After a week of debauchery, we thought it high time for some culture and history, and there was no better place than Kanchanaburi. This is the site of the infamous bridge over the river Kwai, built by allied POW's captured by the Japanese during World War Two.

During the war, the Japanese planned to connect Yangoon (Burma) with Bangkok - despite previous British failed attempts, and their own engineers believing this to be an impossible feat. Between 1942 and 1945 20,000 allied soldiers and 80,000 civilans (mainly Burmese and Malay's) lost their lives building 415km of rail, known today as the death railway.

Kan really is an idillic place. Our hostel was floating on the Kwai and we had a stunning mountainous backdrop as a view. We visited a war cemetery dedicated to lost soldiers and a brilliant museum explaining the Japanese invasion, even for philistines such as ourselves. Walking across the unremarkable bridge with such a dark history is an odd experience (and Mor is not going to be happy when she sees pics of JF!).

Kan is a low key travellers destination and having a 20p rum and coke with the small number of expats and backpackers in the street makes this place one of our favourite yet.