River Kwai

The Khwae Yai River (Thai: แม่น้ำแควใหญ่, RTGS: Maenam Khwae Yai, ), also known as the Si Sawat (แม่น้ำศรีสวัสดิ์ ), is a river in western Thailand. It has its source in the Tenasserim Hills and flows for about 380 kilometres through Sangkhla Buri, Si Sawat, and Mueang Districts of Kanchanaburi Province, where it merges with the Khwae Noi to form the Mae Klong River at Pak Phraek subdistrict.

The famous bridge of the Burma Railway crosses the river at Tha Makham Subdistrict of the Mueang District. However this is not the same bridge as depicted in The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle and in its film adaptation. That bridge was built of wood approximately 100 metres upriver from the current bridge. No remnants of the wooden bridge remain.

Up until the 1960s, the river was considered part of the Mae Klong itself, but this part of the Mae Klong was then renamed Khwae Yai to bring geographical fact more in line with the fictional association with the name 'River Kwai'.

Coordinates: 14°01′06″N 99°31′40″E / 14.0182°N 99.5277°E / 14.0182; 99.5277