The day I wish we could do over & make new decisions

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This was supposed to be the highlight tour of our 2 weeks - the 7 tier waterfall hike at Erawan falls and swimming, Bridge over River Kwai and the train journey over Death Railway. Sadly, things didn't go to plan.

I had researched so much for this trip - finally deciding on a private tour customised to our needs. I didn't go high end with tremendous reviews from Trip Advisor and in hindsight, I should have. I arranged a private driver from a tour agency in Sukhumvit and stated the three must dos for the day.

With BJ suffering more than just a hangover from the Muay Thai night (turns out he one too many ice cubes in his whiskey and suffered from the stomach bug that results) the day was already starting on edge hoping we could stop by a restroom should it be needed at a moment's notice.

Our driver was on time (early in fact) and the day started out without fault. We stopped for him to go to the toilet (or so he requested, we saw him duck around the corner for a cigarette!) and this gave us an opportunity to buy some refreshments and we shouted him a drink. We had the option to go to the bridge first or waterfalls, and chose the waterfalls while the weather was good. When we got there he gave us a deadline so he didn't have to wait in the car for so long, which was offputting as I had read that private tours are about flexibility - the very reason we chose this over a group tour. We rearranged our backpack to allow for towels, video camera and water and left anything unnecessary in a bag in the car, as our guide wasn't leaving the vehicle. Mistake 1. Will get to this soon although you can probably guess the ending.

Once we arrived to the first waterfall, BJ decided not to venture further as there was a toilet block at this tier. Certainly not how we planned the day. I took off solo and made my way up the tiers conscious of the deadline I was on. I was pushing it for time but figured I wasn't going to let a driver determine whether I got to the final tier so I made it there and hurried back down. Mistake 2. I slipped and slided down a muddy rock and hit my tailbone pretty hard on a rock (which later bruised). With grazed hands and shaking from the minor shock and pain, I wished someone was around to help but I had to push on and get back to BJ and the car.

It was only a small slip but bloody hell it hurt! My hands were throbbing. It hurt to sit down in the car.

Next stop; Bridge over River Kwai. We had a look around, walked over the bridge and went to book our ticket to the train journey. She told us the next journey was 2.5 hours away! We relayed this to our driver which preceeded a lengthy and exhausting debate between our driver, the information lady selling train tickets, the tour office staff member on the phone and us. This is where it hit home we weren't in our comfort zone. My arguement was that the tour office knew our plans and should have told us the two times a day the train leaves bridge over river kwai. From this we could have planned the rest of the day. Their job is a tour booking office. This is vital information we expect from professionals. We spent more than what we could have done with a group tour to have the expertise and flexibility of a private driver. Their arguement was that we did all we asked for - when people ask for the train they only want to see it pass by, not get on it! It was arranged finally that the driver would indeed wait around for no more money, and about 5 minutes before the train was to arrive he put the phone on to me with a translator saying the driver was demanding another 500 baht to stay around. Oh my. While I was debating this to an American translator a train came which I thought was ours, but it turns out it wasn't. A few minutes later after settling the arguement with no more money to be paid, we were wondering where our train was and the info booth staff member said it was delayed due to a holiday and would be another hour and a half! At this point I broke into tears and said to BJ I had given up all fight. It was time to leave.

It was a very quiet journey home until I went to get our guide book out. I couldnt find it. Oh that's right, it was in the bag we left in the car while we were at the falls. The bag that was right at my feet. Or so it should have been. The bag was gone! We looked everywhere and asked our driver who suddenly and conveniently had no understanding of even basic English. When we arrived at our hotel we asked the concierge to translate our concern for the missing bag. With no success, and figuring we just lost a guidebook and some post cards and a few small things, we retreated to the comfort of our room in defeat.

It was only 7 days into our holiday but given the day we had, we were craving western food and atmosphere for dinner. Hard Rock Cafe Bangkok was in order! Great food. Great music. It was a nice end to a somewhat disappointing day.

We didn't realise until days later as we were packing to leave, that the missing bag also contained my phone. My Iphone 4. My life! More tears that night. A $60 phone call to insurance where I discover items left unattended by us in a motor vehicle results in a rejected claim. So yep, doing this day all over again would result in a high end private tour or perhaps a small group tour and never separating ourselves from our possessions.

Travel isn't always easy. However it took some time away from the situation to realise it was just a bad day - we didn't end up in a hospital. Or without passports. Or in a Thai prison. So maybe it was a good day when you look at it that way!

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