Kanchanaburi (Thai: กาญจนบุรี, pronounced [kāːn.t͡ɕā.ná(ʔ).bū.rīː]) is a town municipality (thesaban mueang) in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. The town of lies to the southeast of Erawan National Park within Kanchanaburi Province, approximately 120km west of Bangkok.[2] In 2006 it had a population of 31,327. That number was reduced to 25,651 in 2017. The town covers tambons Ban Nuea and Ban Tai and parts of Pak Phraek and Tha Makham, all of Mueang Kanchanaburi District, and parts of tambon Tha Lo of Tha Muang District.
Kanchanaburi
กาญจนบุรี | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Kanchanaburi city gate | |
  Kanchanaburi Location in Thailand | |
| Coordinates: 14°1′10″N 99°31′52″E / 14.01944°N 99.53111°E | |
| Country | Thailand |
| Province | Kanchanaburi Province |
| District | Mueang Kanchanaburi District |
| Elevation | 100 ft (30 m) |
| Population (2017) | |
• Total | 25,651 [1] |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (ICT) |
History
editIn the late 18th century, Kanchanaburi was established by King Rama I as a defensive outpost against possible Burmese attacks in what is now Lat Ya Sub-district. In 1833, the town was moved about 16 km to the southeast along the river to its present site during the reign of King Rama III.[3]
From the Ayutthaya period to the Thonburi and Rattanakosin periods, Kanchanaburi was an important outpost to defend against Burmese invasions. The old town was located at Tambon Lat Ya (Khao Chon Kai in the present). In 1831, King Rama III moved the city to the southeast, about 16 kilometers, to set at the confluence of the Khwae Yai River and the Khwae Noi River, which is the location of the town today.[4]
On March 25, 1935, a royal decree was issued for Ban Nuea Subdistrict and Ban Tai Subdistrict, which has an area of approximately 2.08 square kilometers.
Geography
edit
Kanchanaburi, where the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai Rivers converge into the Mae Klong River, spans the northern banks of the river and is a popular spot for travelers. Its location at the edge of a mountain range keeps it much cooler than the other provinces of central Thailand.
Economy
editThe city has two major commercial districts: the downtown area consists of a grid of several streets with office buildings, shop fronts, and a shopping mall; and the riverfront area businesses are mostly further west along River Kwai Road. Once a year a carnival comes to town and is set up in the area next to the bridge. At night there is a small pyrotechnics display that re-enacts the wartime bombing of the bridge.
The riverfront has skywalk, and next to it is Walking Street. The skywalk is a "12-metre high and 150 metre-long" glass walkway, owned by the local government; to access the skywalk, one must pay [on site] 60 baht to own a pair of plastic shoes.[5][6][7]
Buddhism
editKanchanaburi is the birthplace of the Buddhist monk Phrabhavanaviriyakhun. It is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southeast of the Buddhist temple Wat Tham Phu Wa which features a series of grotto shrines within a large limestone cave system. Each grotto features a statue of the Buddha at a different stage of his life. It is the easiest access point to the nearby Tiger Temple (closed) and is also home to a Vipassana meditation center.
Death railway
edit
In 1942 Kanchanaburi was under Japanese control. It was here that Asian forced labourers and Allied POWs, building the infamous Burma Railway, constructed a bridge, an event fictionalised in the films The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957),[8] Return from the River Kwai (1989) and The Railway Man (2013). Almost half of the prisoners working on the project died from disease, maltreatment or accidents. There were four POW camps in or near the city,[9] including Tamarkan which was used as a work camp to construct the bridge.[10] After the completion of the railway line, most prisoners were concentrated in the Kanchanaburi area, and often sent on to Japan or French Indo-China.[11]
At Kanchanaburi, there is a memorial and two museums to commemorate the dead. In March 2003, the Thailand–Burma Railway Centre opened and the JEATH (Japanese-English-American-Australian-Thai-Holland) War Museum dedicated to the bridge and the Death Railway.[12] The city is also home to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.[13]
The Chungkai War Cemetery is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Kanchanaburi.[14]
Climate
editKanchanaburi has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). Winters are dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is very hot with the average daily maximum at 38.2 °C (100.8 °F). The monsoon season runs from May through October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.
| Climate data for Kanchanaburi (1991–2020, extremes 1952-present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 38.4 (101.1) |
40.8 (105.4) |
42.3 (108.1) |
44.0 (111.2) |
42.8 (109.0) |
40.6 (105.1) |
39.7 (103.5) |
39.4 (102.9) |
39.8 (103.6) |
36.0 (96.8) |
38.0 (100.4) |
36.4 (97.5) |
44.0 (111.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 33.0 (91.4) |
35.3 (95.5) |
37.0 (98.6) |
38.0 (100.4) |
36.3 (97.3) |
34.8 (94.6) |
33.9 (93.0) |
33.8 (92.8) |
33.7 (92.7) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.7 (89.1) |
34.3 (93.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.3 (79.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
29.9 (85.8) |
31.1 (88.0) |
30.2 (86.4) |
29.4 (84.9) |
28.8 (83.8) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.3 (82.9) |
27.7 (81.9) |
26.9 (80.4) |
25.7 (78.3) |
28.4 (83.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 20.4 (68.7) |
22.1 (71.8) |
24.3 (75.7) |
25.6 (78.1) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.3 (77.5) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.5 (76.1) |
23.7 (74.7) |
22.3 (72.1) |
20.3 (68.5) |
23.7 (74.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) |
12.1 (53.8) |
13.9 (57.0) |
17.9 (64.2) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.9 (73.2) |
21.1 (70.0) |
22.2 (72.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
17.0 (62.6) |
11.6 (52.9) |
6.8 (44.2) |
5.5 (41.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 7.6 (0.30) |
18.3 (0.72) |
39.4 (1.55) |
66.4 (2.61) |
139.4 (5.49) |
98.9 (3.89) |
106.0 (4.17) |
100.6 (3.96) |
219.0 (8.62) |
206.3 (8.12) |
44.6 (1.76) |
7.2 (0.28) |
1,053.7 (41.48) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 10.6 | 11.0 | 13.8 | 12.0 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 80.5 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 64.5 | 62.5 | 62.6 | 63.4 | 69.9 | 72.1 | 73.1 | 73.9 | 76.5 | 79.4 | 72.3 | 65.9 | 69.7 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 18.4 (65.1) |
19.5 (67.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
22.5 (72.5) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.2 (73.8) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.4 (74.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.8 (71.2) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 263.5 | 245.8 | 238.7 | 240.0 | 155.0 | 114.0 | 117.8 | 117.8 | 108.0 | 145.7 | 186.0 | 260.4 | 2,192.7 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 8.5 | 8.7 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 6.2 | 8.4 | 6.0 |
| Source 1: World Meteorological Organization[15] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Office of Water Management and Hydrology, Royal Irrigation Department (sun 1981–2010)[16](extremes)[17] | |||||||||||||
See also
edit- Mueang Kanchanaburi District
- Beata Mundi Regina
- Kanchanaburi Province
- Kanchanaburi Rajabhat University
- Visuttharangsi School, the provincial secondary school of Kanchanaburi
- Siam–Burma Death Railway (film) (film)
- Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
References
edit- ^ "ข้อมูลสถิติ".
- ^ "Distance: Bangkok to Kanchanaburi". Google Maps. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
- ^ "Thailand Travel Guide for Kanchanaburi". Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- ^ "The official website of Tourism Authority of Thailand".
- ^ https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/2389840/shoe-shortage-closes-new-river-kwai-skywalk. Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2022-09-14
- ^ 'Skywalk over the River Kwai'. 2022-09-11. Bangkok Post
- ^ https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/2389238/skywalk-over-the-river-kwai-opens-in-kanchanaburi. Bangkok Post
- ^ Tom Fordy (20 August 2020). "The lies that built The Bridge on the River Kwai". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Section 1". Far East POW Family. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Tamarkan, Tha Makham 56.20km - Thailand". 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion Ex Members Association. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "17d. Kanchanaburi". US POWs Thai-Burma Railway. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "The Jeath War Museum". Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ "Kanchanaburi War Cemetery (Don Rak)". Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ "Chungkai War Cemetery". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ "ปริมาณการใช้น้ำของพืชอ้างอิงโดยวิธีของ Penman Monteith (Reference Crop Evapotranspiration by Penman Monteith)" (PDF) (in Thai). Office of Water Management and Hydrology, Royal Irrigation Department. p. 77. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ "Climatological Data for the Period 1981–2010". Thai Meteorological Department. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
External links
edit
Kanchanaburi travel guide from Wikivoyage
