A relaxing time in Kanchanaburi

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Day One

After breakfast we made our way to the bus station to leave the crazy capital behind. We knew our Lonely Planet bible would now be our go to, for all of our decision making from now on. We had a 2 hour bus trip to Kanchanaburi ahead of us and we were just taking it as it comes. On buying our bus tickets we got some accomodation and tourist pamphlets and Pong Phen Guesthouse kept popping up so we decided to check it out - and it had a pool!! Bonus!!

We got the last room at the guesthouse, we were very pleased with our decision, we didn't know it yet but we were about to make some great friends here. We soon found we had a wee gecko friend in our room. I named him Gary the gecko.

After checking out the grounds we walked down to the "Bridge Over The River Kwai". Again it was a really hot day and there were tourists everywhere down at the bridge. I was just wondering what happens when the train comes and how they clear the tracks, when sure enough the whistle blew, and people parted ways onto the platforms alongside the bridge and the train chugged along. We got some great photos down at the bridge.

We planned to head back to the guesthouse for a dip in the pool and a drink, but our plans changed when we met up with some Canadians at the Pong Phen bar. They were living in Bangkok teaching English and came to Kanchanaburi regularly for long weekends. We got chatting and within a few hours we found ourselves invited on an excursion with them to the Erawan Falls the following day. One drink turned into many drinks and a night out down the main drinking strip of Kanchanaburi as well as fantastic pizza for dinner at "Bell's Pizza".

We got back to the Guesthouse bout midnight and decided to go for a dip in the pool to cool off. It was a great start to our time in Kanchanaburi.

Day Two

At 10:30am we were all meeting to head to the Erawan National Park. We had organised a sawngthaew (pick up truck with benches on the deck) for the day for 1200Baht. The driver would wait for us at the entrance all day until we were ready to head home. A great deal, thanks to our Canadian friends!! Slapping on plenty of sunscreen and insect repellant we were ready to go. I was keen to walk right up to the top of the waterfalls (2.2km), to the 7th tier. The challenge was on!!

Monday was a holiday in Thailand so the National Park was really busy. It was obviously a popular destination to go for a day swimming. We soon lost our friends somewhere along the track at about tier 3 so we decided we would just boost it to the top and meet them somewhere on the way down. The people thinned out as we got further up the track and the track conditions deteriated. We found ourselves clambering over slippery rocks and walking up steep fragile stairs. The end result was worth it though and I love a good challenge.

After taking a dip in the pool and taking some snaps to prove we got to the top, we headed back down and meet up with our friends. We stopped at tier 5 for another dip, this waterfall had big rock slides and I was keen to have a go!! However, I was a little concerned about the fish in the pools nibbling at my feet and there were some big suckers in there. The rock slide was lots of fun and I just kept kicking my feet so they wouldn't get nibbled at.

We got some great photos of the waterfalls and had another great day with our new friends. We were really pleased we did it independently and not part of a tour, as we wouldn't have had enough time to get to the top and relax and enjoy the park as the tours only allocate bout 2 or 3 hours at the falls.

It was late in the evening once we got back to Kanchanaburi. The Canadians were heading back to Bangkok for work the next day, so after a quick feed of pizza together they were on there way back to the capital. We went and relaxed in the pool and had an early night as it had been a full on day.

Day Three

We decided to stay an extra night in Kanchanaburi as we liked the guesthouse so much. The third day here we just hung out poolside at the guesthouse - it was about 38 degrees so too hot to do anything else. We just relaxed and jumped in and out of the pool, it was a really relaxing day reading, drinking and swimming.

I also looked into our accomodation options for our next destination - Ayutthaya, and figured out our transport plan for the next morning. I was excited about heading to a new town and seeing some new sights.

Goodbye Kanchanaburi -it was great!!

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