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Published: January 8th 2007
Hello everyone,
Well we have just arrived in Bangkok after ANOTHER bus ride from hell.... this time we were literally airborne going over a small bridge and we were screaming down the small streets of Bangkok at god knows what speed! You really have to experience it to believe it! Its a very surreal experience.... before I start on my update on Kanchanaburi, just a quick question answered... Lee, the flies are not as bad as Oz... in fact we were very surprised to see the flies on the scrambled egg... perhaps Lanta Long Beach breeds them especially for breakfast.... It was certainly the most I have seen in the whole trip and they were all stuck to cold scrambled eggs.... yummmmm!
This blog will probably be a little rushed but we leave tomorrow morning for Cambodia and I would like to update on Kanchanaburi before I go.... we have had a huge day today so I am a bit tired... hence this may be a little hard to read!
Tiger Temple
Yesterday was probably the hottest day we have encountered in Thailand yet... it really knocked me around and I struggled to do much....
in the morning we went for a walk to the Thailand Burma Railway Centre which is an interactive centre that you can walk around and read all about the Death Railway and the POW's. It was a really worthwhile centre, and is run by an Aussie. They even have Vegemite on Toast in their cafeteria which I happily gobbled down! Amazing what you miss!! After that we took a couple of photos across the road at the War Cemetary then went for a walk around Kanchanaburi....
In the afternoon we had booked to go out to the Tiger Temple (its about half an hour away). It cost us 120 baht each for the transport and 300 baht to get into the centre. We arrived and were told we were not allowed to enter if we were wearing red, pink or orange.... Hot colours.... luckily I already knew this and we were dressed appropriately... something to do with the tigers... dont think I want to know the outcome if I was wearing one of those colours though!
We walked down to the canyon where the tigers are kept between the hours of 1pm and 4pm for viewing by the
Tiger Temple
The tiger looks like he is enjoying himself!public. There were quite a few people there but it wasnt too bad. I was a little unsure how I would feel and to be honest I would prefer to have seen the tigers loose and in their natural setting, not tied to chains with tourists getting happy snaps with them... however I succumbed to my inner tourist and decided that a photo with a tiger was way too good an opportunity to pass on! :-(
You give your camera to one volunteer while another holds your hand and leads you around about 8 tigers where you can sit beside them and have your photo taken. The last one was pretty cute until as I squatted down for a happy snap he decided to jump up off laying on his back and come towards me.... Needless to say I didnt stick around!
Just after I had my photo taken I heard a little asian voice "Marita?!" and turned around to find Tong! She was there on a day trip with some other people from Trip Advisor (not sure who though)... She was great, she told us where to find the baby tigers (2 months old) and also took
us to see a SunBear that was caged further up the property! It was great, however it was very sad to see the bear caged. The baby tigers were in a cage with their mum.... apparently you can get to play with them if you turn up around 12.30pm... we were too late!
While I was glad to have gone to the Tiger Temple, it is definately something I would only do if I was in Kanchanaburi. Alot of people do a day trip from Bangkok which I personally wouldnt think it is worth the time and effort but everyone has a different opinion. If you are in Kanchanaburi you should definately check it out... from Bangkok I am not so sure.
Bugs and Slurpees at the Night Markets
Last night we went to the local markets held near the Kanchanaburi Train Station. It was good for a wander around but there wasnt much apart from food to buy for farangs... it was a real local market.... We found the most amazing deep fried chicken stall that would put KFC out of business if they ever franchised! Heath went back to the guesthouse to get
the camera and I snuck in an extra piece.... then this most gorgeous stray dog came over and just sat at my feet staring at me with the most gorgeous little brown eyes.... when I tried to ignore her she lay at my feet.... so yep she ended up with most of my chicken.... Doh!
We also found a stall of deep-fried / stir-fried bugs and baby birds! Yum yum! I was tempted to sample some but decided I would instead wait for the giant deep-fried spiders in Cambodia.... coming soon to a photo near you! We were both so hot and thirsty that we were so excited when we stumbled across a girl selling slurpees from a big tub! Mmmmmm raspberry for me and orange for Heath.... our big smiles were soon smacked off our faces when we took the first sip.... it was full of salt! What the!!! It was like trying to drink raspberry/orange saltwater! Gross! Disappointed we set off for the Guesthouse.....
Speaking of Guesthouses...
The place we stayed at was called VN Guesthouse right on the river... in fact we had a room on the rafthouse itself! Even with a
little balcony overlooking the river! Very nice! And all for 400 baht per night (with aircon and hot water no less!! The restaurant was one of the best we have tried in Thailand so we highly recommend it.... Heath had a Cordon Bleu Chicken with salad and chips for 90 baht ($3) and not one Thai dish was over 30 baht ($1) ... Pineapple shakes 25 baht! It was soooo cheap it was ridiculous and the food was outstanding.... the staff were super super friendly and the rooms clean and just what we needed!
Anyway that is digressing from the story... where was I?! Thats right.... back to the guesthouse! Anyway so we got back to the guesthouse and decided to sit with a cold drink in the restaurant..... We were sitting there chatting to a few other couples that we had met (who were all seated at other tables) when a couple of people (whose nationality shall remain nameless....) walked up to our table and said "can we sit here?!" - Heath and I didnt know what to say considering there were 4 other tables free... + the other 3 tables occupied by other couples.... Why us?!?! We
stuttered out a "Ahhhh sure" and then just sat there staring at each other as they bashed our chairs with theirs trying to get comfortable and started looking at OUR menus..... hmmmm ok..... enough for me, I got up and tried to get out but was wedged against the wall by the lady..... ummmmmm excuse me?!?!?!! She hardly moved and didnt look at me just started talking in another language to her husband..... Fuming I walked to another of the tables and sat down... watching them laugh and talk and carry on like nothing had happened... they ordered their beers and meals and just sat there enjoying our table..... we are still stunned.... who does that?! I cant imagine walking up to a strangers table (especially when there are 4 others free) and just barging in on them like that!! Our table was closest to the river so they obviously figured that was where they wanted to sit! So typical of what we, and others, have encountered from this 'breed' of people!
After that I needed some destressing so I went for a walk to "Jolly Good Massage" for an hour thai/oil massage (at a ridiculous price of 180baht)
.. The massage was brilliant and Joy is highly recommended!
Waterfalls & A 4km Hike
This morning we got up and decided to get the Govt Bus out to Erawan Waterfall. Most people do this as part of a tour but you only get an hour or so out there before moving on to the next 'activity' so we decided to do it ourselves. We are so glad we did. We caught the 10.30am bus out for 40 baht each then were disgusted to pay a 400 baht entrance fee to the Park itself (Thai nationals pay about 20-40 baht, foreigners 400 baht!!!!!!) ... that was the only disappointing thing! The Falls were just stunning! There are 7 tiers to the falls (with the 7th tier 2 kms up!).... We are proud to say we made it all the way to the top... something you wouldnt have time to do on a tour! It took us exactly an hour to get to the top (incl the stops we made for photos) and then it took us about 40 min to get back down! We felt so good afterwards to have achieved it! We then caught the
3pm bus back to Kanchanaburi for another 40 baht each!
On the 5th tier we were greeted by a couple of european men in speedos posing for photos.... again and again and again... hmmmm so we took a photo for all you girls back home... I know it will get your hearts beating! I was even lucky to get caught behind them walking back ( and yes they were hiking in their speedos!!!) Double Yum!!
From there it was a mad rush back to the guesthouse to pick up our bags and make it back to the bus station to catch the 5pm bus to Bangkok... we made it with 5 min to spare! That was the bus ride to end all bus rides and here I am.... exhausted and sore feet (with not a damn massage parlour in sight).... We got ripped off at the bus station trying to get to the guesthouse. I knew it was close by ... first taxi approaches me (300 baht) .... not on your life mate.... second taxi approaches (250 baht).. hahahaha nope.... Ahhhhh meter taxi stand...... jump in to the official meter taxi stand taxi ... and he tries it
tooooooo (me no use meter you pay 100 baht)... no mate turn the meter on or let us out.... so what does he do...... drives around in circles! Our 50 baht taxi cost 82 baht in the end! Oh well I ain't gonna argue over 30 baht... lesson learnt... Bangkok taxi drivers are crooks... every bloody single one of them!
Anyway gotta love ya and leave ya.... next time you hear from us we will be in Siem Reap exploring the Temples of Angkor! Hope everyone is well.... I am getting everyones messages and I apologise for not replying... I just have limited time on the net! I really appreciate it and if I havent answered a pressing question drop me a line again!
Love Reet & Heath xxxx
*** UPDATE AS OF SEPTEMBER 2007 ***
I thought it would be appropriate to do a post trip update on the Tiger Temple... since I left there with mixed feelings.. some of which is evident in the above blog... I was quite disturbed by the conditions in which the animals were living and since returning to Australia alot more reports and videos of animal abuse have since
come out. I would like to say that anyone who is concerned with the Tigers (and other animals including the leopard and sunbear) welfare boycott attending the Temple. Please do your research on this place before blindly going along for the 'photo opp'... which I was sucked into... Initially my opinion was that people should make up their own mind by attending... however after the reports I have seen over the past 8 months I would like to say that you should definitely skip this part of Thailand if you are an animal lover! There is a discussion held at
Thorn Tree Forum and a volunteers report at # 24 on the thread. Well worth a look! Feel free to contact me for more details on my experience but I do not want to be seen by the above blog as supporting this place.
Reet xx
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Carolynn
non-member comment
Can't believe you two are still travelling around and having a great time whilst I'm now sat at work, looking out of the window where it is now going dark (3.30pm), raining and is currently 8º - not good!!!!! Anyway, can't blame you for having your pic taken with the tigers - they look awesome but like you I wouldn't have liked seeing them tethered up..... Look forward to your next entry - Carolynn & Tony xxx