Connected to the Death Railway Trail in Kanchanaburi Province in western Thailand, the Hintok River Camp is the perfect place to stay to explore this important relic of WWII a and memorial to the War in the Pacific.
Running down the western border of Thailand in the province of Kanchanaburi, the River Kwai is one of the most important landmarks of the historic Thai-Burma Train Line – the aptly named Death Railway.
While we were visiting this fascinating part of Thailand, we stayed at the Hintok River Camp, right on the banks of the Kwai.
Now a luxury glamping resort, Hintok is also part of the history of the Death Railway. The camp is on the site of a PoW internment where British soldiers, captured by the Japanese Imperial Army in WWII, were forced to work on the rail line.
The resort has kept the name of the military prison and labour camp that once stood here, but thankfully living conditions are now quite the opposite to what the site’s original occupants had to endure.
Hintok River Camp is part of the boutique Serenata Hotels and Resorts Group. As you can see from the other sites in the portfolio, focus is on unique locations, clever construction and luxury design.
This tracks with Hintok, but I must say, some of the other hotels look incredible, and most of them are located in Kanchanaburi.
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Hintok River Camp — glamping on an historic WWII site
Accommodation here is camping in name only. Our ‘tent’ — if you can call it that — has its own veranda and is big enough to house a king double and a king single as well as all the other furniture and trimmings.
It even has air conditioning.
But the best is yet to come. At the back of the tent is a full solid-wall bathroom with hot and cold running water, a flush toilet and power shower.
Out on the veranda, we can relax at the outdoor table setting or in the recliner deckchairs.
This is definitely not how I remember camping to be when I was growing up, but I tell you what, I could get used to it!
Around Hintok River Camp
A meandering path leads you through the beautifully maintained grounds to various hammocks and hang-out spots, daybeds and cabanas dotted around the lush gardens, as well as the other tents, and to astounding views over the river.
And it’s down by the river that you find some of the best parts of this resort.
Down a flight of steps, we find the rock pools, which are fed by a natural spring that emerges from the cliff. From the pools, you can look out over the flowing river and the broad forested landscape as you cool down in the refreshing spring water.
Down at the water’s edge, the hotel’s pontoon floats on the rapid eddying waters of the River Kwai. This waterside deck and the elevated cliff-edge pools give the resort an extra touch of glamour and uniqueness.
Up above, the resort bar has prime views over the jungle-edged water as the sun sets.
In the evening, as the resort’s lights come on, dinner beckons us to the camp’s al fresco dining option. Paper lanterns and broad timber tables are spread across the lawn while staff wait behind buffet carts that cover two sides of the area.
Here we find all kinds of delectable Thai dishes from soups and curries to satay and salads, it’s hard to stop ourselves going back for more.
In the morning, breakfast is under the straw roofs of the main building. This is also a buffet style situation and there are plenty of options — both western and Thai. There’s also an egg station where you can get made-to-order omelettes.
And if you feel the need for more coffee throughout the day, there’s also a stand-alone barista-style cafe in the gardens.
Hintok River Camp Museum
To pay homage to the history of the camp, there’s a small museum that tells the story of this place. This site held captive 200 British prisoners of war while they were forced to work on nearby Compressor Cutting as part of Japanese war efforts in Asia.
There are some interesting details of what life was like for the soldiers and the harrowing conditions they had to endure. But it also goes into the pre-history of the site. In the 1990s, the owner discovered a refuse pit used by the camp.
When he excavated it, he began finding neolithic artefacts that date back as far as 10,000 years, showing how important this site has been over the millennia.
Hellfire Pass and the War Memorial
The other great thing about Hintok River Camp is its proximity to Hellfire Pass.
Running for 75m, Hellfire Pass – also known as Konyu Cutting – delves 25m into the hillside and is wide enough for a train to run through.
At the end of the cutting is a dell where the Allied War Memorial and cenotaph stands. Usually, it’s quiet here, but on important dates like ANZAC Day, this area is packed with people paying their respects.
It’s a haunting feeling, to walk through the cutting. The knowledge that these cliffs that loom up either side of you were cut and moved by the hands of forced labour.
The workers — both captured soldiers and indentured civilians — suffered so much here. And all because the war demanded the Japanese needed supplies quicker to a western outpost. It’s the horrors of war in hard rock.
You’ll also find the Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre here. This museum to the railway looks out over the jungle and river system that paid witness to the horrors of the work camps in the 1940s.
The centre tells the story of Hellfire Pass and of other cuttings along the line. But most of all, it does well to make sense of a mindless moment in human history that makes no sense at all.
Visiting the Death Railway and staying at Hinton River Camp is a travel experience that will stay with us forever.
