Blogs from Kanchanaburi, Western Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 9

We are now in some place that I cant spell. Kanchanaburi. There you go. Lots of walking around today. We also went to the war museum and railway line (pictures to follow). We have been fairly good, walking everywhere and getting local buses as much as we can. Currently listening to random songs on you tube, it seems that i just cannot go without getting my music fix. We are staying at a lovely guest house called sugar cane 2. It is right on the river and I suddenly felt really excited, it finally sunk in that i was travelling. I think the Chang (beer) may have helped as well (although i think the small bottle and heat helped). I think we may be going to the Zoo tomorrow, not sure. We never plan too far ... read more

Arived in Kanchanaburi yesterday. This is the third time i have visted and i still love it, it feels like a trip to a beach as a kid, similar but still exciting. Today I settled in to the Jolly Frog backpacker Hostel. This place is awesome and has great prices and an amzing view of the river. The riverside is just one street with everything you need on it, from laid back cafes to book stores. Compared to bangkok it is much more relaxed while still offering everything that a traveler might need. There is almost nothing better than sitting down by the River Kwai reading a book and chatting with other travelers. The scenery is gorgeous and as the sun sets the orange hue it cats over the water is almost magical. Kanchanaburi for me ... read more

Leaving Bangkok on New Year’s Day, we made an uneventful journey to Kanchanaburi. A little history lesson is required to understand why we desired to explore this mall, out-of-the-way city. As the Japanese empire was expanding during WWII, a route was required to supply the westernmost front lines and to support the troop’s colonies along the way. As Thailand had not resisted Japanese occupation and was still safe from allied attack, a supply line could safely come through the country. With a weakening naval force, the seaward route around the southern tip of Malaysia was much too vulnerable. Likewise, a rail route along Thailand’s northern border traversed too close to allied territory. A rail link connecting Thailand to Burma through the interior had been considered previously by the Thai and the Japanese, however on both occasions ... read more

We left the hotel in Bangkok in good time to get to Bangkok Noi train station. Traffic was pretty bad so he took a small diversion but we were still able to follow our route on our map. When we got taken to Bangkok Thonburi station we were a little surprised. It seems that whilst the tourist maps say "Noi" that's not actually the name of the station. We had about an hour to kill after paying 100 Baht (£2) each for our tickets so we chilled out and bought some snacks off the nearby market. The train had only third class compartments. This may sound terrible but it wasn't too bad. Ok, so the seats occasionally fell to bits but they were not to difficult to reassemble! The view was nice most of the time ... read more

This trip to Kanchanaburi was exactly was I needed. I was so overwhelmed with the situation in Samut Sakhon that I was ready to break. There was no time to breath before we were going full force with the school. It was a real blessing to have the King announce a 5 day holiday. Erika and I hurried out of town and made our way to meet a bunch of friends who were in Kanchanaburi. The Bangkok flood has really affected everyone in Thailand, especially in the Bangkok area. On the day before Erika and I were to leave to go back to our school, our director called and told us that due to the flood the school would be cancelled for the next week. This is how it has been for many schools for the ... read more