Escaping Bangkok

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Hello again everyone!

After three days in Bangkok, we were most definitely ready to leave. It's a great city, but it's a bit.....overwhelming. The smog, the traffic, the constant questions (Where are you going? Where are you from?)- these are not friendly chit-chat, but openings to sell you something/send you somewhere/get your money somehow. After reviewing our friends' notes and the always helpful Lonely Planet, we decided to head west to the small town of Kanchanaburi. Kanchanaburi was an easy 2 hour air-con bus ride from Bangkok, and arriving there was like a giant exhale from the chaos of Bangkok. The town is situated on a river, with some mountains in the background and a friendly strip with several nice guesthouses. As it's still in the lowlands, and landlocked, the temp was still very hot, so we checked into a simple guesthouse with air conditioning and hot shower- not going to break the bank at about $12/night.

We went out to explore the town and it's main tourist attraction- the Bridge on the River Kwai (yes, that one). The bridge was part of the death railway, constructed by the Japanese during WWII using British, Dutch and American POWs and local southeast asian labor. Many, many people were killed during the construction, and there are several cemetaries in town dedicated to the locals and westerners who died during the construction. It's quite moving, and you really get a sense of the goodwill the locals have towards westerners for freeing them from the grip of the Japanese.

That night, we went out to the local night market, something most towns here in Thailand have. They are fairly large, and consist of stalls selling everything from prepared foods, fresh produce, clothes, music, crafts, etc. It's a great thing about this culture- they all come out together after work and either eat or buy the ingredients to cook themselves. It's very social and very friendly towards westerners. We samples some duplings and shumai, noodles, skewers of chicken (at least we hope!) and odd local sweets. Most things cost between 10-40 baht (40 baht= about $1), and with the heat you don't end up eating all that much. Exceptionally delicious dinner for just a couple of dollars.

The next day we rented bicycles and explored the area- we'd been told how much the children in Thailand love seeing westerners, and this was our first experience. As we peddled around the backroads, children would peddle next to us or run out from their homes shouting "hello! hello!" as soon as they saw us. It's just so cute. And it's not just the children- everyone here is so amazingly friendly. Everyone smiles and waves, from teenage boys to grandparents on the front porch. When you talk to locals who aren't trying to sell you something, they want to know where you've visited and where you plan to go- they love their country and are very proud of it, and love that we want to see it. That day we peddled out to a limestone cave filled with Bhuddist shrines (and bats), that you can walk through and explore. On our way back we came upon a small roadside house/cafe/restaurant- basically a small outdoor kitchen with some tables, run by a husband and wife. We had two delicious noodle dishes- one wok fried, one noodle soup, and a soda, for 50 baht. The ingredients are all so fresh, and everything is made right when you order it- lots of chili peppers, lime, fish sauce, galangal (like ginger) and a variety of types of noodles. Very little fat, so you never feel stuffed like you do with western food. They dont generally eat three meals like we do- instead eating smaller amounts, 4 or 5 times a day, sampling many different things. We just love it.

On our final day in Kanchanaburi, we got up at the crack of dawn and took a but out to Erwan National Park, in which the main attraction is Erwan Falls, a series of falls stretching over about a mile, with seven different pools you can swim in and explore. You hike from pool to pool, playing in the falls, sliding down the rocks, and admiring the scenery. The water is cool and clean, and there are monkeys in the surrounding trees. We had very much been looking forward to seeing monkeys in the wild, but these were much more like little pains in the ass than wild animals! They would come up to where people were eating, and basically try to snatch food right off of peoples blankets. One managed to grab a whole bag of chips, tear it open, and devour it. It was actually pretty comical, watching them navigate picnics like little people. The park staff was less amused then the visitors, and you could tell they were basically pests who had come to rely on people food. It was a wonderful day, which ended with a delicious meal consisting of two different types of homemade curries (one green, one red) and yet another som tam (spicy papaya salad, probably our most consumed dish to date)at a restaurant in town.

We can't add pictures at this internet cafe, but will upload more the next chance we get.

Next stop- Ayutthaya and then the overnight train to Chiang Mai in the north.

Alex & China

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Comments

[Jon]

Ching Mai
Heh you guys. I just saw in the paper that Chiang MAi is having a floating festical this week. looks cool. i guess you'll see it. have fun.