River Kwai Jungle Rafts

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So our next stop is the River Kwai Jungle Rafts which sits on the Thai/Burmese border,in order to get here we had two choices either a 2 hour bus journey or a 5 hour train journey...we picked the train for some reason lol mainly because of the scenery we would see through the jungle.

So we were up at 5.30am as we had to make a 7.45am train but Bangkok is that busy with traffic we had to gve ourselves an huor to get across Bangkok,when the driver pulled up the train station I thought he must have been mistaken because the place had one little box and loads of people etc it just didnt look like a train station, we purchased our ticket to Nam Tok for 150 baht and took a seat with loads of other thai's.I'm sure we recieved a few strange looks because we were foreigners getting on this train but we were reassured when we seen another few backpackers.

The train was 3rd class which basically means no windows,wooden seats and that a moped can go faster! Off we went into the Thai countryside,its pretty scenic,at different stops people get on selling cold drinks and food in banana leaves which we really wanted to try but just wasnt sure what it was and didnt want to take any risks....5 hours into the journey covered in dust, and in need of some food the train go's and breaks down in the middle of the jungle! Just our luck,the train had overheated so we sat and waited for the engie to cool down. the train passed over the death railway and it cuts arund mountains where the track is wooden. we had rea previously that this train has de railed on numerous occasions in the past, but this just made it that little bit more exciting.

So after a lng hot sweaty 6 hours, we arrived at our stop and jumped in an open top truck to take us to the pier so we could catch our boat to the river kwai jungle rafts.

The boat journy is around 20 mins. As it cuts round a corner on the river the jungle rafts came into view and WOW they looked cool! Little wooden rafts floating on the river,loads of colourful flowers coverring each rafts.Each room has there own little varanda with sun beds and hammocks. We had a well deserved Chang (Thai Beer) on arrival and headed to our room,got in our Bikinis and got our first bit of sunbathing in.The rivers really fast flowing and your given life jackets as alot of people jump in and like to float down the river but you've got to be careful as if you miss the last raft your floating for a long time! We decided to give this a miss but we did after alot of deliberation jump in and have a swim.Lisa had to do alot of convncing for me to do it.But once I did I was pleased.

The rafts are run by the Mon people who were some of the first civilisations in asia,they still retain alot of the old customs etc,we took a walk into there village and walked right into the jungle to check out the area.Lisa was a bit nervous as everywhere there are these white spider webs on the ground! We also seen the biggest spider ever! Pictures to follow! We found a buddha temple in the middle of the jungle which was cool but a little eery! On the way back to the rafts we seen an elephant school so decided to stop and feed them some Banana's. There names were O and wendy,there trunks are funny they follow you whereever you walk and there all wet,lisa decided O was her favourite so we booked a elephant ride with O for the next day.

We headed back to the rafts to take a shower before it got dark,did I mention this place has no electricity whatsoever!?Your given a torch on the end of your key to use and at dusk a lady comes round and lights an oil lantern for each room which helps a little but not much! Its a good job we couldnt see becase the amount of bugs this place had was ridicloulos and the size of them omg!

We headed down for dinner which we were a bit dubious about as lisa doesnt eat fish and thats a big part of the Thai diet but it was okay and supirisinly the best dish was pork and we never eat pork! We were beat after the train journey so had an early night!

I found it real difficuly to get to sleep with all the sounds of the jungle,different birds monkeys and the sound of the river running underneath the rafts,i got used to it after a lilttle while but lisa wheres ear plugs so i was a little jealous

Because we were that scared of all the bugs if one of us needed the loo in the night we would wake each other up and after much checking with the torch for bugs which everytime there was we did what we had to do but as quickly as possible lol

Waking up the next morning was breathtaking,the mountains around and the river is covered with a layer of fog,it makes the place really mystical,it makes up for not having any electricity! Getting ready for breakfast we heard this deafening noise and looked out the back to see O and Wendy taking a bath just outside out raft! Amazing! They were dunking there heads in the water and leaving there trunks pointed out like a snorkel,how cute please!

Later that day we went for our ride on the elephants which was a little nerve racking as we felt like we'd fall off at any point but it was cool we treated o to some more Banana's after but wendy the greedy mare kept stealing them off lisa so she came running over saying ellie wendy keeps taking them lol lisa what do you want me to do its 10 times bigger than me lol

That night we met a great dutch couple called Meelu and Derek,we had one ALOT of heinekin with these guys and derek decided Tequila would be a good idea,which i can tell you it really wasnt. We had alot of fun it was pretty cool sitting having a few drinks in the jungle.Me and derek sat doing our renditions of scarface most of the night.Lisa and Meelu decided to go to bed and leave us to it!God did my head hurt the next morning! But hey ho we had a great time and may hook up with them in the future,they left the next morning we had breakfast and waved them off!

After 3 days in the jungle we were ready to leave its beautiful but you dont realise how uch you rely on having lights and a flushing toilet!

Adios Jungle rafts tomorrow we are going to some waterfalls and to see some tigers grrrr!

Pictures soon people x

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Comments

[naidna]

Arrrrhrrrr Arrrrhrrrr.....Queens of the Jungle lol lol
Oh my days.......HOW EFFIN AMAZING!!!!!!!! WTF....Wooden train tracks i would have been pooin my pants seriously that aint even funny!!!!!!!! Cant beleive u went for the loo in the night i would have been like NO WAY!!!!! HOLD THAT SHIT TILL THE MORNING LOL LOL!!!!!......Errrrr ms white who the hell do you think you are in that hammock a white getto Giesha....lol lol memember you got dressesd up like one that time (i know its the wrong country but hey!!!!) That foggy view i would have started doing my KATA!!!! and thinking i was the ultimate warrior fighting for my life haahaa proper looks like a view out of a subtitled kung foo flim....(EXCELLENT)!!!!! That spider aint even FUNNY!!!!!!! love O and Wendy how cute are they!!!!! ;o). Haahaaa cant beleive you were on the tequilas Ellie.....errmmmm yes i can!!!! Much love NJ xxx

[nadina]

You two look mash up!!!!!! haahaahaa!!!!!......Sunbathing looks fanstastic!!!!! what a scene!!! x x x x