Kwai River Bridge in Kanchanaburi Thailand Asia

During World War 2, the Japanese used Allied prisoners of war to build a railway from Thailand to Burma so they could supply their army without the dangers of sending supplies by sea. So many prisoners died under the appalling conditions that the line became known as the 'Death Railway'. David Lean's famous 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai centres around one of the line's main engineering feats, the bridge across the Kwae Yai river just north of Kanchanaburi. Although the film was shot in Sri Lanka, the Bridge on the River Kwai is real, and is still used by local passenger trains from Bangkok to Nam Tok. For anyone interested in 20th century history, a visit to Kanchanaburi and the infamous Death Railway is a must.