Kicking it in Kanchanaburi

Our first night in the new location was fairly chilled, we walked into the town and found a small restaurant for some food. We were a little confused about why dessert prices were double the price of a main meal, but when they were served we realised they were clearly intended for a few people to share, oops. On the way back we stopped for a beer at a floating restaurant on the River Kwai. We then returned back to the room and an ‘early night’ turned into a few hours of eye spy, but in the dark!

We started the next day by visiting the death railway museum which was fascinating yet sad. The museum was full of information and relics relating to the construction of the famous Thailand- Burma railway line, where over 100,000 labourers lost their lives, working 20+ hour days with little food and awful sleeping conditions. We then visited the bridge of the river Kwai and all agreed that going to the museum first put a much wider perspective on the bridge . After a nice cultured afternoon it was then time to find a pub to watch United, in the part of Kanchanaburi which was a lot more accustomed to tourists. After a solid display from the reds we grabbed some very spicy food from a local restaurant and headed back.

On Sunday, we took the 10AM local bus to Erawan waterfalls. The bus looked a little questionable from the outside, and we couldn’t help but notice it looked very similar to the transport methods displayed in the death railway museum. It was effectively a tin shack on wheels with some very tatty seats and doors that remained open the whole time. That said, the route to the falls was very scenic and the journey was actually very enjoyable . Our tactic for the waterfalls was to head to the very top (level 7) straight away, and work our way back down. The 2.5km vertical hike was challenging but it all seemed worth it when we reached the top. Unfortunately the euphoria of conquering the climb was short lived, and we were quickly swarmed with all sorts of insects . We got in the water for some relief, but we’re then met by hungry fish, who decided that biting our toes and backs was acceptable. It’s fair to say we were back down to the lower levels in a matter of minutes !  Unfortunately, our return journey didn’t go swimmingly either. When we got back to the car park we realised that we had missed the 3pm bus by a matter of minutes and we’re faced with the choice of a 2 hour wait or a taxi. As the taxi was only £5 each, we opted for that option and walked all the way out of the park to try and find one. Sadly, we were unable to find one, and then had to walk all the way back to the car park to get the bus anyway. After a quick change at home we returned to the touristy area from the night before, had another great meal and found a ‘cuddle bar’ , where we spent way too many hours drinking beer and playing pool against locals. At 2AM we finally went home, in a rather fun Tuk Tuk.

Today, we packed up, checked out of our accomadation and travelled to Wat Ban Tham- our first proper temple visit. The ascent to the top of the temple took around an hour, with many more steps than the 600 we read about online. It was a nice climb though, with the first section leading through a giant dragon , and a 6m golden Buddha hidden in a cave at the halfway point. After this, we ate, had a quick beer and returned to the homestay to collect our belongings.

At 6pm we boarded our 12 hour bus to Chaing Mai, which we are thankfully nearing the end of at present. When we arrive at 6am we will have a bit of a wait until we can check in, so plan on powering through until then, and then having a very chilled afternoon.

Off to Chaing Mai we go!

Favourite moment of Kanchanaburi: Sliding down the natural slides at Erawan falls.

Beer Choice : Singha (650ml) 90 baht (£2.11)