JEATH War Museum

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JEATH War Museum

Museum

Kanchanaburi's oldest war museum, set up in 1977 in the grounds of Wat Chai Chumphon, with drawings, photographs and relics of the prisoners who built the Death Railway.

JEATH War Museum Map data © OpenStreetMap contributorsKanchanaburiJEATH War Museum

JEATH War Museum essentials

Country: Thailand
Driest months: Dec-Feb
Pay in: Baht (฿)
Language: Thai
Emergency: 191

About JEATH War Museum

The JEATH War Museum was the first museum in Kanchanaburi devoted to the Death Railway. The abbot of Wat Chai Chumphon, the temple locals call Wat Tai, founded it in 1977 on the temple’s riverside grounds, close to where the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai meet. The name is an acronym of the nationalities involved in building the railway: Japanese, English, Australian, American, Thai and Dutch.

The museum is small and low-tech. Its main exhibits are housed in reconstructions of the bamboo and thatch huts the prisoners slept in, packed with photographs, drawings and paintings by former prisoners, along with weapons, tools and maps. The prisoners’ own pictures of the work, the punishments and the sickness are blunter than any later reconstruction.

It has less context than the newer Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, and the displays show their age, but the hand-made, temple-run character is part of its value. Photography is not allowed in one of the sections, so look for the signs.

Things to Do
When to Go

Weather & Climate near JEATH War Museum

Climate

JEATH War Museum's climate is classified as Tropical Savanna - Tropical Savanna climate with very hot summers (peaking in April) and hot winters (coldest in December). Temperatures range from 20°C to 36°C. Abundant rainfall (1037 mm/year), wettest in October with a pronounced dry season.

Air Quality: AQI 83 Moderate
Best Time to Visit
DecemberFebruaryJanuary
Temperature & Rainfall
Temperature Range
43°
Warmest Month
8°
Coldest Month
Monthly Conditions
Month Comfort Temp Feels Rain Sky Humidity Wind UV Daylight
January Excellent 20° - 33° 26° 5 mm some cloud 66% 0.8 m/s 1.8 very high 11.3h
February Excellent 22° - 35° 30° 11 mm mostly sunny 60% 0.7 m/s 2.0 extreme 11.6h
March Excellent 23° - 36° 32° 32 mm some cloud 58% 0.8 m/s 2.1 extreme 11.9h
April Very Good 25° - 36° 34° 69 mm some cloud 61% 1.1 m/s 2.4 extreme 12.3h
May Acceptable 25° - 34° 35° 126 mm overcast 74% 0.9 m/s 2.4 extreme 12.7h
June Good 24° - 33° 33° 84 mm overcast 80% 0.9 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.8h
July Good 24° - 32° 33° 106 mm overcast 81% 1.0 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.8h
August Good 24° - 32° 32° 101 mm overcast 82% 1.0 m/s 2.2 extreme 12.5h
September Acceptable 24° - 32° 32° 208 mm overcast 85% 0.8 m/s 2.2 extreme 12.1h
October Acceptable 24° - 32° 32° 231 mm overcast 85% 0.8 m/s 2.0 extreme 11.7h
November Very Good 22° - 31° 27° 59 mm partly cloudy 81% 1.1 m/s 1.9 very high 11.3h
December Ideal 20° - 31° 26° 5 mm some cloud 73% 1.1 m/s 1.8 very high 11.2h
Getting There & Around

How to Get to JEATH War Museum

The museum is in the grounds of Wat Chai Chumphon at the southern end of the town’s riverfront, close to the river confluence and the town centre. It is walkable from most guesthouses, and easy to combine with the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. Note that it is a different place from the private war museum near the Bridge over the River Kwai.