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Published: April 17th 2009
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22,000 Baht... No Thanks!!!
After being quoted over 22,000 baht for a package to get us through the rest of our time in Thailand (which we promptly passed on), we decided to travel the old fashioned way...
public transport. So instead of the air conditioned mini van, we headed for Huo Lamphong Station to purchase our tickets on the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai for the 16/04, before crossing the river to Thonburi Station for our train to Kanchanaburi.
Doing it this way was invigorating... we were in control... we weren't being ripped off too much... and we get to see some great countryside for our efforts!!
Sitting at the station gave us our first taste as the train pulled up. Hot, no windows and hard bench seats greeted us, dousing our enthusiasm, but there was still the benefits. 100 baht ($4) got us the tickets, and no windows means unhindered views!! "Of what?" I hear you ask... well for the first hour it was of what could only be called squatters' shelters made of pieces of corrugated iron and some rubbish dumps. But before we knew it we were cruising the banana plantations and rice fields of
Bangkok's perimeter.
Now, I had been told that Thai trains seem to run on what they call "Thai Time", but all seemed smooth with our departure on schedule. 20 minutes after we were supposed to be at our destination and I started to realise what they had meant. A further 25 minutes later and we fell off the train, massaging our backsides, trying to regain circulation.
Kanchanaburi has become famous for a number of reasons over the years.
It's the gateway for World War 2 history, being the closest city to
Hell Fire Pass, Death Railway and The Bridge Over The River Kwai,
It's also only a short distance to
Erawan Falls, and
The now famous Buddhist monastery also known as the
Tiger Temple.
Because of the late arrival, we decided to check into our room in the VN Guesthouse (which is a floating barge on the River Kwai), hit the hay early and start fresh the following morning.... frist stop... Erawan Falls. Some know my love of waterfalls, and this one did not disappoint. Don't think Niagra or Victoria because your going in the wrong direction. Erawan Falls is set in rainforest, with seven different tiers
of cascades and falls, over about a two kilometre stretch. It was
stunning!! One can only imagine what it would have been like if there wasn't around a million Thai people there celebrating Songkran with the long weekend. We only had just over two hours in the national park so that we could get to the Tiger Temple in time, so off we went towards the first tier. At a station located at the second tier is quite possibly one of the best ideas I've ever encountered.... they make you register all your drink bottles and pay 10 baht per bottle!!! After returning, you show them your bottles and get your money back. Do you know how many empty bottles we saw off the side of the path....
NONE!!! This should be utilised at every national park in my mind!!
After the fourth tier, Amy was shattered, so on I went alone. By the sixth tier I was reconsidering my sanity, but with one more to go, I pushed on. The last two tiers were a killer!!! You nearly need a harness and ropes to scale some of the places!! Worth it?? By all means!! The crowds had thinned and the
setting was beautiful!! If there was more time I would have jumped in and joined the locals, but alas... back down I went. (Gavin, this path rivals Bluff Knoll... maybe not in length but it's nearly vertical and in 38 degrees with 95%!h(MISSING)umidity, and I nearly ran the whole thing....
insane!!
Meeting our driver at the bottom, we carried on to the Tiger Temple where photos were taken with cubs and monks were tending the adults. It's a dry and dusty place but the animals are catered for well, with exercise yards with waterfalls in them and plenty of shade. Some have said that the tigers appear doped up but in that heat I probably appeared doped up myself and the tigers were just resting (they do sleep 20 hours each day). The monastery is home to all animals that have been injured or are trying to be smuggled across the border so tigers aren't the only attraction. Goats, horses, deer, a leopard and a boar all enjoy the hospitality of the monks. Most are now fully recovered but still remain in residence... amazing what the offer of free food will do.
Speaking of free food, it's not just
for the animals. We sat down to some noodle soup and water before hitting the road once more.
Running out of time and leaving the next day, we had to settle for not going to Hell Fire Pass or The Death Railway. Instead we headed back to town to the Bridge Over The River Kwai, which was reconstructed after the Allied bombing in 1945 destroyed it. An opportune moment as when we arrived, the train to Bangkok was waiting to come over.
The next morning we had some time to kill before the train came so the museum called to us. A fascinating and sobering experience, coupled with the war cemetery next door where POW's were relocated to from the Thai side of the railway. It really makes you grateful for the lifestyle hard fought and won, that is granted to us today.
The train back to Bangkok was running on "Thai Time" so the 2.44pm departure became 3.23pm. Worry started to set in as the trip was supposed to arrive in Bangkok at 5.35pm and our night train to Chiang Mai left from a different station at 7.35pm. When we reached 6.20pm and hadn't made it
back to Thonburi Station yet, the palms became a little sweaty and the blood was starting to pump.
6.30pm and we raced off the train, ignoring the cramped buttocks again, into a taxi and over to Huo Lamphong Station. Made it!!! With time for a smoke to spare!!! Great... now to sit down to another 14 hours of transportation through the night. This time we splashed out on
first class though so a little more comfortable then a bench. Still... one hell of a journey. I guess I'm going to have to get used to sleeping on a train, what with the Trans Mongolian and all, but after 14 hours, both Amy and myself suffered horrendous vertigo after getting back on flat ground and it's only just subsiding now, 8 hours later!! Imagine what it's going to be like after 21 days!!!
The things we do....
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Gavin
non-member comment
Not so bad...
What's wrong with that train?! The seats are padded and you don't have to sleep sitting on a polished wooden bench. There are many worse... :)