One weekend Cheryl and I went with our fiend Amanda to Kanchanaburi where we had a great time. As usual we only had a two-day weekend within which to get there, enjoy ourselves, and then get back.
Our trip out there was an adventure in itself. We left immediately after school on Friday, ate some pizza at the Mall Bangkae, and then went to catch the bus on Petkassem Rd. We were told to catch an 81 bus to Kanchanaburi, but instead a different number of bus pulled up and claimed it was going to Kanchanaburi. Of course, you must note the particular use of the word “claimed”. After about 2 hours of riding around they dropped us off at a bus stop where we could catch the 81, which was of course the bus we had originally intended to catch. So there we were, having to pay yet another fare, and rather uncertain as to whether it was all necessary. Mai pen rai.
When we arrived we walked for a long time and found a pleasant little guesthouse that had a friendly staff, reasonable looking food, and a pleasant squirrel in a cage that did flips all day, how fun! The next morning we had a delicious “American Breakfast” which, as usual, consisted of toast etc. and some under-cooked eggs (for some reason food is not allowed to touch a frying pan for longer than 30 seconds in Thailand). Then we were off to Erawin falls.
Erawin falls was breathtaking and well worth the hike. The falls are contained in a national park, and so, are well taken care of and not overdeveloped like some parts of Thailand tend to get. The falls are about a 45 minute vertical hike up the seven steps of the falls and each step is beautiful. There were Thai families all around the pleasant areas sitting, eating, talking, and just enjoying nature with each other. It was great to see. In many of the falls people were even swimming, so on our way down the hike we chose a nice pool of clear water and jumped in for a very refreshing swim. It was fantastic!
That night we explored Kanchanaburi a little including the Bridge Over the River Kwai. It was very interesting to see the bridge that had carried people to their eventual fates during war-time. We took some pictures, milled with the other tourists, and then ate a floating restaurant beside the bridge. Unfortunately the food was almost all seafood, but the company was good.
The next day we went to the Tiger Temple. The trip there was similar to our travels to Kanchanaburi; we asked directions, were misdirected, then redirected, then overcharged, then confused, and finally, were dropped off on the side of the road without a paddle. Mai pen rai.
The temple itself was rather different than we had anticipated. We had expected the tigers to be free-roaming within the small canyon in which they were kept. However, the tigers were bound with chains and were very slovenly due to the intense heat of the canyon. The falang tourists were asked to enter one at a time with a guide to show them through. This was obviously to limit the amount of silliness that might ensue should a bad tourist decide to behave badly around the irritable animals. We found out later that the tigers used to roam free in the canyon a few years ago. Apparently there were some questionable events involving tourists that made them change their policy (hmmmmm). All things considered, it was pretty cool to reach out and pet the tigers.
When we left the canyon we were lucky enough to come across a baby tiger awake and ready for attention and feeding. Cheryl was afforded the opportunity of feeding the cute little guy and I was lucky enough to get to hold him right in my lap. That was definitely the highlight of the tour.
Although it takes a lot of time to travel to many of the places around Bangkok I am not tired of seeing the sights, smelling the smells, and experiencing Thailand around us. Sometimes we say “Mai pen rai”, but sometimes we are photographing ruins, feeding baby tigers, or being hammock-heroes on a tropical beach. Dee mak mak (Thai for “good, a lot, a lot”).
*Editor's note: The picture of the falls is taken by Jay Ewert, and the menacing looking tiger shot was taken by Cheryl Bates.
*To view more pictures from this adventure go to Kanchanaburi, the Falls, the Bridge, the Tigers
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