The River Kwai & Erawan Falls

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Another day, another bus....the same hot sun & the struggle to fine decent acommodation again.
Well Kanchanaburi was well worth the visit.....it's a place where you could drop anchor for a while so take note those of you travelling to these parts.

Grace & I had been planning to get our hair cut for weeks before it all fell out from sun damage so off we went to one of the locals in Kanchanaburi. The saying springs to mind...you pay for what you get..... but I was horrified when I saw the damage this Thai lady could do with her scissors & it only took minutes. Ok she got the ponytail & rolled it up & then yomped a lump off the end & then started snipping haphazardly all over the place. Well if my facial expression didn't give it away I don't know what would?.....years of hair growth gone. She asked Grace when I was gone if we cut hair very differrently in Ireland. The answer is a resounding yes. Ok she didn't scalp me but it'll be a long time before any two hairs will be the same length again. Grace enjoyed watching from the comfort of her arm-chair as she had her manicure & pedicure done. And all I was thinking was could I carry-off the Sinead O'Connor look??

Anyway I've adjusted as you do. We went to Erawan National Park...has the most beautiful waterfalls.....none of them massive but loads of great pools for swimming in. Took me a while to gather the nerve to swim with the fish...there were hundreds & these lads were big....but glad I did. There were big mounds of rock that were shaped like a slide at one of them......I went down it but slipped into the wrong groove & ended up coming down the center & tearing my arse of the rock.....thankfully didn't hit my head cause there wouldn't have been any hope for me...there was no way Grace was getting in the water to fish me out!

That afternoon we went to the railway built by the Prisoners of War during WW2........the scenery around the area is beautiful....very sad though for the many who died building it as slaves. Again I took advantage of the local pool while Grace went elsewhere to find a suitable area to sunbathe.... the pool is fantastic....25 meters & only 50 cent for as long as you want. Bikes are the best way to get about the area too so we used them to get loads....bell & all. I was coming out of the pool one day with my baguette in hand when I looked around only to see a man with a chicken tied by the legs.........he slit the birds throat...bled the chicken into a bowl.....it still alive & flapping & then tossed it in the corner....still alive..... .he started to wash the blood towards me....then got knife again & cut the throat further...still alive but his fight for life didn't last much longer. The man went off with the pan then & the bowl of blood......won't be going to his house for dinner then any time soon!! I love chicken but I'm sure there's a more humane way to do it....

Anyway Kanchanaburi was a lovely spot...a mini-Bangkok.....there are a lot of backpackers around & things to do. On our last day we went kayaking on the River Kwai.....it was all downstream so it wasn't very difficult & at the end we has some of nibbles from nature.....you feel like a real nomad picking the plants & eating them!!! But I wouldn't survive doing it full time...I prefer mammy nomad!!

Love Alison😊

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