Kanchanaburi / River Kwai

Today was the first day of my trip and I was reunited with my fellow trip mates that I had met the night before. As I was staying at the hotel under Intrepid the tour company my breakfast wasn't included but I just walked in, sat down and ate some food and no-one batted an eyelid - bonus!

We left for the bus station about 10.30 for our 2 hour trip to Kanchanaburi, which is west of Bangkok to stop in Sam's Floating Guest house on the River Kwai. The accommodation is pretty basic but it's not too bad, i just made sure I sprayed the room with my mozzie spray so I had no unwelcome intruders.

Our first activity was a trip on the catamaran speedboats along the river to see the sights such as JEATH museum, War Cemetery and the Bridge over the River Kwai. Walking along the bridge was dodgy as hell and i'm sure wouldn't meet safety regulations back in the UK, I seriously wonder how many people have fallen into the river off the bridge because it would be so easy.

After we were returned back to our pad we all went for a meal at a local restaurant to taste some traditional Thai food. I went for stir fry pork with rice and vegetables which was well nice topped off with a Singha beer.

When I went back to my room after the meal I was greeted by my little friend the cockroach who scurried out of sight and was never seen again. I just tried to wipe this sighting from my memory so I could get to sleep but it wasn't really helped by the strange sounds of other animals and critters.

The second day at Kanchanaburi was an early start setting off at 8.30 after my scrambled egg, bacon and toast to set me up for a hike up the Erawan waterfalls. This was definitely a highlight so far as the water was so clear and the scenery was awesome. There are 7 tiers to the waterfall and it's a bit of a trek to the top but once we got up there we all took a deserved dip in the pool where we got our feet nibbled by the fish. All the tiers on the waterfall were teeming with fish, which were a pretty decent size and very inquisitive.

I came across some monkeys in the trees at one point who came over to inspect and got really close to the camera but I was slightly worried they might try and steal it so I was trying to keep a bit of distance. On our arrival back to the bottom of the falls we had our lunch waiting for us wrapped in little bags, which I was definitely ready for.

On the way out we got stopped by some people on a stall and a plate with my picture shoved in my face! I couldn't understand where they snapped me until I was reminded about this guy sitting near a tree on our way in shooting away and we didn't know what he was doing. I of course posed for the photo anyway as I was quite used to getting photos from random people after being approached twice by people asking if they could have their photo with me ha ha!

It was then back to the Guest house which was another 2 hour trip in the back of what I can only describe as a truck with some seating in the back a bit like an old skool mini bus but there were no doors or anything. Fortunately I couldn't see the driving because from what I have seen of Thai drivers it is sketchy to say the least.

We're off to the local market this evening and then tomorrow it's over to Ayuthaya the old capital to see a few temples and stuff before boarding an overnight train to Chang Mai, which is more than likely the next time I will be able to have time to sit on a computer and type up my shenanigans.