I'm interested in moving to Kanchanaburi because of its proximity to Sunnataram Forest Monastery in Ampher Sangkhla Buri.

For anyone living there, I wondering if you would be so kind as to tell me about 3 things:

-- Are there a lot of boom box cars in the area? I'm living in Jomtien Beach (south pattaya area) and the noise from these cars with music pounding (with extreme bass) literally brings mental pain. And, unfortunately, these cars are everywhere, day and night.

--Are there quiet places to live with security options (as found in apartment complexes; if Kanchanaburi even has apartment complexes)?

--Is there decent enough Internet access in rental apartments/houses (something consistent enough regarding connection and fast enough to see streaming videos on news sights found, e.g., in the US or UK)?

Thanks for any information you can provide me with.

1. No, very quite over here if you are up river from the famous Bridge over the River Khwae (Kwai). Down River, only Boats that are too noisy during the day and Disco rafts during the evenings, so keep away from the river down from the Bridge.

2. No apartment complexes are here as far as I know only housing complexes with security. We are low level building folks. Tall buildings are Hospitals and Gov.. offices. There is one Condo building however on Memam Khwae Road (The Strip) noisy and ell that strip is, but outside of that nice and quite.

3. Thank you for the laugh

Yours truly,

Kan Win

Kan Win,

Thanks for the info. Good to hear things are quiet there and about the housing complexes with security; and the info on where to look for housing if I end up moving there.

Yeah, I got a laugh, too, out of your answer about the Internet. I mean, I've been dealing with Internet problems in Jomtien Beach (south Pattaya), and in Bangkok when I was there; just don't know if things are worse in Kanchanaburi.

Since I teach classes online for a few universities abroad, the internet is important; don't really need to stream a video, but need fairly consistent Internet access (i.e., being able to access the Internet most days and to not get dropped every 5 or 15 or 60 minutes), and the ability to upload files: PPT, Word Docs, and PDFs.

Would you say that's doable?

Yes it is doable. I am on Hutch Moblie @153 speed from 70% to 90% and can do my bits and pieces without any drop-outs.

Come and have a look around before you make the move is my advise.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

Kan Win,

OK. Thanks for the info. Yes, will definitely check out Kanchanaburi with a visit for 4-5 days or so before making any decisions about living there. Looking to probably leave the Pattaya area around Feb.

All the best to you,

JJ

Kan Win pretty much nailed it.

Stay away fronm "The Strip" and you can have a wonderful quiet life in Kanchanaburi. There's a condo complex behing Sang Chuto Road (Pa Ka Kaew) which is OK and just 10 min walk from town.

Internet access, if renting a house is actually pretty good here. I've got Maxnet from TT&T (5MB) and it generally behaves itself. You can watch stream from BBC, Sky News etc. I listen to the radio online all day while I'm working and it never buffers. Your landlord should be OK to have you put the service in to add to any existing phone line.

Kan Win has summed up the accomodation pretty well.
Internet access is patchy but my TT@T connection seems to have improved alot the last couple of months.
Out in a nearby village I get close to 2mb most of the time which does ok for me.
Longest recent downtime was for four days a while ago but someone had stolen the phone lines!
If you rely on a connection I would see if ADSL is available and also go with a mobile backup. Again Kan Wins Hutch suggestion is the pick of the bunch locally.

CockneyGit,

Thanks so much for your reply. I apologize I hadn't seen your post earlier. Good to hear there are quiet enough places, and that the Internet seems to be decent enough.

Best,

JJ

apetley,

Thanks for the further info. I like the idea of a mobile back-up.

Not sure yet if Kanchanaburi is in my future, but it's good to have the info everyone has posted here so I can make some informed choices.

Thanks again for the information.

JJ

I’m thinking about Kan to. Is there a group that is playing golf regularly?

Kan is a mecca for golf with many excellent courses nearby. There are quite a few groups that play on a regular bases. I tend to play the courses nearer Ratchaburi with 2 Swedish friends. My own course is only 9 holes and is not up to the standard of the other courses. Then it's only 80 baht a day for a visitor. One of the bars on the strip was arranging golf days every Wednesday, but I'm not sure whether they are still doing it. In recents weeks I've seen a lot of locals from the UK on the courses as well as quite a few from the US, and Australia.