it with characterful cafés and boutiques, and because of this is often preferred. The market is open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12 to 8 pm. The food market in the street adjacent to the canal starts at around 1 pm. Popular firefly tours allow you to enjoy both the market and the beautiful insect-lighted trees. The bugs are best seen from May to October and in the waning moon. The hour-long tours usually run every half hour from 6 to 9 pm. You can arrange a tour directly with Mae Klong Market Pier (B800 for a boat) or through your hotel (around B70 per person). Unless you have private transportation, you'll have to spend the night in Amphawa, but there are some lovely options. The last bus back to Bangkok is in the early evening.

The serene and simple resting place of many of the soldiers forced to work on the Thailand-Burma Railway has neatly organized rows of grave markers. On the grounds of a former hospital for prisoners of war, the cemetery is a little out of the way, and therefore rarely visited. To get here, hire a tuk-tuk or moto-taxi for about B60.

Next to noisy Saengchuto Road, this cemetery has row upon row of neatly laid-out graves: 6,982 Australian, British, and Dutch prisoners of war are laid to rest here. The remains of the American POWs were returned to the United States during the Eisenhower administration. A remembrance ceremony is held every April 25th, Australia and New Zealand Army Corps Day.

Studded with stalactites, this cave overflows with images of the Buddha, among them a 10-meter-long reclining one. Some were put in place by kings Rama IV and Rama V. For a donation of B20 or so to pay for the electricity, a nun will light up the rear of the cave for you. It is about a kilometer's walk from the entrance, but a shuttle service is provided for B15.The cave is best appreciated on a clear morning, between 9 and 10, when the sun shines in and reflects off the brass iconography.

Next to Phra Pathom Chedi is the Phra Pathom Chedi National Museum, which contains Dvaravati artifacts such as images of the Buddha, stone carvings, and stuccos from the 6th to the 11th century.

While still a prince, the future King Rama VI commissioned this palace, completed in 1911, that's notable architecturally for its French and British flourishes. The surrounding park, which includes ponds and broad lawns, is a lovely place to relax. English signs and translations provide information and guidance around the grounds.

When this temple's roof collapsed in 1767, one of Thailand's biggest and most revered bronze Buddha images was revealed. It lay here uncovered for almost 200 years before a huge modern viharn was built in 1951. Historians have dated the image back to 1538.

This 800-year-old Khmer-influenced structure on the western side of the Phetchaburi River is a royal temple located in a charming district with narrow lanes and wooden shophouses. It comprises five large prangs that are visible from all over town. It is notable for its fine stucco work, which is characteristic of the Phetchaburi school of art seen on many of its temples.

This bustling temple complex on the banks of the Lopburi River is an interesting diversion from the dormant ruins that dominate Ayutthaya. A short B3 ferry ride across the river sets the scene for its dramatic origins. The temple was built in 1324 (26 years before Ayutthaya's rise to power) by a U-Thong king in atonement for the death of his fiancée. Instead of bringing his bride, a Chinese princess, into the city himself, the king arranged an escort for her. Distraught at what she interpreted to be a lackluster welcome, the princess threw herself into the river (at the site of the current temple) and drowned.

One of the Kanchanaburi area's best cave-temples, the wat displays Buddhist and Hindu statues and figurines amid stalagmites and stalactites. During World War II the Japanese used the cave complex as storerooms. A local may appear at the small shrine outside the cave and offer to direct you, but you can walk through the cave by yourself. Paying a donation to enter the cave is voluntary.