Back on the river Kwai

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I'm on my way to Vietnam, where I'll be living and teaching for the next year. After six months of intensive saving and a near-hermitic existence, I figured I deserved a few weeks holiday and have found myself back in my old stomping ground of Kanchanaburi.

Our original plan (I'm joined by a fellow future-teacher, Russell) was to head down to Koh Tao to do some diving, but we were discouraged by the recent floods in the south of Thailand. They may have cleared up by now, but the water visibility has been affected and, since we'll be in Asia for a while, we figured we'd save that particular pleasure for a future trip.

So I'm back in Kanchanaburi. I'm paying a little more money for my room this time (five years ago all I had was a fan and a mattress), but I feel I've earned a little bit of luxury (a private bathroom and air-conditioning). Our guesthouse is called Pong Phen. It's relaxed, great value for money and serves good Thai food.

Our time here so far has been one long exhaled breath as we finally relax after the intense period of planning prior to our departure. I've read a lot and finally gotten around to watching The Wire (a perfect excuse for escaping the high-thirties heat we are experiencing in the afternoons). We've eaten some tasty food and lazed around the guesthouse swimming pool.

We have managed to venture out of our guesthouse on a few occasions. We had some super-cheap eats at the nearby night market and have enjoyed some tasty fried fish with red curry sauce on the cavernous floating restaurant overlooking the famous 'bridge on the River Kwai'.

We visited the Tham Khao Poon temple, which is housed within a series of limestone caves at the top of a hill outside of town. I don't know if it is hotter than the last time I visited the temple, but the cycle ride up the hill almost did me in. We had to stop at the top, drenched in sweat, to catch our breath.

The temple was as cool as I remembered. Our guide was a girl of around seven years of age who diligently pointed out highlights such as a rock shaped like an ear, roots hanging down from an opening high above and rocks that made percussive noises when hit with a stone.

Yesterday we joined a tour out to Erawan Falls, a spectacular series of waterfalls hidden within the jungle of Erawan National Park. One of my favourite pastimes is to swim in natural environments and this place has quickly risen to the top of my list (although I would strongly recommend getting there as early as possible if you plan on checking it out – as we were descending the path at midday, after a solid three hours of exploring the different tiers of the falls, we past dozens of large groups making their way up).

We swam in tiers 3 and 4. Tier 3 was the most spectacular, with the largest waterfall and high cliffs surrounding the pool. Yet tier 4 had the real win – a natural water slide! That kept us entertained for a while, after which we climbed to tier 5, where we sat and dangled our feet in the water to get a complimentary, natural foot massage. The pool was full of tiny fish who happily nibble on the dead skin of your feature (nice, right?). It tickles at first but you get used to it and your feet feel silky smooth afterwards.

After the waterfall and some Pad Thai noodles, our minibus headed to a nearby Elephant park. There are apparently eight of these places scattered around Kanchanaburi, offering tourists the opportunity for a twenty minute ride. I'd heard less-than complimentary things about their animal care and both Russell and I declined the opportunity. We waited whilst others in our group had a ride.

Then we took a quick raft ride on the river. A motor-boat loudly drags the raft up stream and then sets you loose to drift back down. This was followed by a ride back into town by train along the infamous 'Death Railway'. It's a beautiful ride and we arrived back into Kanchanaburi as the sun set and the storks flew home to roost.

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