Turning left at the central lights takes one to the "City Pillar" where the guardian deity of the city is enshrined. This is the focal point of an annual ten-day festival when residents converge from all corners to pay homage with flowers, incense and gold leaf, to the deity and its protective qualities. At any other time cars and motorbike riders offer token homage, beeping horns as they drive by. Directly behind the city pillar is the old "city gate", a stone archway marking the formal entrance to the town. It now serves as the backdrop to an imposing statue of a seated King Rama III the founder of the original town in 1833.

Moving past the city gate takes one to the true life and soul of Kanchanaburi, the River Kwai Yai. This wide river flows by through a range of green hills. It begins in the highlands 200 kilometres to the north and passes gently by the town on its way to the Gulf of Siam. Children splash in its shallows while fishermen in small wooden boats wait patiently in deeper water. Less serene are the disco rafts thumping out pop music as "long-tail" motor boats roar up and down the river at breakneck speeds. In times past paddling downstream was the only way for local people to maintain contact with the rest of the kingdom. Boating a few kilometres upstream takes one to The Bridge.

The Railway Bridge stands as an icon in steel and concrete to a very brutal past. Much has been made of the famous "Bridge on the River Kwai" following the book by Pierre Boulle and the subsequent movie of the same name. It is commonly known that it was built by allied prisoners-of-war during WWII and that some 16,000 allied POWs lost their lives in the building of the Thai-Burma railway. Many of their remains now rest in either of the two nearby cemeteries maintained with dignity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Each year on April 25 a dwindling number of war veterans from Australia and New Zealand return to honour the memory of their friends and comrades who died in horrific circumstances during that bitter period. Less well known or remembered are the Asian conscripted workers who also died in the making of the railway. No one knows the number but it is estimated that around 100,000 Asians died of disease and malnutrition during this period.

Oddly enough “Kanchanaburi” means City of Gold”. Following the end of the war the Japanese Army got out in a hurry. In such a hurry, legend, or speculation has it that they left vast hoards of gold behind, buried in secret caves somewhere in the hills. There are those who say the whole Japanese treasure tale is myth and nonsense. Then again it has not stopped people looking for it. Every now and then another speculator turns up with a "lead" and a team of workers to excavate the area only to return home empty handed. Loong Muang a long-term resident sums up his view of the situation.

“I remember when the Japanese were here,” he says. “I got to know some of them quite well. Gold! Buried treasure, that's all rubbish. If there really was any buried treasure it would have been found by now. They took everything with them when they left.”

The popular public face of Kanchanaburi nowadays is of a budding tourist town. A series of bars, restaurants and internet-cafes have recently sprung up along one stretch of road leading up to the bridge. AIDS and gangster violence have also increased proportionately.

But the railway bridge and war cemeteries are still counted among the prime attractions. Souvenir shops do a brisk trade in "Bridge" T-shirts, caps and post-cards. Each year in November there is even a ten day "Bridge Festival" featuring a nightly "light and sound show" reenacting the allied bombing of the bridge in 1945.

For those who find this a bit too much there are other attractions. Back at "The Bridge" a sign catches the eye “Visit the Buoyant Votaryess”. Enquiries reveal that it refers to Kanchanaburi's famous "floating nun". A short journey through the countryside brings one to Wat Tham Mongontong, the temple of the floating nun. Arriving for the afternoon performance, tickets are ten baht each and observers are ushered into an arena where a five-metre pool is surrounded by steps similar in style to a Roman amphitheatre. Twenty or thirty spectators take their seats. Enter “The Floating Nun”. A calm woman of about fifty-five wearing the white garb of a Thai Buddhist nun descends the steps into the water. After a short prayer she lies back into the water. Instead of just her face being visible as would normally be the case, her whole body floats on the surface. This is something unique. For the next 15 minutes she floats back and forward in numerous poses, cross-legged, lying on alternate sides, or sitting straight up. Following the performance she floats gently over to the steps and climbs out. A number of observers line up to receive her blessing and a sacred thread to tie around their wrists to remind them of the visit.

“I was taught by the previous Floating Nun who lived here for many years,” she says. She is very approachable despite her fame. “To acquire the skill requires mastery of breathing techniques through meditation as well as strict observance of the correct vegetarian diet.”

The Floating Nun gives a blessing, pauses for photographs and the crowd moves on. Some get back into tour coaches, others wonder around the temple grounds. There are a number of other curiosities to be seen here. Rare birds in cages, a baby elephant which can be fed by those who wish to buy bananas from its owner, a cave shrine in the side of the hill at the top of a long flight of steps, and a variety of clothes shops and food stalls.

It is a curious feature of many Thai temples that rather than being stereotypical centres of peace and meditation they appear just the opposite. There is often some construction work taking place on the grounds and endless fund raising activities by which lay people may “tum boon” or gain merit. There are a variety of unique temples in Kanchanaburi Province. One boasts a number of pet tigers and leopards, another has the non-decomposing body of a monk who passed away a number of years ago. Others have healing waters, monkeys and beautiful carvings, but Wat Tham Mongontong's floating nun stands alone.

For many who visit Kanchanaburi it is not the history or the temples, but spectacular natural beauty, which draws them. The town itself is the capital of Thailand's third largest province. Walking trails, waterfalls, caves, lakes and rivers abound. The province has numerous national parks, the most well known being Erawan just an hour's drive from the capital. This huge park makes a popular day-trip for Bangkokians, due to its unspoiled jungle and extensive waterfalls. Monkeys swing down from the trees to fearlessly snatch what they can of people's lunches, while deeper in the jungle elephants, deer and other animals still roam wild. Further afield is the equally scenic but much more peaceful Sai Yok National Park. This huge park boasts the world's smallest mammal, "Kitti"s Hog-nosed bat'. Weighing just two grams it is about the size of a large butterfly and was first discovered in 1973. Some come here for raft tours along this beautiful stretch of the Kwai Yai River. At dusk the birds join in chorus before the total silence of the night closes in. Laying out to sleep on the deck nothing can be heard but the occasional splash of a fish and the distant murmur of the water from a distant waterfall.

In the far north of the province lies the huge Thung Yai Narai Suan National Park. This mountainous and forested region is currently listed as a World Heritage Site. It is home to many wild animals and it is believed tigers and bears still live here. The Park is also home to a number of small communities of Karen people who have lived here with their own unique culture and affinity with the environment for longer than records have been kept.

The historic significance of Kanchanaburi during WWII is fairly well documented. The atrocities committed on the allied POW's were great. Less widely known are the far worse atrocities that continue to be perpetrated today on Karen and other communities living in nearby boarder regions inside Burma. Horrific violence often causes refugees to flee in huge numbers across the boarder into Thailand. Perhaps one day, when the misery is over we will look back on the sufferings of these people and another memorial shall be built.

Kanchanaburi is a very special place. Its people are warm. Tourism is booming. Temples are thriving. But something is wrong in the land of peace and love.